Chini, Carmichael, Rebello, Puntambekar: AAPT Summer 2009 (Talk)

Interview Room versus Classroom: How Do the Data Compare*?

Jacquelyn J. Chini, Adrian Carmichael, N. Sanjay Rebello
Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506; USA

Sadhana Puntambekar
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706; USA

In our research, we often use data collected during teaching/learning interviews [1] to investigate student learning. While the teaching/learning interview is intended to model a natural learning environment, it is different than an actual classroom learning atmosphere. A teaching/learning interview typically involves one to four students working with one researcher/facilitator in an interview room. The interaction is audio and video recorded. These differences may potentially cause students to act differently than they would in their actual class. To investigate this possibility, we used the same instructional materials in a teaching interview and laboratory setting. The instructional materials were from the CoMPASS curriculum that integrates hypertext based concept maps with design-based activities [2]. All participants were enrolled in introductory concept-based physics. We will describe how the data collected in these two settings compare.

[1] Engelhardt, P.V., et al. The Teaching Experiment - What it is and what it isn't. in Physics Education Research Conference, 2003. 2003. Madison, WI.
[2] Puntambekar, S., A. Stylianou, and R. Hübscher, “Improving navigation and learning in hypertext environments with navigable concept maps.” Human-Computer Interaction, 2003. 18: p. 395-428.

*This work is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, Award # R305A080507

Chini, Carmichael, Rebello, Puntambekar: PERC 2009

Does the Teaching/Learning Interview Provide an Accurate Snapshot of Classroom Learning?

Jacquelyn J. Chini, Adrian Carmichael, and N. Sanjay Rebello
Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506; USA

Sadhana Puntambekar
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706; USA

The teaching/learning interview has been used to investigate student learning. The aim of the teaching/learning interview is to model a natural learning environment while allowing more direct access to a student’s or group’s thinking and reasoning. The interview typically involves one to four students working with a researcher/interviewer while being audio and video recorded. It has previously been reported [1] that the data collected in a teaching/learning interview is richer in detail than data collected in an actual classroom. We investigated the possibility that there were also other differences between these formats. We used the same instructional materials as well as pre-, mid- and post-tests in a teaching/learning interview and in a classroom laboratory setting. We will describe how the data collected in these two settings compare.

1. D. L. McBride, “Concept Categorization Analysis: Comparing Verbal and Written Data” in American Association of Physics Teachers Winter Meeting, Chicago, IL, 2009

**This work is funded in part by U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences Award R305A080507.

Carmichael, Chini, Rebello and Puntambekar: AAPT Poster 2009

How Does Classroom or Interview Room Environment Affect Research Data?

Adrian Carmichael, Jacquelyn J. Chini, N. Sanjay Rebello

Department of Physics, Kansas State University

Sadhana Puntambekar

Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Research conducted in the contrived setting of an interview room, while intended to model a natural learning environment, may produce different results than data collected in an actual classroom. A teaching/learning interview in the interview room typically involves one to four students working with one researcher/facilitator while being audio and video recorded. This setting has the potential to cause students to respond differently than they would in the actual classroom. To investigate this possibility, we used the same instructional materials in a teaching interview and laboratory setting. The instructional materials were from the CoMPASS curriculum that integrates hypertext-based concept maps with design-based activities. All participants were enrolled in introductory concept-based physics. We will describe how the data collected in these two settings compare.