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Instructional explanations (hereafter explanations) are ubiquitous in all classroom formats in introductory physics. While there is a large body of work exploring the range of strategies that are employed in explanations and their effect on learning, not much is known about the relationship between student preferences for certain explanation strategies and the strategies that are known to be effective. We claim this is important to understand, as student preferences will influence perceptions of instructor efficacy and learning regardless of student learning outcomes. To explore this relationship, we asked first-year engineering students in a large enrollment introductory physics course to compare pairs of explanations generated by highly regarded instructors (including undergraduate learning assistants, graduate teaching assistants, and faculty) and describe the criteria they used to determine which explanation was better. We conclude with commentary about the need to balance student preference with explanation qualities known to positively impact student learning outcomes.

AAPT SM 22

Student preferences about instructional explanation strategies in introductory physics classes

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. This meeting is an excellent opportunity to share your expertise and learn from and network with leaders in the field.



technical paper

Covariational reasoning--considering how changes in one quantity affect another, related quantity--is a foundation of quantitative modeling in physics, and a learning objective of introductory physics instruction at the college level. Our prior work suggests that covariational reasoning in physics contexts differs from that in purely mathematical contexts, and is effortful even for well-prepared students. We also find that students' covariational reasoning does not improve substantially as a result of introductory physics instruction. To address these issues, we have begun work to identify subskills that underlie productive covariational reasoning in physics contexts. We present our preliminary work on the identification of "essential skills" related to covariational reasoning, and the development of a set of targeted online tasks to improve those skills.

Improving Introductory Physics Students' quantitative Reasoning through Targeted Practice

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Student preferences about instructional explanation strategies in introductory physics classes

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