[LON-CAPA-cvs] cvs: modules /gerd/discussions/paper discussions.tex

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www		Wed Jan  4 22:19:19 2006 EDT

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Index: modules/gerd/discussions/paper/discussions.tex
diff -u modules/gerd/discussions/paper/discussions.tex:1.32 modules/gerd/discussions/paper/discussions.tex:1.33
--- modules/gerd/discussions/paper/discussions.tex:1.32	Wed Jan  4 15:07:12 2006
+++ modules/gerd/discussions/paper/discussions.tex	Wed Jan  4 22:19:16 2006
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@
 \end{tabular}
 \end{ruledtabular}
 \end{table}
-All 3394 discussion contributions were classified by the author over the course of two months. Eight months later, one chapter of the calculus-based course was independently recoded, with an agreement of NN percent.
+All 3394 discussion contributions were classified by the author over the course of two months. 
 
 Different classes were combined into the following 
 ``superclasses'':
@@ -489,7 +489,7 @@
 At the same time, the results confirm that conceptual and physics-related discussions are positively correlated with success in the course, while solution-oriented discussion contributions are strongly negatively correlated. While cause and effect may be arguable, in the following 
 section~\ref{sec:question}, particular attention needs to be paid to problem properties that elicit either the desirable or undesirable discussion behavioral patterns.
 
-Due to the smaller sample size, a correlation analysis by the individual "question" and "answer" classes yielded no statistically significant results. 
+Due to the smaller sample size, a correlation analysis by the individual ``question" and ``answer" classes yielded no statistically significant results. 
 \section{Results of Analysis by Problem\label{sec:question}}
 \subsection{Influence of Problem Difficulty}
 Using the full data set of three courses, each discussion contribution associated with a problem was classified according to 
@@ -597,7 +597,7 @@
 decreased. This might partly be due to the different subject matter (electricity and magnetism versus mechanics), but also due to the lack of reward for conceptual considerations in solving standard
 homework problems~\cite{lin}.
 
-Again, due to the smaller sample size, a correlation analysis by the individual "question" and "answer" classes yielded no statistically significant results.
+Again, due to the smaller sample size, a correlation analysis by the individual ``question" and ``answer" classes yielded no statistically significant results.
 
 \subsection{Qualitative Observations}
 Reading the online discussions associated with the homework provides valuable insights to the instructor, which are hard to quantify.
@@ -628,13 +628,17 @@
 
 Many of these shortcomings may be correctable through early detection, and closely following the online student discussions prior to lecture, particularly around the assigned reading problems, may be a valid extension of the Just-in-Time Teaching~\cite{jitt} technique.
 \subsection{Comparison to other research approaches}
-To gain insight into student problem solving behavior, there are a number of appropriate research techniques. The presented technique of analyzing threaded online discussions has parallels to the following methods:
-\begin{description}
-\item[Interview techniques]
-\item[Observations of ``Thinking out loud'']
-\item[Analysis of group discussion recordings]
-\end{description}
-
+The presented method to gain insight into student problem solving behavior is comparable to the more traditional ``thinking out loud'' or group discussion observations. 
+However, in the former method, the subjects are keely aware of the observer, which may influence their behavior: in most any course, appropriate problem solving
+techniques would have been discussed, and while in reality, students might find them ``ineffective" or ``slow"~\cite{lin}, they might try hard to exhibit them in the research setting. The latter method, observation of student discussions, is
+likely closer to the behavior students would exhibit when not observed. However, groups are smaller and in most studies interact around problems less complex than the average homework problem.
+
+An advantage for the researcher is the ready availability of the online discussions --- there is no need for transcription, since the discussions are already in textual form.
+The large number of discussion contributions allows for statistically significant results.
+
+In the current study, a general classification scheme was deployed across physics topics and concepts. However, since the discussions are associated with certain problems, they can be used to study student
+understanding of certain topics.  
+  
 \section{Conclusions}
 Online student discussions are a rich source of insight into student problem solving behavior. It was verified that indeed conceptual and physics-related discussion contributions are characteristics of students who are successful in the course, while the prominance of solution-oriented
 discussion contributions is strongly negatively correlated with success in the course.
@@ -649,7 +653,7 @@
 \end{description}
 Analyzing online discussions around problems has been found to provide valuable insights into student problem-solving strategies.
 \section{Outlook}
-In this current study, little is known about the student except their gender and final course grade, and the analysis of discussion behavior by student characteristics thus yielded less results than the study by problem characteristics.
+In this current study, little is known about the students except their gender and final course grade, and the analysis of discussion behavior by student characteristics thus yielded less results than the study by problem characteristics.
 Research~\cite{aleven} suggests that learning processes are strongly influenced by epistemological beliefs, and it will be interesting to analyze the correlation between attitudes and beliefs (as measured for example by the MPEX~\cite{mpex}) regarding physics and online discussion behavior.
 Also, the final grade in the course incorporates a lot of factors, and interactions with for example the FCI~\cite{fci} gains might result in better correlations to the students' conceptual understanding of physics.
 \begin{acknowledgments}