Gauging Student Response to Active Learning in the Lab

The difficulty in implementing curriculum change in the college classroom centers around two problems: confronting student expectations about what will be expected of them in a ``typical'' science class; and convincing faculty that the outcome is worth the additional effort needed to substantially change their time-honored teaching methods. In order to gauge the effectiveness and feasibility of modifying the introductory physics lab at Salem State College into an active learning environment, I piloted a 4 week digital electronics unit modeled after David Sokoloff's RealTime Physics. The goal was to gauge student response to the active learning style, and to demonstrate that the methods used in RealTime Physics could be implemented at Salem State with the equipment we have on hand. This presentation will summarize results of the pilot program and consider issues for the future of the lab program.