PEDAGOGICAL TECHNIQUES FOR CLASSROOM COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

THIS PROPOSED RESEARCH CONCERNS A NEW CATEGORY OF EDUCATIONAL TOOLS TO WHICH WE HAVE GIVEN THE GENERIC NAME "CLASSROOM COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS". CLASSROOM COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS ARE COMPUTER BASED COMMUNICATION TOOLS FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS IN THE CLASSROOM, AND IN MANY RESPECTS ARE FUNDAMENTALLY UNPRETENTIOUS IN THEIR ASPIRATIONS. NEVERTHELESS IN EARLY TESTING IN LARGE FIRST YEAR COLLEGE PHYSICS AND ENGINEERING CLASSES PROTOTYPE SYSTEMS HAVE SHOWNTHAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING REMARKABLE RESULTS. STUDENTS REPORT THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THE SUBJECT BETTER, ENJOY CLASS MORE, AND WORK HARDER. THE PROFESSOR WHO HAS PIONEERED THE PEDAGOGY FOR USING THE SYSTEMS REPORTS THAT HIS LARGE CLASS SEEMS MUCH SMALLER, AND THAT THE ATMOSPHERE IN THE CLASS IS SUBSTANTIALLY IMPROVED. THE ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH PROGRAM IS TO DETERMINE WHETHER CLASSROOM COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SOMETHING CLOSE TO A SMALL GROUP SOCRATIC ENVIRONMENT EVEN IN A LARGE CLASSROOM. THE WORK FOCUSES ON SCIENTIFIC, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTION AT A RANGE OF EDUCATIONAL LEVELS. THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES FOR PHASE I INCLUDE GENERALIZING THE PROTOTYPE QUESTION STRUCTURE, SELECTING AND/OR MODIFYING AN APPROPRIATE PEDAGOGICAL FRAMEWORK FOR USE WITH SUCH SYSTEMS, AND CONDUCTING LIMITED TESTS BASED ON THIS WORK, IN COLLEGE LEVEL PHYSICS CLASSES.