Those with an interest in Problem Based Learning may or may not be
interested in a recent post "Demonstrated Value of Formative Pre/post
Testing" [Hake (2008]. The abstract reads:
****************************************
ABSTRACT: Carnegie Conversations subscriber Fabian Nabangi,
responding to Carnegie senior scholar Lloyd Bond's anecdotal
illustration of the value of pre/post testing (PPT), suggested that
three conditions must all be present before PPT can be of any value
and be used by accrediting organizations. Nabangi's conditions and
their approximate prevalence in formative PPT currently being
undertaken in undergraduate astronomy, biology, chemistry, economics,
engineering, geoscience, math, and physics are as follows: (a)
"students score higher on the posttests than on pretests": almost
always (but just barely for passive-student lecture courses in
conceptually difficult subjects); (b) "posttest scores are a
component of the final grade": often the case in physics; and (c)
"administrators reward teachers whose innovative pedagogy yields
relatively high pre-to-posttest gains": *almost never*. Considering
the latter circumstance, Nabangi would presumably regard almost all
the above indicated PPT to be of no value, contradicting the fact
that PPT has at least partially stimulated the reform of introductory
physics courses at e.g., Harvard, North Carolina State University,
MIT, University of Colorado at Boulder, and California Polytechnic
State University at San Luis Obispo. As regards Nabangi's admonition
against the use of PPT by accrediting organizations unless conditions
"a," "b," and "c" are present, I think that, even if those
conditions were present, accrediting organizations should avoid use
PPT in summative accreditation, lest "Campbell's Law" raise its ugly
head.
****************************************
To access the complete 18 kB post please click on <http://tinyurl.com/ysm6se>.
Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
24245 Hatteras Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
<[log in to unmask]>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi>
Hake, R.R. 2008. "Demonstrated Value of Formative Pre/post Testing,"
online at the OPEN AERA-J archives <http://tinyurl.com/ysm6se>. Post
of 7 Jan 2008 to AERA-J, AERA-L, PhysLrnR, and POD. Abstract only to
AERA-C, AERA-D, AERA-I, AERA-K, AP-Physics, ARN-L, ASSESS, Biopi-L,
Biolab (rejected), Chemed-L, DrEd, EdResMeth, EvalTalk, IFETS,
ITForum (rejected), Math-Learn, Math-Teach, NetGold, PBL, Physhare,
Phys-L, PsychTeacher (rejected), RUME, SCILISTSERV, STLHE-L,
TeachingEdPsych, TIPS, and WBTOLL.
|
