Description:
In a 1998 meta-analysis I showed that “interactive engagement” (IE) courses could yield average normalized pre-to-posttest gains <g> in conceptual understanding of Newtonian mechanics that were about two standard deviations greater than traditional (T) courses. Then in 2002 I wrote a paper based on my meta-analysis entitled “Lessons From the Physics Education Reform Effort.” There, among other things, I offered six lessons on “interactive engagement” that I had hoped might stimulate more effective high school and university education. Today five years latter, it may be worthwhile to review and update those lessons with an eye to the present status of education reform in physics and other disciplines.