A statistical study of the impact of active learning on students’ learning attitudes toward physics based on the class-phys survey

Abstract

In this study, the well-known Colorado Leaning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) instrument was used to assess the effectiveness of the Active Learning teaching method. The survey results show Active Learning manifestly improved students’ learning attitudes toward physics. ANOVA tests were further conducted to study the statistical significance of those differences. The tests show that in the class taught using Active Learning method, the differences before and after taking the course are statistically significant at a 0.05 level of significance. However, the differences between the traditional and Active Learning teaching methods are not always as statistically significant as expected at a 0.05 level of significance. The high diversity in students’ academic backgrounds at LaGuardia Community College is considered to be the main reason explaining this outcome because ANOVA tests compare the variances within and among the groups. The high diversity within the groups may have dwarfed the variance among the groups.