Shane Hutson, Introductory Physics

Summary

Dr. Shane Hudson, an associate professor at Vanderbilt University, discusses his approach to teaching introductory physics to pre-med and engineering students. He tailors the course to align with MCAT requirements, using the syllabus to map physics topics to MCAT expectations. Hudson employs low-stakes assessments like clicker questions and online warm-ups to engage students and prepare them for exams, emphasizing conceptual understanding over rote memorization. His strategies aim to motivate pre-med students, who are grade-driven, by connecting classroom activities to their future success on the MCAT.

Takeaways

• 👨‍🏫 Shane Hudson is an associate professor at Vanderbilt University, teaching physics with a focus on pre-med students.
• 🏥 The Introductory Physics course is tailored for two groups: pre-med students and engineers.
• 📚 Hudson's teaching approach is to align physics topics with MCAT requirements, which is crucial for pre-med students.
• 📈 He emphasizes the relevance of physics to motivate students, using the MCAT as a practical application of their studies.
• 📋 The syllabus is designed to show direct correlations between course content and MCAT expectations.
• 💡 Hudson incorporates real-world examples and clicker questions to engage students and reinforce learning.
• 📊 Low stakes assessments, such as online warm-up questions and in-class clicker questions, contribute to a participation grade.
• 🔋 Clicker questions are used frequently, with the aim to encourage participation and understanding of concepts.
• 🌟 The participation grade is designed to be accessible, requiring only 75% of available points to achieve full credit.
• 📈 Hudson aims to correct misconceptions and instill a deep understanding of physics, not just formula memorization.
• 🎯 The ultimate goal is for students to grasp conceptual physics well enough to excel on exams beyond simple problem-solving.

Q & A

Who is Shane Hudson and what is his role at Vanderbilt University?

Shane Hudson is an associate professor of physics with a secondary appointment in biological sciences at Vanderbilt University.

How has the Introductory Physics course been split at Vanderbilt University?

The Introductory Physics course has been split into two courses: one targeted towards pre-med students and the other towards engineers.

Which version of the Introductory Physics course does Shane Hudson primarily teach?

Shane Hudson primarily teaches the pre-med directed course, which is still a calculus-based introductory physics course.

What is the relevance of physics for pre-med students according to the transcript?

Physics is relevant for pre-med students as it will be used a few months to a couple of years after taking the course, specifically when they take the MCAT.

How does Shane Hudson align his physics course with the MCAT?

Shane Hudson aligns his course with the MCAT by explicitly mentioning in the syllabus where the physics topics align with the MCAT expectations and incorporating MCAT-style questions into his class.

What is the purpose of the low stakes assessments in Shane Hudson's course?

The purpose of the low stakes assessments is to motivate students to engage with the material and prepare them for higher stakes exams like the MCAT.

What are the two types of low stakes assessments used in the course?

The two types of low stakes assessments are online warm-up questions and in-class clicker questions.

How does participation in clicker questions affect a student's grade in Shane Hudson's course?

Participation in clicker questions contributes to a participation grade, which counts towards five points of their overall score at the end of the year.

What is the incentive for students to participate in the low stakes assessments?

The incentive for students to participate is that the points from these assessments can significantly affect their final grade, potentially making the difference between different letter grades.

How does Shane Hudson ensure that the low stakes assessments are effective in preparing students for exams?

Shane Hudson ensures the assessments are effective by tying exam questions to the questions students have seen in clickers or warm-ups, making sure they understand the relevance of these assessments to their exam preparation.

What is the main challenge Shane Hudson identifies for students learning physics?

The main challenge identified is that students often have misconceptions about physics, a lack of confidence in their physics abilities, and they may not know how to learn physics effectively.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Teaching Physics for Pre-Med Students

Shane Hudson, an associate professor at Vanderbilt University, discusses his approach to teaching introductory physics tailored for pre-med students. He splits the course into two tracks: one for pre-med students and another for engineers. Hudson emphasizes the relevance of physics to the MCAT, which motivates students. He aligns the syllabus with the MCAT's scientific foundations and includes example questions in class. Hudson also implements low-stakes assessments, such as online warm-up questions and clicker questions during lectures, to engage students and prepare them for exams. These activities contribute to a participation grade, incentivizing students to participate without the pressure of high stakes. The goal is to help students understand and apply physics concepts, not just memorize them, which is crucial for their future in medicine.

05:04

🔬 Addressing Misconceptions in Learning Physics

The second paragraph delves into the challenges students face when learning physics, particularly pre-med students who may not know how to learn physics effectively. Hudson uses low-stakes assessments to introduce students to effective learning methods, which they then find helpful as the semester progresses. These assessments are designed to move students beyond simple memorization and towards a deeper understanding of physics concepts. Clicker questions, in particular, are used to challenge students conceptually from the start, preparing them for more complex tasks expected on exams. Hudson explains the importance of question design in guiding students towards a conceptual grasp of physics, making the process of learning more engaging and effective.

Keywords

💡Introductory Physics

Introductory Physics refers to the foundational course in physics that is typically taken by students early in their academic careers. In the context of the video, it is split into two courses, one for pre-med students and one for engineers, indicating a tailored approach to meet the specific needs of different student populations. The script mentions that the course is calculus-based, emphasizing the mathematical rigor involved in understanding physics concepts.

💡Pre-med students

Pre-med students are those who are preparing for a career in medicine and are taking prerequisite courses for medical school admission. The video discusses how the Introductory Physics course is adapted for these students, with an emphasis on how the course content relates to the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), which is a significant exam for their future.

💡MCAT

The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is a standardized, multiple-choice examination for prospective medical students in the United States and Canada. It is a critical component of the application process to medical schools. The video script highlights how the physics course is aligned with the MCAT, using it as a motivational tool and a way to ensure that students are prepared for this important exam.

💡Syllabus

A syllabus is a document provided by instructors that outlines the course content, structure, and expectations. In the video, the syllabus is used strategically to align the physics topics with the competencies required for the MCAT, helping students see the relevance of their coursework to their future medical studies.

💡Low stakes assessments

Low stakes assessments are evaluations that carry less weight in determining a student's final grade but are designed to encourage learning and participation. In the script, these include online warm-up questions and clicker questions in class, which are used to engage students and prepare them for more significant assessments like exams.

💡Participation grade

A participation grade is a component of a student's overall score that reflects their engagement and activity in the class. The video describes how the instructor incorporates low stakes assessments into a participation grade, which counts towards the student's final score, incentivizing them to actively participate in the learning process.

💡Conceptual understanding

Conceptual understanding in physics refers to a deep comprehension of the principles and theories, rather than just memorizing formulas or procedures. The video emphasizes the importance of fostering this type of understanding through low stakes assessments, which prepare students for exams that require more than just computational skills.

💡Clicker questions

Clicker questions are a form of student response system where students use handheld devices to answer questions posed by the instructor in real-time. In the video, these questions are used to engage students during lectures, reinforce concepts, and provide immediate feedback. They are also part of the low stakes assessments that contribute to the participation grade.

💡Grade motivation

Grade motivation refers to the drive students have to perform well academically due to the importance they place on their grades. The video acknowledges that pre-med students are highly grade motivated, and the instructor uses this to encourage participation in low stakes assessments, which can have a significant impact on their final grade.

💡Misconceptions

Misconceptions in the context of the video refer to incorrect or incomplete understandings that students may have about physics concepts. The instructor mentions that one of the challenges is not only addressing these misconceptions but also teaching students how to learn physics effectively, which is part of the broader educational approach taken in the course.

💡Exam preparation

Exam preparation in the video is discussed in terms of how the low stakes assessments and the course content are designed to prepare students for high-stakes exams like the MCAT. The instructor aims to create a curriculum where the practice and assessments during the course mirror the types of questions and concepts that will be on these important exams.

Highlights

Introduction to Shane Hudson, an associate professor of physics and biological sciences at Vanderbilt University.

Splitting of Introductory Physics course into two tracks: one for pre-med students and one for engineers.

Emphasis on teaching physics relevant to pre-med students' future MCAT exams.

Alignment of physics syllabus with MCAT requirements to motivate students.

Inclusion of MCAT-style questions in class to familiarize students with exam format.

Utilization of low stakes assessments to encourage participation and engagement.

Description of online warm-up questions as a method to connect real-world scenarios with physics.

Use of clickers in class to pose questions and track student participation.

Grading policy that rewards effort and discourages non-participation.

The significance of participation grade in influencing final course scores.

The role of grade motivation in pre-med students and its impact on their learning strategies.

Linking exam questions to clicker questions to prepare students for assessments.

Addressing misconceptions about physics and learning styles among students.

The importance of conceptual understanding over memorization in learning physics.

Designing clicker questions to encourage deep understanding rather than simple calculations.

Balancing the difficulty of clicker questions to promote conceptual thinking over memorization.

The transition of students' perception of low stakes assessments from practice to deeper learning.

Strategies for making conceptual understanding the path of least resistance in learning physics.

Transcripts

[ Music ]

>> My name is Shane Hudson.

I'm an associate professor of physics, a secondary appointment

in biological sciences at Vanderbilt University.

I teach Introductory Physics for the purposes of what we're doing here.

We have split our Introductory Physics course into two courses,

one that's targeted towards pre-med students and one that's targeted towards engineers.

I'm going to -- I teach mostly the pre-med directed course,

although it's still a calculus-based introductory physics course.

For pre-med students, certainly, there is at least one more time they're going to have

to be able to use physics, and it will come a couple of months to a couple of years

after they take my course, and that's when they take the MCAT.

And so, I try to be very explicit about that from day one.

Right? It's something that motivates them.

I might as well face it and use it as part of the motivation for the classroom.

And so, I try to be very explicit in the syllabus about where the topics we're talking

about in physics line up with things they're expected to know for the MCAT.

They just released a brand new report on sort of scientific foundations for future physicians.

It had all these competencies that students are supposed to know.

And so, we lined those up with the syllabus and made that available

to the students from the start of the semester.

And then, as we went through the semester, I would mention in class a little bit,

not a great deal in class, about the MCAT, but we had a few questions that we really did pull

from the MCAT, and we did those as example questions in class.

The students know they need to be able

to at least refresh their knowledge of physics before that exam.

And so, the more they learn now, the less they'll have to do then.

I mean, I would be disappointed in myself if I thought I was teaching to the test.

Right? That would be miserable to do.

But you got to be familiar with it.

It's part of the student's motivation and so I want them to know that I'm familiar

with what they're going to face and that I've taught about it to some extent in terms

of what I'm teaching them in the classroom.

So the two low stakes assessments in my course both feed

into something I call a participation grade

that counts five points towards their overall score at the end of the year.

And those are some online warm-up questions, which are open-ended questions where, basically,

I ask them a question about the real world, something concrete.

I don't use the physics language and the idea is they're supposed to pull out of the reading

from the text for that day the connections to the physics we'll be talking about.

And then, a second one that's just what you find difficult, what was hard, and they answer that.

And so, they get credit for that basically just on effort.

Did they try?

Do I -- does it look like they're reading the material?

And so, grading that's very quick.

They did or didn't.

Right? I don't spend a lot of time on it.

The second one is using clickers in class.

Over the course of a semester, I probably ask about 150 clicker questions.

So there's three to 10 of them each day.

Right? That's sort of the basis of what's going on in the classroom,

and the students get some credit for that.

Largely, they get some number of points for getting it right.

Five is what I use -- seven is what I use for getting it right, five for answering at all.

And so, the only way they really hurt themselves is if they don't participate,

if they don't answer the question.

At the end of the semester, I add it all up and they only have to get about 75%

of all the points that were available to get their full five points of participation credit.

So that takes away -- that makes it even a little bit more lower stakes.

You can forget your clicker one day, your batteries can die,

and it's not the end of the world.

You're still going to get the full participation credit.

You don't have to do everything, but you got to do most of it.

Remember, these are pre-med students, so they are definitely grade motivated.

No doubt about that.

You have to meet them where they are.

Right? They're grade motivated, so you use that.

If they realize -- five points can make the difference between B, B-minus, B-plus, A-minus.

Right? These matter.

And so, they're willing to do it with just a few points put on the line.

Right? So that's sort of how I motivate them to do it initially.

The points are there to get them to try it and hopefully by the time they get through the first

or second exam of the semester, they realize

that these low stakes assessments have gotten them ready to do well on those.

Right? And so, that means being very careful about tying in exam questions

to questions they've seen with the clickers

or questions they've seen as the warm-ups before class.

And I have to be very explicit about that.

I mean, there will be probably a question on the exam that is an exact copy of a clicker question

and a few more that are modifications, so they have to think a little bit more on them.

Right? But they have to know that it's coming up and that these things are going

to help them when assessments come along.

They'll have a much bigger impact on their grade.

I think one of the biggest problems students come in is not only misconceptions about physics

or thinking that they're not good at physics.

It's that they don't know how to learn physics.

And so, yeah.

A few points on the line initially to get them to try these methods and then they realize, oh.

This is working.

I'm learning something.

There's things that are sticking when I go back to study for the exam.

It's not all new to me.

I'm not just memorizing formulas or memorizing a few key concepts.

This stuff has been drilled in because I've used it over and over again.

In terms of how the low stake assessments prepare students

for what I really do expect them to be able to do on an exam,

which is more than simple plug and chug the formulas.

It's really having a deep conceptual understanding of the physics.

I think the low stakes assessments, especially the clicker questions,

really prepare them for that from day one.

Right? So it's okay for them to get those clicker questions wrong.

I don't expect them to be perfect right off the bat.

But they see what the expectations are for what they have to do later.

And so, the clicker questions can't be in themselves simple plug and chug.

They have to be involved conceptual questions.

So it's this balance.

Right? You don't want one of the clicker questions to take

up more than five minutes of class.

Right? But it's got to -- it's -- so it's got to be well targeted to some concept

that you want them to deeply understand and they have to think just a little, but they don't have

to do in-depth calculations or anything like that.

Right? And so, it's -- there's a lot that goes into the design of the questions

to make sure the students know what your goals are for them,

that what you expect them to be able to do come exam time.

They see them initially as just practice for the exam,

but I see it as pushing them a little bit beyond their comfort envelope.

Right? Asking them to do things that are hard.

Right? Students are going to do the easiest thing they can get away with.

It's what people do.

Right? You put them in a circumstance.

The easiest path to success is the one they're going to take.

And so, you've got to make the things you don't want them to do hard

and the things you do want them to do easy.

And so, that's what comes into the design of questions, is how do you make it so the plug

and chug route won't get you to the right answer,

but having a confirmed conceptual grasp will easily get you to the right answer.

[ Music ]