Minds-On Audio-Guided Activities (MAGA): More Than Hearing and Better Than Seeing

Minds-On Audio-Guided Activities (MAGA) are podcast-delivered instruction designed to facilitate learning through all-body experiments. Instruction by MAGA has undergone preliminary testing in an introductory physics course at Central Michigan University. Topics are currently focused on mechanics and range from discovering the differences between distance and displacement to momentum to the Coriolis effect (see Table I). MAGA instruction emphasizes physical activity, encouraging learners to engage their bodies and minds simultaneously. It targets a combination of learning styles, stimulating group discussion by using technology familiar to the learners. MAGA should be used as either an introductory activity or as a supplemental experience for students, compared with creating an entire class around MAGA-style instruction. Average learning gain1 for the trial semesters shows certain MAGA-covered topics are more effective than others. Oral interviews designed to probe the effectiveness of MAGA as well as student attitudes indicate that MAGA may foster longer-term retention of concepts.