Note that consent to use the data will be given (or not) as part of the survey. The copy of the consent form here and on UMLearn is for your records only.
Recruitment Script
This exam is a conceptual physics test designed to determine which of the common misconceptions in physics you may have as you start this course. It was developed over many years by Physics Education Researchers in order to provide a method of testing how traditional teaching methods can be improved. We will ask you to take another test at the end of the semester to see whether the course has successfully improved your understanding of these physical concepts.
The results of this test will help the Department of Physics and Astronomy to decide if we should offer more special sections of this or other courses, as well as to make possible improvements to the way we teach physics. There is no more risk associated with the results of this test being made public than for any of the other exams we give in the course. By publishing the aggregate data in a journal, we can share the results with other departments at other universities who are considering online course offerings. None of your identifying information will be published at any time; only class average improvements comparing the pre- and post- tests will be shared.
The test is actually testing your instructors and the course, not you! We ask that you answer the questions honestly whether or not you choose to allow us to publish your data by signing the consent form on the front of the test. Your final grade includes 1% that depends on your completion of BOTH the pre- and post-tests, regardless of whether you agree to share the data outside of the department by checking the appropriate box in the quiz question. To be clear – to get the 1% you must complete both the pre- and post- tests, but you do NOT need to give consent to share your anonymized results outside of the department in order to get the credit.
Only the PI, Dr. Juliette Mammei, will have access to identifiable data until after the end of the appeal period. She will strip all identifiable data from the data sets before sharing the data with any of the other instructors.
Phys1020 General Physics I
A survey of classical mechanics and thermodynamics