written by Andrew S. Hirsch, Mark P. Haugan, Rebecca S. Lindell, and Andrew Gavrin

We have examined the relationship between exam performance and participation in the lecture, recitation, laboratory and online homework components of large enrollment introductory mechanics courses populated mainly by first-year engineering students, one very large (1600 students) on a residential campus and one smaller (150 students) on a commuter campus. In both, we find a strong correlation between exam performance and recitation attendance tracked by clicker questions that begin and end each recitation session. This is encouraging since the recitations are designed to engage students in active learning by solving multipart problems that highlight essential concepts. We also find correlations between exam performance and student engagement in the lecture, laboratory and online homework components of these courses. We argue that the nature of the latter correlation offers an opportunity for action to improve course DFW rates since online homework data flows in steadily from the very beginning of each semester.

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Last Modified November 30, 2016

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