ADAPTING ACTIVE LEARNING APPROACHES IN PHYSICS EDUCATION TO LOCAL ASIAN ENVIRONMENTS

There is now considerable evidence [1] to suggest that “active learning” (AL) approaches are far superior to traditional passive learning modes for improving students’ conceptual understanding. Over the last 2 years (after the NSF Chautauqua Workshop [2,3] held in Australia) the Asian Physics Education Network (ASPEN) [4] has been actively introducing these new student-centred learning approaches via national physics education workshops (which to date have been held in Laos, Vietnam, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines). Supported by UNESCO, these workshops are designed to expose Asian academics to the rationale behind AL and its implementation in the Asian context. The workshops also train Asian personnel to help organise and run future workshops.

Often AL workshops use sensors interfaced to computers so students can make quantitative measurements (from laboratory experiments or lecture demos) and develop their own understanding about the laws of physics. The ASPEN workshops have tried to adapt these AL techniques to local Asian cultures and the resource limitations that often exist in many developing countries [5]. This involves not only computer-interfaced equipment, but also inexpensive or traditional non-computer-based equipment, computer simulations, and demonstration video clips. The ASPEN workshops have been very successful and the feedback extremely positive. With the continuing support of UNESCO, ASPEN plans to expand its AL workshop actvities, especially in developing Asian countries.