United States

In 2019 we conducted a nationwide survey (n=3,769) of teaching practices in introductory undergraduate math, physics, and chemistry courses. Survey results identified departments in the top quarter of their discipline in terms of class time spent on non-lecture activities in their introductory courses. We interviewed 29 instructors from 18 of these departments (including 11 physics instructors representing 6 departments), sampling from a range of institution types, in order to identify factors contributing to their success. We found that departments with high use of active learning in intro courses have local champions of teaching reform who are very knowledgeable about pedagogy and are supported concretely by institution and departmental resources and culture. In this talk, we focus on the variety of institution and department level characteristics that were present in departments with high use of active learning in their intro courses and how they differentially supported teaching reform.

AAPT SM 21

Department and institution factors supporting active learning in intro courses

introductory courses

institution

department

active learning

The 2020 AAPT Virtual Summer Meeting brought together physics educators from around the globe to learn about the latest in physics theory, research methodology and education from leaders in their field. The program featured plenary speakers, sessions, workshops and many special activities.

For more information please visit the 2020 AAPT Virtual Summer Meeting page at: https://www.aapt.org/Conferences/SM2020/index.cfm.


AAPT SM 20

The 2020 AAPT Virtual Summer Meeting brought together physics educators from around the globe to learn about the latest in physics theory, research methodology and education from leaders in their field. 

technical paper

Join AAPT and Physics Educators worldwide in developing and strengthening your professional connections by attending the 2021 AAPT Virtual Summer Meeting. AAPT meetings are a great way to reflect on your teaching, recommit to best practices and re-energize your career with new research, products, and techniques.

Listen to internationally known plenary speakers, attend sessions, workshops, and special activities. Attending the virtual summer meeting is an excellent opportunity to share your expertise and learn from and network with leaders in the field.

Please log in with your AAPT account or register for the event if you haven't already.

If you are registered please note that you need to be logged in with your AAPT email / credentials in order to get access.

We present the initial validation of an assessment of calculus proficiency in the context of introductory physics (i.e., calculus transfer to physics), including how calculus proficiency and mathematics self-efficacy affect physics self-efficacy, and how these attributes intersect with student identity (e.g., gender). Although preliminary, these results nevertheless indicate how using separate instruments for assessing physics self-efficacy and calculus transfer in tandem can support data-guided curriculum modifications to improve calculus transfer to physics, improve physics self-efficacy, or both simultaneously. Due to the prevalence of physics courses in many STEM degree programs, such instructional changes have the potential to improve student performance and retention in many disciplines, including among groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM.

The interdependence of Physics Self-efficacy and Calculus Transfer Ability

In recent years, computation has emerged as a key instructional tool in physics alongside experiment and analytical problem-solving. In this evolving pedagogical practice, the ways in which instructors influence their students’ perceptions of computation is not well understood. Based in a communities of practice framework, this study aims to identify connections between students’ perceptions of computation in physics and their instructors’ perceptions. We interviewed physics majors and their instructors after they completed a set of computation-infused physics courses about their uses of computation in physics. The results will examine the degree to which these students’ perceptions of computation were influenced by their instructors. From these themes, we draw recommendations to enhance the integration of computation into undergraduate physics courses.

Instructors’ Impact on Students’ Perceptions of Computation

We report on the impact of an instructional intervention incorporating computational activities into a one semester general astronomy course. Computation is an effective active learning tool for developing understanding of concepts, connecting concepts with formulae, and associating science with prediction. Spreadsheet-based computational exercises were included in the course and completed collaboratively, along with other active learning activities. The results of inclusion of the computational exercises are presented, along with examples of the computational exercises. The reasons for introducing computational activities will be discussed, along with benefits supporting the inclusion and difficulties faced when implementing the change. Student learning pre to post was measured with the TOAST and LPCI, and qualitative data was collected in the form of student surveys to investigate student learning, attitudes toward computational exercises, and overall perceptions of the course. Student surveys revealed an overall positive attitude toward the addition of computational activities.

Incorporating computational activities in a general education astronomy course

Collaborative learning is increasingly common in physics education. At Western Washington University and Chico State, we are examining student management of confusion during small group activities, with a focus on the relationship between emotions and student engagement in tasks explicitly designed to trigger confusion. A primary context for our research is the Next Generation Physical Science and Everyday Thinking curriculum. We will use four types of data: written reflections, classroom videos, interviews, and experience sampling method (ESM) surveys. ESM is an in-the-moment survey that asks participants to report their affective experiences. We will use ESM to probe student frustration and engagement and to guide the collection of more in-depth data. We seek to describe ways in which students negotiate episodes of confusion to develop shared understanding. This talk will provide an overview of the ongoing project and will discuss how we have adapted the project in response to COVID.

The Social Negotiation of Confusion for Physics Learning

Disability is an important aspect of diversity but there are barriers to access and participation for disabled students inherent in the design of physics courses. To help counteract these barriers, universities are required to provide reasonable accommodations for disabled students. However, not all students use accommodations because of social factors (e.g., disability stigma) and others do not have access to professional diagnosis. With the decision to switch to emergency remote teaching (ERT, some educators believe that courses are inherently more accessible. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of students who identify with a disability/impairment who were taking a physics course in Fall 2020 to inform policies about providing access to students in future remote and face-to-face courses. In this talk we will present ethical considerations of conducting research during ERT as well as findings related to students use of accommodations and perceived effectiveness in physics courses.

Students’ Use of Disability Accommodations in Emergency Remote Teaching

The Alma project was developed at San Francisco State with the purpose of promoting inclusion and affirming students’ identities by encouraging self-reflection through journaling. After the Alma Project was successfully piloted in 2018 in Supplemental Instruction (SI) classes, it further expanded into all SI classes as well as introductory physics and astronomy labs. In Spring 2020, reflective journaling was used as an asset-based tool to center student voices in physics classrooms and to recognize students’ experiences transitioning to online learning during the COVID-19 global pandemic. In addition, a question was added to lab experience surveys to understand students' experiences with remote learning during COVID-19. Essays (N = 233) and surveys (N = 1031) were analyzed using an iterative thematic coding approach. Based on these surveys and essays, we identify themes of positive and negative impact of online teaching and learning as well as strategies students described for self-care.


Reflective Journaling in the Era of COVID

We investigate the evolution and associations between exam grades and Social Comparison Concern (SCC) among students in an introductory calculus-based physics course. SCC is a scale measuring the concern over one’s own ability or performance relative to others and has previously been found to be moderately correlated with grades. We hypothesize a mutual influence between grades and SCC. Using a structural equation model, we find evidence that exam scores partially mediate changes in SCC scores, and in turn, SCC scores partially mediate changes in exam scores, though the mediation effects are somewhat small, around 10% of the total effects between grades and SCC. We also find that while SCC scores are correlated with exam scores, they are only very weakly correlated with non-exam grade components. Overall, the results provide evidence for a dynamic feedback loop in which SCC may either negatively or positively interfere with student performance on exams.

Evolution of Grades and Social Comparison Concern within a Course

Through reflective journaling, the Alma project at San Francisco State University (an HSI) seeks to affirm STEM students’ identities, support connections with their life experiences, and recognize their cultural wealth. Our department offers a number of introductory physics and astronomy lecture and lab sequences including: a three-semester calculus-based physics sequence targeted toward engineering, computer science and physical science majors; a two-semester algebra-based physics sequence targeted toward students in the biosciences; a one-semester conceptual physics course; and one-semester conceptual astronomy course. In response to the prompt “why am I here,” designed to draw out their values and purpose, students journaled for 5 - 10 minutes and then spent time in class sharing their responses. Using an iterative thematic coding approach, we analyzed more than 400 essays and identified 11 cultural capitals expressed by students. Here we compare and contrast the frequencies of cultural capitals exhibited by respondents in different course types.

Cultural Capitals Expressed through Reflective Journaling in Introductory Physics Labs

Individual instructors’ perspectives of disability impact the experiences of disabled students. For example, if a person considers disability as mainly an individual deficit (i.e., aligned with individual or medical models), they will likely place the onus on the disabled student to fit into the existing education system. On the other hand, if a person considers disability as arising from the interaction of socially constructed spaces and practices (i.e., aligned with a social model), they may more likely consider systemic reform. As part of developing an observation protocol for inclusive teaching practices in postsecondary STEM, we interviewed experts from several relevant disciplines, including postsecondary physics and chemistry instructors, STEM discipline-based education researchers, and researchers in exceptional/special education. We will present convergences and divergences in the trends of how these experts discussed disability and inclusive teaching in postsecondary STEM and consider the implications of these perspectives for disabled students.


Experts’ Perspectives on Disability in Postsecondary STEM Across Disciplines

Over the last 4 years, our team has been designing and running online faculty learning communities (FOLCs) to support faculty in adopting the Next Generation Physical Sciences and Everyday Thinking (NGPET) curriculum to their contexts. Due to the highly interactive nature of the NGPET curriculum, faculty often discuss issues with student collaboration and pacing. In these conversations, faculty, at times, bring disenfranchising narratives about students to the table when making sense of these problems of practice. We investigate when disenfranchising narratives are disrupted in these conversations in an effort to understand how this disruption occurs. Additionally, we will investigate when these discursive challenges succeed in converging on more liberatory narratives about students. In this talk, we will showcase examples of disenfranchising narratives about students, how these narratives are disrupted discursively, and how the conversations converged. 


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The interdependence of Physics Self-efficacy and Calculus Transfer Ability

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