Learning

We have measured the gain in test scores on traditional final exams as well as more conceptually oriented standard assessment instruments in an introductory physics course in Newtonian mechanics. (The gain is the fractional reduction in wrong answers between a test given before the course and one given afterwards.) Correlating this gain with various instructional elements in the course showed that the use of electronic tutorial type homework correlated with gain on the MIT final examinations and that it and collaborative solving of problems in class correlated with gain on standard tests of conceptual understanding.

Figure 1 Students who do more myCyberTutor electronic homework show significant (p = 0.01) gain on the MIT final exam taken in Spring 2001 relative to the one taken in Fall 2000. No other instructional element in the course correlates significantly with improvement on these tests. (see What course elements correlate with improvement on tests in introductory Newtonian mechanics? - Morote, E. S., Pritchard, D.: ERIC #ED463979).

Figure 2 Electronic homework and cooperative problem solving correlate significantly with improvement on after vs. before testing with the Force Concept Inventory, a test of conceptual knowledge in Newtonian mechanics. Data compiled by Prof. Craig Ogilvie, 8.01 Spring 2000. (see What course elements correlate with improvement on tests in introductory Newtonian mechanics? - Morote, E. S., Pritchard, D.: ERIC #ED463979).