{ "cells": [ { "cell_type": "markdown", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "# Virtual demonstrations - Using digital artefacts to illustrate explanations\n", "\n", "Classroom demonstrations, i.e. showing phenomena in class, make great illustrations that stimulate students’ interest and motivation. \n", "Jupyter Notebooks allow you to design very easily *virtual demonstrations* to show students *things that you could not demonstrate in real life*.\n", "But how to make sure that your demonstrations are **more than just entertainment**?\n", "\n", "A few simple ingredients can transform your virtual demonstrations into *powerful teaching and learning tools*. On this page, we summarize briefly some of the [ideas from research on the impact of demonstrations on students learning](#Ingredients-for-effective-virtual-demonstrations-in-class) and share with you [example notebooks](#Examples) which implement these ideas in practice.\n" ] }, { "cell_type": "markdown", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "## Ingredients for effective virtual demonstrations in class\n", "\n", "### Questions\n", "\n", "Questionning students can really help students engage actively with your demonstration: \n", "* Catherine Crouch and her colleagues from Harvard University for instance, have shown that having students **predict the outcome of a demonstration before observing it** makes an essential difference in terms of what students remember and understand from a demonstration [(Crouch et al., 2004)](https://aapt.scitation.org/doi/10.1119/1.1707018). This result has been reproduced in a number of other studies, and the reason why this technique works so well seems to be fundamentally linked to how our brain works, according to relatively recent models [(Dehaene, 2011)](https://www.college-de-france.fr/site/en-stanislas-dehaene/course-2011-2012.htm). \n", "* When observing a demonstration, it can be hard for students to focus their attention at the right place at the right time. Asking them **questions that drive them to observe specific features** of what you are showing can greatly help them see what you want them to see. \n", "* Very often, students have a hard time identifying what they need to remember from a demonstration. Asking them **questions at the end of a demonstration to reflect on the important points** which have been illustrated is a very effective way to draw their attention to the right elements.\n", "\n", "

In brief: ask students questions before (prediction questions), during (observation questions) and after (reflection questions) your demonstrations.

" ] }, { "cell_type": "markdown", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "### Discussions with peers\n", "\n", "Very frequently, the \"why\" things happen is more important than the \"what\" happens in a demonstration. A key to effective demonstrations is therefore to give students an opportunity to formulate why they think things happen that way. \n", "A simple tool to do this is peer discussion. By encouraging students to **discuss the \"why\" with others**, you give them a chance to put words on the implicit model they have in mind and to confront it to the reasoning of others. After verbalizing their understanding of the concepts, students will be better able to assess it against your own explanations, which will then have much more impact.\n", "\n", "

In brief: ask students to discuss the \"why\" with peers before presenting your own explanation.

\n", " " ] }, { "cell_type": "markdown", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "### Multiple representations\n", "\n", "Presenting students with multiple representations of concepts has been shown to have positive effects on learning [(Mayer, 2009)](http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511811678). Graphical visualizations play an important role in this, but it has been shown that it is the combination of the representations which actually is efficient, which means that *text, equations, tables, videos* or other types of embedded media also are important.\n", "\n", "Two key elements are worth considering particularly in virtual demonstrations:\n", "* Showing explicitely (through visual cues, text, arrows, etc.) **how the different representations relate to each other** is a great way to illustrate different ways of modeling the same reality, which is essential for students to develop their modeling skills.\n", "* Presenting students with the **type of representations that they need to use** when they solve problems in your discipline (for instance when they need to analyze the situation, when they need to choose a model or when they need to check their solution) can help your students develop their problem solving skills \n", "\n", "\n", "

In brief: whenever possible, present your demonstrations with multiple connected representations, which match the representations you want students to use when solving problems.

\n" ] }, { "cell_type": "markdown", "metadata": {}, "source": [ " \n", "\n", "### Examples\n", "\n", "The following examples show how using the above elements in demonstrations can look like, in different formats:\n", "\n", "\n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", "
What is involved?Show me an example
\"Low tech\"Ask students questions which they have to answer on a piece of paper.

Show visualizations that you want students to use when they solve problems.		Have a look at the falling objects demo
Interactive questionsUse the notebook to poll students using interactive questions where students vote for the answer of their choice.

Combine and synchronize interactively a diagram and different function plots.		[WORK IN PROGRESS]
Have a look at the suspended objects demo
" ] }, { "cell_type": "markdown", "metadata": {}, "source": [ " \n", "\n", "## Sharing your demonstration notebooks with students\n", "\n", "Making the virtual demonstrations available to the students can be a good idea. But how will students know which parameters to change and what to observe? \n", "By **including questions and instructions** into the notebook together with the virtual demonstration, you will ensure that students can use them effectively in autonomy.\n", "\n", "The following examples are demonstration notebooks extended with questions and instructions for students:\n", "\n", "\n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", " \n", "
What is involved?Show me an example
\"Low tech\"By adding text cells to your notebook, you can transform it into a notebook \"to complete\", in which students write their own explanations and observations.Have a look at the falling objects exercise
Auto-corrected quizzInclude interactive questions into your notebook to augment your notebook with auto-corrected quizze.[WORK IN PROGRESS]
Have a look at the suspended objects exercise
Computational exerciseAsk your students to modify or complete the code of your demonstration.[WORK IN PROGRESS]
Have a look at the falling objects computational exercise
\n" ] }, { "cell_type": "markdown", "metadata": {}, "source": [ " \n", "\n", "## Bibliography\n", "\n", "Crouch, C., Fagen, A. P., Callan, J. P., & Mazur, E. (2004). Classroom demonstrations: Learning tools or entertainment? American Journal of Physics, 72(6), 835–838. \n", "https://aapt.scitation.org/doi/10.1119/1.1707018\n", "\n", "Dehaen, S. (2011). The Statistician Brain: The Bayesian Revolution in Cognitive Sciences. Lectures at Collège de France. \n", "https://www.college-de-france.fr/site/en-stanislas-dehaene/course-2011-2012.htm\n", "\n", "Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. \n", "http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511811678\n" ] } ], "metadata": { "kernelspec": { "display_name": "Python 3", "language": "python", "name": "python3" }, "language_info": { "codemirror_mode": { "name": "ipython", "version": 3 }, "file_extension": ".py", "mimetype": "text/x-python", "name": "python", "nbconvert_exporter": "python", "pygments_lexer": "ipython3", "version": "3.6.8" } }, "nbformat": 4, "nbformat_minor": 2 }