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Physics courses often have high failure rates that may disproportionately harm students who are marginalized by racism, sexism, and classism. We examined the associations between Learning Assistant (LA) supported courses and equity in non-passing grades (DFW) in introductory physics courses. The data used in the study came from 2312 students in 41 sections of introductory physics courses at a regional Hispanic serving institution. We developed hierarchical generalized linear models of student DFW rates that accounted for gender, race, first-generation status, and LA-supported instruction. We used a quantitative critical race theory (QuantCrit) perspective focused on the role of hegemonic power structures in perpetuating inequity. Our QuantCrit perspective informed our research questions, methods, and interpretations of findings. The models associated LAs with overall decreases in DFW rates and larger decreases for students of color than their white peers. While inequities in DFW rates were lower in LA-supported courses, they were still present.

PERC SM 20

Associations Between Learning Assistants, passing introductory physics, and equity: a QuantCrit Investigation

learning assistant

equity

Join us in exploring emergent themes in PER as a scholarly endeavor and as a research community!  Since its inception, PER has served as a confluence of discipline, theory, research methodology, practice, and application.  How have these facets and the interplays among them been fruitful for physics education globally, regionally, locally, or otherwise?  And, how have our successes and interactions influenced the very nature of PER itself?
Following the lead of AAPT for the summer meeting, PERC 20/20 was virtual. Enjoy browsing the content.

Since its inception, PER has served as a confluence of discipline, theory, research methodology, practice, and application.  How have these facets and the interplays among them been fruitful for physics education globally, regionally, locally, or otherwise?  And, how have our successes and interactions influenced the very nature of PER itself?

technical paper

Undergraduate physics laboratory course structures have been identified in policy reports for novel design innovations to meet the needs of a diverse and growing student population. To this end, an at-home laboratory option was implemented at a large, public university for introductory physics students. A quasi-experimental, observational quantitative study was undertaken to understand students epistemological views, socialization, and help seeking behaviors in in-person and at-home laboratory environments. Students in introductory physics (N=998) were surveyed to elicit their epistemological beliefs about physics laboratory work and their views on social engagement and academic help-seeking. Students showed no statistically significant differences in attitudes related to epistemological beliefs and help-seeking behaviors when compared to students in traditional laboratory courses. In-person students valued socialization higher than at-home students. This study provides insights into the feasibility of at-home, hands-on laboratory work to meet students needs, and institutional recommendations for student advisement.

Epistemological, socialization, and help seeking views of students taking in-person and online undergraduate physics laboratories

Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) are key partners in the education of undergrads. Given the potentially large impact GTAs can have on undergraduate student learning, it is important to provide them with appropriate preparation for teaching. But GTAs are students themselves, and not all of them desire an academic career. Therefore, it is crucial that GTA preparation not be a burden but rather be fully integrated into their professional development. In this talk, we describe a GTA preparation course for first-year PhD students. Through a yearly cycle of implementation and revision, the course has evolved into a robust and comprehensive professional development program that is well-received by physics graduate students. We assessed the effectiveness of the course with a combination of surveys, pre/post tests, and student evaluations. We found that GTAs feel better prepared for teaching and adopt more learner-centered teaching approaches after participating in the program.

Transforming the Preparation of Physics GTAs

Instructors know that many college students tend to delay working on homework assignments until close to the due date. Such "cramming" behavior may lead to insufficient engagement with learning materials. In this study, we investigate the effectiveness of reducing "cramming" by offering small amounts of extra credit for completing parts of the assignments before the due date. Student learning behavior is characterized by first identifying clusters of clickstream records that represent a continuous study session, then analyzing the duration and starting time of each study session. We observed that after offering extra credit for early completion, the average duration of study sessions remains unchanged, but more study sessions took place earlier than the assignment due date, shortly before the extra credit due dates. We will discuss how extra credit impacts different student populations, as well as the quality of students learning behavior. As institutions across the nation shift abruptly to online learning at the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic, students are facing significant challenges to keep up with regular course schedules when studying from home, and due dates for online assignments must be more flexible as to accommodate for those challenges. This study suggests that the use of extra credit can be an effective method to incentivize completion of assignments among some students.

The impact of extra credit incentives on students’ work habits when completing online homework assignments

Students perceptions of their confidence in their ability to complete a task, known as self-efficacy, affects student effort and persistence. Self-efficacy increases with improvements in learning methods and is a good predictor for success. Classroom dynamics also impact students self-efficacy by allowing for different sources of self-efficacy. Previous research indicates that self-efficacy is context-specific and that male and female students benefit from different sources of self-efficacy. In this study, we analyzed interviews from 12 students enrolled in a flipped integral calculus course to understand their perceptions of self-efficacy and how these perceptions impact their learning experiences. Findings reveal that experiences in previous math courses, particularly high school, impacted students perceptions of their self-efficacy in math both positively and negatively, active learning increased students confidence in their ability to do math from their perspective, and verbal persuasion (implicit encouragement) increased students confidence and was seen as a helpful way to learn.

Qualitative analysis of students' perceptions of their self-efficacy in a flipped integral calculus course (PERC)

Diagrams in physics communicate ideas and can aid in problem solving. Many researchers have explored student use of professional representations in physics, however characterizing spontaneously-generated diagrams from student problem solving has proven difficult. Using data from problem-solving interviews with undergraduate and graduate physics majors, we compare unprompted and prompted student-generated diagrams across six physical contexts. Informed by the distributed cognition and resources frameworks, we explore how extensively students spontaneously externalize physical details during problem solving as well as which diagramming resources students employ in different settings. We found that, overall, students correctly answered questions if they could generate accurate diagrams in a particular physical context, regardless of the extent to which they did so (without prompting) during problem solving. This finding, and our subsequent in-depth qualitative analysis across the six physical contexts, can help instructors create alignment between their learning goals, instruction, and assessment regarding diagrams in physics.

Comparing Unprompted and Prompted Student-generated Diagrams

New curricular outcomes are being developed and adopted towards emphasizing personal explanations from cultural experiences and influences intended to complement prevailing curriculum elements of physics phenomena and concepts. Efforts to educate for social justice, inclusion, and cultural awareness across disciplines is a departure from the siloed history of content only curricular matter. However, educating for global citizenship situates teachers in unchartered territory to include new perspectives and knowledge. This study, conducted with secondary level physics teachers (n=32), explored contributing factors related to their perceived efficacy of teaching in these new directions. Findings indicate that a) years of teaching, b) pedagogical strategies and foci, c) epistemological frames, and d) perceived degree of autonomy in conducting classes without administrative interference contribute to their perceptions. With the call for increased diversity in physics, this talk articulates implications for teaching physics in this modern educational landscape.

Painted yellow lines: Exploring parameters of physics teacher self-efficacy in a new teaching landscape

Formative feedback's usefulness and power have been thoroughly demonstrated, though the way it is administered varies greatly by context. We illustrate how undergraduate Learning Assistants (LAs) interact with a formative feedback mechanism employed in a flipped, introductory physics course at Michigan State University. Feedback is given in this class via weekly, individualized, written evaluations from LAs to their students, with the goal of improving scientific practices. Our interpretivist case study on the feedback mechanism demonstrates how and why LAs carry out feedback in the ways they do. We find that the LAs take on central roles in interpreting and implementing the feedback mechanism. The LAs' unique perspectives on feedback suggest that they should have a seat at the table in deciding how a feedback mechanism like this one should be implemented.

Formative Feedback Mechanism Shaped by Learning Assistants

We evaluate the impact of rehearsing teaching skills in a classroom simulator on GTAs instructional practices in combined tutorial and laboratory sections of an algebra-based introductory physics sequence over three semesters. GTAs participated in different numbers of simulator rehearsal sessions across the three semesters: no simulator training, one session, and four sessions. We conducted 109 classroom observations for 23 GTAs, using a modified version of Laboratory Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (LOPUS). To classify and characterize GTAs instructional practices, we conducted a hierarchical cluster analysis and found three instructional styles: the group-work facilitators, the whole-class facilitators, and the waiters. These instructional styles vary in multiple GTA codes, including amount of wait time and posing questions in small groups and whole class. We discuss the characteristics of the instructional styles, distributions of GTAs use of the styles in each semester, and the correlation between student learning outcomes and GTA instructional styles.

Evaluating the impact of GTA training in a mixed-reality classroom simulator (PERC)

A considerable amount of physics education research has been dedicated to conceptual understanding, misconceptions and problem-solving. However, as recently pointed by Zu, Munsell, and Rebello (2019), there is only a limited amount of research on more basic cognitive processes, such as the use of retrieval practice for improved memory. To address this literature gap, we provided a broad array of learning opportunities to students in an introductory mechanics course, with the intent to support both basic and complex learning processes. The learning strategies were: i) retrieval practice for memory strength of basic physics facts, ii) elaborative encoding for building initial associative links, iii) self-explanation for building abstract declarative rules for problem-solving, and iv) peer instruction for conceptual understanding. We present here an overview of the results of this investigation, some of which have already been accepted for publication, for example that weaker students seem to benefit more from retrieval practice.

Providing learning opportunities based on cognitive psychology and PER: Student adoption, attitudes, and results in introductory mechanics

Sudden closure of campus facilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the academic spring term of 2020 required the delivery of a multi-section, calculus-based introductory physics course to be administered in a remote, online manner. The transition for the courses required an adjustment of all formative and summative assessments, delivery of course lectures, communication avenues, office hour availability, and battles with technology. This poster explores the attitudes, perceptions, conceptual understanding, and overall impressions obtained from student responses to an attitudes survey, a force concept inventory, as well as exam and quiz self-reflection wrappers. Student data is comprised of pre- and post-transition results and comments. An examination of the impact on student learning from both a qualitative and quantitative view reveals relevant practices (both effective and ineffective) for dealing with unforeseen disruptions in a multi-section, introductory physics course.

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Associations Between Learning Assistants, passing introductory physics, and equity: a QuantCrit Investigation

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Epistemological, socialization, and help seeking views of students taking in-person and online undergraduate physics laboratories

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A critical examination of DFW rates in LA supported physics courses

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