PERC 2021 Abstract Detail Page
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| Abstract Title: | Measuring learning assistants’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Questioning with a written instrument |
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| Abstract: | Learning assistants (LA) are significant facilitators of student learning in non-traditional introductory physics courses. Questioning is an effective strategy for LAs to interact with students as opposed to directly delivering knowledge to students. We applied the framework of Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Questioning (PCK-Q) to describe LAs' skills of questioning in specific contexts at Hispanic-serving institutions. To measure LAs' PCK-Q, we have developed a written instrument. These questions described various scenarios of LA-student interaction in inquiry-based settings about classical mechanics and electromagnetism. LAs need to articulate how they would support student learning or rank provided responses considering students' difficulties. In this workshop, we will present sample questions and LAs' answers to those questions. We will also present scoring rubrics developed to code LAs' responses and interpret their PCK-Q. From this workshop, participants will practice using the rubrics to score sample questions and we will discuss how this instrument could be used for LA assessment and preparation. |
| Abstract Type: | Workshop |
| Session Time: | Parallel Sessions Cluster III |
Author/Organizer Information | |
| Primary Contact: |
Jianlan Wang Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX 79409 |
| Co-Author(s) and Co-Presenter(s) |
Beth Thacker, Texas Tech University Stephanie Hart, Texas Tech University Kyle Wipfli, Texas Tech University |
Parallel Session Information | |
| Activity Description: | Our workshop will contain two activities. In the first activity, we will give the participants two open-ended questions for the measurement of PCK-Q, which are about two scenarios in the instruction of classical mechanics and electromagnetism. On the virtual conference platform, we will separate the participants into groups and raise overarching questions for group discussion, such as 1) What can you conclude about the students' understanding of the target physics knowledge based on the provided information? 2) If you were the SA in the described situation, how would you respond to students? After returning from the group discussion, the participants will share their answers and comments. In the second activity, we will present answers from different SAs to the same two questions. The participants will join groups to discuss whether the SAs' answers are appropriate and what can be inferred about their skills of questioning. Afterwards, the participants will come back together to share their ideas. Then we will introduce the rubric based on the framework of PCK-Q and discuss how it can be used to analyze the SAs' written responses. At last, we will briefly discuss how we validated the written instrument, how it can be used in SA preparation, the challenges that we have encountered, and our plan for the next step. |
