Structural, Organizational, and Narrative Coherence: Designing the Introductory Physics Laboratory to Increase Retention of Prospective Science and Engineering Majors

在全国范围内，最初选择科学或工程专业的学生中，只有不到50%的人完成了该专业的学位。很明显，留住感兴趣的学生的问题非常严重，必须以科学的方式质疑传统的大学物理实验室方法，利用现有的科学知识来研究人们如何对教学做出反应，人们如何学习新概念，以及他们如何吸收新信息。为了提高学生的留存率，本项目正在重组介绍性物理实验室中的社交和智力互动，使其运作更符合现代学生的学习方式，也更符合科学界处理实验信息和评估数据的方式。“会议”和“公开报告”正成为实验室的正式组成部分。该项目积极而系统地考虑了特殊的学生群体：妇女、少数民族和未来的教师。研究发现的关键问题可以概括为以下几点：1)对叙事连贯性的要求；2)学生对学生的教学方法；3)旨在产生社区意识的教学策略；4)在实验室和课堂上建立竞争与合作的文化。该项目假设这些策略将适用于所有学生。物理学入门课程的实验室是该项目的主要重点。这些介绍性实验的内容是与直接的感官和知觉经验密切相关的观察。这种发展的重点不在于“新”实验的设计，而是1)学生之间的互动，以及2)学生整体实验经验的背景和连贯性。一个强有力的评估计划是项目的一个组成部分。

Nationally less than 50% of the students who originally choose a science or engineering major complete a degree in that major. It is clear that the problems of retaining interested students are severe enough that the traditional college physics laboratory approach must be questioned in a scientific way, using existing scientific knowledge on how people respond to teaching, how people learn new concepts, and how they incorporate new information. In order to increase retention, this project is restructuring social and intellectual interactions in the introductory physics laboratory in such a way that its operation is more in line with both the way modern students learn, and the way the scientific community deals with experimental information and evaluation of data. "Conferences" and "Public Reports" are being made a formal part of the laboratory. The project actively and systematically considers special populations of students: women, minorities, and future teachers. Problems that research has identified as crucial are capsulized in the following: 1) a demand for narrative coherence; 2) a student-to-student approach to teaching problem-solving; 3) instructional strategies designed to produce a sense of community; and 4) establishment of a culture of competence and cooperation in the laboratory and classroom. The project postulates that these strategies will serve well all students. The laboratory in introductory physics is the project's main focus. The content of these introductory laboratories is staying close to observations connected to direct sensory and perceptual experiences. The emphasis in this development is not on the design of "new" experiments, but 1) on the interaction of the students, and 2) on the context and coherence of their total laboratory experience. A strong evaluation plan is an integral part of the project.