Comments on Sputnik

Comments on Sputnik

Here's a bunch of emails that people have sent us about the Sputnik project, in chronological order. Keep in mind, however, that the older comments were made in response to early versions of our proposal.

Date: Sun, 9 Feb 1997 14:13:03 -0800
From: mclinn@violet.berkeley.edu (Marcia Linn)
To: eunice@UGAstro.berkeley.edu, hcclark@garnet.berkeley.edu, mclinn@violet.berkeley.edu, schmed@transpac.com
Subject: Project topic

Hi
Introductory astronomy sounds promising. Talk to Phil Bell about ideas to build on the How Far? debate. It would be great if we could develop a set of activities in this area and How Far would be a good way to introduce KIE to Astronomy students. There are more subtle and exciting bits of evidence to make the debate more interesting for more sophisticated users including looking at the role of absorption and why light "seems" to die out.

I am looking forward to your next ideas.

Marcia

Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 14:06:47 -0800
From: mclinn@violet.berkeley.edu (Marcia Linn)
To: schmed@transpac.com
Subject: project topic

Hi Chris

I had a chance to review your proposal and I suggest you look at the vast array of software addressing this topic including Working Model, Eric Masur's hypercard physics tutorial that comes with his or another textbook (Fred Beshears at ITP will have a copy), and several other textbook add-ons.

Talk also to Andy Elbe who developed materials to go with Working Model.

The idea of larger projects is promising and coudl be supported/scaffodled in the KIE model.

I would like to see far more justification and clarification of the ITS approach and its relevance to teaching Physics.

This should be interesting.

Marcia

Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 15:33:45 +0000
From: Ming Lu
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: schmed@transpac.com, eunice@ugastro.berkeley.edu
Subject: project comments
X-URL: http://www.kie.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/cool_cccprj.cgi

Hi guys!

This sounds like a pretty cool project. The software seems like it is more of a class activity or project than a tutorial - semantics, I know. However, I think of a tutorial as being able to help develop skills through a variey of exercises instead of just one.

Chris, are you going to develop the hyper-text program yourself? You may want to think about using KIE. I don't know how much you know about it, but it sounds perfect for this. There is a built in framework that would allow you to present questions, then have the students respond after looking at web pages you generate or ones you find on the web. Mildred could provide additional scaffolding when the students needed it, etc. Eunice, you know all about this already I assume, so I will stop here.

Oops, gotta go. Write you again later with more comments.

Julia : )

From: JuliaUCB@aol.com
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 16:08:18 +0000
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: schmed@transpac.com, eunice@ugastro.berkeley.edu
Subject: Project comments #2
X-URL: http://www.kie.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/cool_cccprj.cgi

Hi again,

I have come back to complete what I had started...

Where was I? I think I was telling you that I thought KIE would be a really good development forum for your project. Soooo, on to other ideas...

I think that it is a great idea to incorporate a simulation tool like ThinkerTools into your activity. I have often thought that KIE lacks just such an experiential, simulation tool. This would enable the students to refresh their knowledge through self-conducted and self-developed experiments.

Because you are calling your tool a tutorial, I am concerned that it will not allow the students to follow their own solution pathways. Are you going to design your software so that the amount of scaffolding can be varied? (i.e. if the students feel they need it, they can get it, if not they can continue on their own) This variable scaffolding would enable all students to learn and also be challenged.

I whole-heartedly agree that students need to be able to connect what they learn in science class with the real-world. However, I think that selling students on the idea that the facts and formulas they learn in class will be useful in the real-world is stopping short. What type of skills will your students be gaining from using this program? Could you point out the problem solving skills they are using and how they are relevent to the work world? etc.

One concern I have about students working as teams on a computer is that one student will end up doing all of the work while the others sit and watch. How will your curriculum prevent this? Will you have 2-3 seperate entries for students to fill in? Assign each person responsibility for being the leader in the different phases of the problem solving activity?

Last suggestions would be the possibity of students giving class presentations at the end of the activity and/or class discussions throughout the unit. Also, how is the teacher tracking the progress of EACH of the students as well of team work?

You probably have a lot of these things already worked out but didn't include them in the brief description. I hope these suggestions were of some help. I can't wait to see the final product, being the engineer that I am! : ) I'm psyched to see that you guys are working on introducing high school students to engineering!

Julia

Mime-Version: 1.0
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 18:03:20 -0800
To: schmed@transpac.com, eunice@ugastro.berkeley.edu
From: saterlie@uclink4.berkeley.edu (Eric Satterlie)
Subject: Project Comments

This plan would certainly help students link abstract physical concepts/laws and see the application of them in a real-world context. You mention the possibility of using ThinkerTools software. Are you also considering using the Inquiry Cycle as a major foundation for guiding students in your program?

What are some other assessment tools you might be thinking of using in addition to the textual justifications? To what extent are you planning on using animations, etc? Tu and I are also interested in a planetary kind of animation, but for the purpose of displaying an example of an ellipse.

It takes a strong group to use hypertext as a major part of their project after the Dillon article. However, it seems as if you are bypassing many of those complaints by utilizing hypertext in the context of a much more complex project.

Eric

Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 23:53:46 -0800
From: Manya Raman
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: schmed@transpac.com, eunice@ugastro.berkeley.edu
Subject: cool project

Hello,

So, I just played around with Sputnik. Your project looks really cool. And you have actually implemented part of it! Wow.

But I have a question about your cognitive goals. How is the hypertext going to help the student? I was sort of suprised when I inputed my answer that it just sort of disappeared. Is it just for the teacher to get data on how the student is thinking? Or to make sure the student is thinking before they click (or maybe guess) the correct answer?

I have a feeling that your project is *much* more like what Marcia expects than my little delta-epsilon tutorial. You guys are such good students!

I'm not sure how much our code will overlap with mine, but I'd be happy to pool resources.

Manya

Manya,

But I have a question about your cognitive goals. How is the hypertext going to help the student? I was sort of suprised when I inputed my answer that it just sort of disappeared. Is it just for the teacher to get data on how the student is thinking? Or to make sure the student is thinking before they click (or maybe guess) the correct answer?

The text is collected for several reasons:

1) As you said, we want to force the student to attempt an answer themselves.

2) The teacher wants to assess the student's understanding, potentially resulting in a letter grade on the assignment.

3) The teacher wants to assess their own coverage of the subject material, and make appropriate adjustments to their curriculum.

4) The designers (us) want to tune Sputnik so that students understand the questions and have enough scaffolding to complete as much of the activity on their own as possible.

5) The researchers (us) want to study the learning/design/engineering/problem solving processes the students go through as they try to apply what they've learned to the activity.

Ideally, the activity would be able to respond directly to the student text, but that's obviously beyond the scope of the technology.

- Chris

From: Brian Colety
Date: Tue, 18 Mar 97 13:09:47 -2400
To: Schmed@TransPac.com, Eunice@UGAstro.Berkeley.edu
Mime-Version: 1.0
Subject: Eval evaluation from Courtney
X-URL: http://vygotsky.berkeley.edu/emst291b/STUDENTS/Schmed/Proposal.html#Eval

Hey guys,

I don't know why this message appears to be from Brian... I'll try and wiggle around with that later, but for now I have important comments to make on your eval. plan.

* I think it will be important to compare the Sputnik class with a control group in order to find out whether or not your addition to the curriculum has been successful. One question I have is whether or not you are answering the question you are asking. Are you primarily concerned with the software or the knowledge? What I mean is, if students have had practice with real-world inclined plane problems, they probably will score higher on your post-test. Will the control group have had exposure to relevent problems in another medium?

There isn't anything else I thought needed comments, I was very impressed with your thoroughness and well-considered ideas! Mind if we copy you word for word :>)

Courtney

Courtney,

* I think it will be important to compare the Sputnik class with a control group in order to find out whether or not your addition to the curriculum has been successful. One question I have is whether or not you are answering the question you are asking. Are you primarily concerned with the software or the knowledge?

I'm not sure I understand what you mean, but I'll take a stab at it. We think that by using the software the students will be able to integrate the knowledge in a more meaningful way, because they've employed it to solve a real-world problem. In this sense, we're more interested in the knowledge than the software.

What I mean is, if students have had practice with real-world inclined plane problems, they probably will score higher on your post-test. Will the control group have had exposure to relevent problems in another medium?

You are correct. This is why we plan to have both groups cover the same material in the same manner. After the unit on 2-D motion is complete, the Sputnik activity will be done by the experimental group while the control group does a final lab and a more traditional test review.

There isn't anything else I thought needed comments, I was very impressed with your thoroughness and well-considered ideas! Mind if we copy you word for word :>)

You are far too kind.

Thanks a ton for your input!!!!

- Chris

Date: Mon, 21 Apr 1997 14:58:24 -0700 (PDT)
From: Alice Chen
To: schmed@transpac.com, eunice@ugastro.berkeley.edu
cc: mclinn@violet.berkeley.edu, hcclark@garnet.berkeley.edu
Subject: Web-site
MIME-Version: 1.0

Hi, Chris and Eunice.

I thought your Website on satellites was great! It looks like something that allows students to do things at their own pace. Students can get help without looking dumb (asking questions in class). Also, the subject seems very interesting--to me anyhow.

A couple of questions:
1. How will this be implemented in a classroom? Is it extra or is it part of the curriculum?
2. How will you assess students? How will youb assess the success of your Website?
3. What kind of feedback will students get? The printout of their comments is great, but how will they know what that means?

I don't really have feedback on the content or usability. I thought it was simple enough for a simpleton like me. Graphics would be easy on the eyes, but I realize that it would take too long to do for this class. (I wish I had been part of your project; I'd love to animate your stuff.)

One other question: Is this curriculum a stand-alone piece, or is it a supplement to what is being learned in class?

Alice

Alice,

I thought your Website on satellites was great! It looks like something that allows students to do things at their own pace. Students can get help without looking dumb (asking questions in class). Also, the subject seems very interesting--to me anyhow.

1. How will this be implemented in a classroom? Is it extra or is it part of the curriculum?

The activity is designed to be a 2 day lab that reviews two-dimensional motion in preparation for a test.

2. How will you assess students? How will youb assess the success of your Website?

Information from each pair of students (long answers to questions, path taken through site, feedback on confusing pages, etc.) is collected continuously into a single text file. The text file can be used for assessment of student performance, research into the effectiveness of the materials, and feedback for their revision.

3. What kind of feedback will students get? The printout of their comments is great, but how will they know what that means?

The culmination of their efforts is a solution to the problem (radius and tangential velocity of geostationary orbit), which they get to plug into an Interactive Physics simulation the teacher has running on his/her computer. Students get to try their solutions on the simulation one group at a time to see if they work.

One other question: Is this curriculum a stand-alone piece, or is it a supplement to what is being learned in class?

See above.

Thanks a ton for your feedback!

- Chris

Back to Sputnik Development Proposal

Please e-mail comments regarding this web site to:

Schmed@TransPac.com and Eunice@UGAstro.Berkeley.edu.

Last updated 27 September 1997