I'm convinced that my students are learning, but how can I convince anyone else? That's a tough question to which I don't have a good answer. If anyone who knows cognitive psychology would care to visit my class or engage my students in a conversation about the topic, I think he or she would be convinced that each of my students can use much of the vocabulary effectively, remembers some of the experiments and theories, knows how to describe an experiment adequately, and can discuss the relationship between experiments and theories in an intelligent manner.
I don't have exam scores or other measures to compare this new format with earlier ones, nor have I collected written student testimonials, taken videotapes, or had my peers write reports on their observations of my classes. In this age of required accountability, such a lack of verifiable measures is troublesome.
However, for me as a teacher it's enough to see and hear my students struggling to comprehend this material, and sometimes succeeding. They are excited to come to class, and participate with enthusiasm. I love it. If you want to see if it works the same way in your class, I invite you to try it out.
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