Rob Mudde -Distinguished Professor in Science Education Delft
Rob Mudde teaches Transport Phenomena, a course offered at several engineering studies at TU Delft. In the early 90's, this course had a very low passing rate (40%). Several measures were taken: a bonus system was introduced, the course was moved to a studio class room and a new book on the subject was published. This had a positive effect on the passing rate, but students still struggled with the course and only gained a shallow understanding of the study material in the long run. Additionally, teachers spent increasingly more time preparing and teaching the course.
Inspired by Eric Mazur en Arno Smets, Mudde and his colleagues decided to introduce a MOOC on Transport Phenomena, including theory video's, DIY's, exercises and glass plate example-exercises.
As a result, more than 80 percent of the students watched the theory video's and more than 70 percent did the exercises. Moreover, nearly everyone was enthusiastic about this new way of teaching. Unfortunately, the passing rate dropped to 42 percent, the lowest it's been in more than a decade.
Why? Mudde believes the video's were too good and too condensed. This led to students thinking they understood the concepts, when they only understood the storyline of the video. Mudde also points out that distraction from phones and social media probably had a negative effect on the results. "Students need to concentrate to really understand the concept."
The low passing rate of his course pointed Mudde to some questions and considerations:
- Did I make it too easy and condensed?
- Did we lose pace of the blackboard?
- What's the best way to focus on concepts?
- Should students 'go back' to reading and studying books?
His advice to teachers: "Innovate your teaching. It will revitalize you, it's fun and it has the potential to lift up your education. However, stay aware of the challenges these new ways of teaching entail."
