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We identify three conceptual resources that introductory physics students in our sample commonly use when reasoning microscopically about thermal physics topics: 1) differences will eventually even out, 2) macroscopic changes connect to microscopic collisions, and 3) when something is hotter (colder), its molecules are moving faster (slower). We report the prevalence of these resources, as well as the prevalence of microscopic thinking, in 624 written responses to three different heat and temperature questions administered to introductory physics students at four different colleges and universities. This work complements past research identifying common student difficulties in using microscopic models for heat and temperature, and it adds to the small but growing body of literature that focuses on student resources for heat and temperature, identifying ideas in student thinking that are sensible and continuous with formal physics. By reporting common student resources, we aim to assist instructors in noticing, appreciating, and building on student ideas during introductory thermal physics instruction.

PERC SM 22

Identifying student resources for reasoning microscopically about heat and temperature

PERC 2022 is focused on "queering physics education" through an intersectional lens. By "queering," we are centering queer theory which breaks down social constructions and hierarchies to unpack normalized assumptions. In the context of physics education, we want to apply the theory to unpack who has power in physics to control the production of future physicists, how physics policies and practices are sometimes built on ideas of punishment and power, and how PER embeds binaries in both its content and sociological research. Further, we want to encourage a dialogue that is both a critique and an imagining of a queer future for PER.

Explicit attention will be given to constructions of race, (dis)ability, gender, sexuality and how they interact and impact lived experiences.

We have had such a fun time organizing this year’s PERC. You might be aware that we were committed to transparency and documenting our processes and decision making which we outlined here. This year has also been challenging to be a queer or otherwise marginalized person in the US. And we continue to seek and provide support for those individuals.

As such, we recommend that folks visiting Grand Rapids who have the means consider giving to some local organizations who are working to advocate for those impacted by historic and ongoing marginalization and violence.


PERC 2022 focused on "queering physics education" through an intersectional lens. By "queering," we centered queer theory which breaks down social constructions and hierarchies to unpack normalized assumptions. In the context of physics education, we apply the theory to unpack who has power in physics to control the production of future physicists, how physics policies and practices are sometimes built on ideas of punishment and power, and how PER embeds binaries in both its content and sociological research. Further, we wanted to encourage a dialogue that is both a critique and an imagining of a queer future for PER. Explicit attention was given to constructions of race, (dis)ability, gender, sexuality and how they interact and impact lived experiences.

poster

Research-Practice Partnership (RPP) is recognized as a valuable tool for generating actionable research and improving educational practices by involving practitioners and researchers in both research and the implementation of research findings. However, creating and maintaining such partnerships is challenging; it requires time and financial resources, and a team with diverse expertise and high commitment. Despite their wide recognition in educational fields, RPPs are under-studied in physics education research and literature in informal physics programs is sparse. In this paper, we present a case study of RPP between a physics education researcher and an informal physics practitioner. We describe the development and maintenance of this partnership and use qualitative and ethnographic methods to investigate practitioner-driven concerns about self-evaluation practices and attendance in the program under study, an informal conference for physics teachers. We found evidence that surveys and ethnographic interviews provided complementary data: surveys allowed the practitioner to learn about their audience's motivations, needs, and perception of the program's value. Ethnographic interviews were particularly useful as a means to elicit actionable ideas for how conference organizers might better support teacher attendance. In addition, participating in the RPP provided the practitioner with skills that they can carry forward into their future assessment work and that this partnership yielded actionable insights beneficial to both practitioners and audience. Our research team was able to overcome inherent challenges of RPP by exploring each side's language and cultural norms, and maintained a long-term partnership despite limitations. Our experience suggests that RPPs in informal physics spaces face many of the same challenges as those conducted in formal education settings, and that best practices documented for formal education RPPs will also be of benefit to them.

You Pick My Brain, I’ll Pick Yours: Research-Practice Partnership in an Informal Physics Space

Changing basis is a common task when solving quantum mechanical problems.  As part of a research project investigating student understanding of basis and change of basis in quantum mechanics, we developed a tutorial to support students in learning about basis in the context of spin-1/2 systems.  We have since created an interactive online version of the basis tutorial as part of a freely available suite of online quantum tutorials called ACE Physics (https://acephysics.net).  The ACE Physics tutorials include dynamic guidance elements and, unlike other tutorials, are intended for use outside the classroom without instructor facilitation.  After extensive study in an instructor-supported environment, we assigned the ACE Physics basis tutorial as homework in two semesters of upper-division quantum mechanics, and we report on the effectiveness of the activity based on pre-/post-testing and comparison of student exam performance with a similar semester that did not include the activity.  We find that the tutorial produces sufficient learning gains to justify continued assignment as a homework problem in our classes.

Effectiveness of an online homework tutorial about changing basis in quantum mechanics

In this paper, we analyze video recordings of students working on tutorials in Zoom breakout rooms in an upper-division quantum mechanics course. We investigate group behaviors in this virtual environment, including the effects of instructor presence.
To this end, we modify the Color Frames coding scheme introduced by Scherr to suit the virtual nature of the interactions. By broadening the frames and allowing for multiple overlapping frames, we are able to describe some group behaviors not otherwise captured.  For example, in some instances, students take on an authoritative role in the group, and in other instances, groups engage in overtly casual behavior while nonetheless having on-topic discussions.  We observe significant variation in how much time each group spends in each frame, but find that all groups spend some time in all frames.  Instructors can be present without dominating or eliminating discussion between students, and their presence need not significantly impact the time students spent in an ``informal/friendly'' frame. However, instructor presence significantly reduces time spent working individually.  
Our findings will support additional research into the dynamics of student discussions during tutorials and aid ongoing development of online tutorials that can, e.g., be assigned for use outside of class.

Modified color frames for analyzing group interactions during an online quantum tutorial

This research focuses on the experiences of physics and astronomy graduate women of color. We conducted semi-structured, empathetic interviews to understand their experiences in their undergraduate and graduate programs and how they navigate the physics departments at predominantly white institutions (PWI). The interviews serve as counter stories, which is a central tenet of critical race theory. We use this framework to examine how racial identities play a role in the obstacles faced by these women, including interactions with peers and faculty members. In this paper, we focus on the experiences of a Black woman in physics, Linda, to understand how her marginalized identities affected her experiences in physics during her undergraduate and graduate programs.

Investigating experiences of graduate women of color in physics & astronomy

Scientists are encouraged to engage in some form of ethical training. A common criticism of these training modules is that they are not effective. We formed a fellowship of fifteen scientists to investigate different modes of engagement with value-laden topics to see how scientists would engage in more ethically-driven discussions. These scientists met for a series of group sessions over the course of an academic year. We examined these discussions through the lens of epistemic frames, and characterize these frames through a number of characteristics including behaviors, verbal cues, and epistemic forms. We use these characteristics to identify the frames present in the fellowship, and what factors influenced changes in frames. Categorizing discussions with epistemic frames offers an opportunity for identifying what is driving more ethically-minded discussions, and this knowledge could then be used to better design ethical training modules.

Identifying Epistemic Games in Value-Laden Discussions

Covariational reasoning--considering how changes in one quantity affect another, related quantity--is a foundation of quantitative modeling in physics. Understanding quantitative models is a learning objective of introductory physics instruction at the college level. Prior work suggests that covariational reasoning in physics contexts differs from the reasoning about functions and graphs in purely mathematical contexts that students develop in math courses; this reasoning is effortful in physics even for mathematically well-prepared students. In order to improve physics students' covariational reasoning, we must first characterize covariational reasoning with physics quantities. To this end, we present a framework of covariational reasoning in physics contexts, to describe the ways that covariational reasoning is used in physics modeling. The framework can be used as a lens through which to analyze student reasoning, and can help inform instructional interventions. We describe an application of this framework in the development of a set of computer-based training assignments.

Characterizing covariational reasoning in physics modeling

Physics identity is an essential topic in Physics Education Research, PER. Historically this research has examined how physics identities form for primarily white, male undergraduate students in calculus-based physics classes at Tier I institutions. More recent research has begun to consider the experiences of marginalized populations, such as students of color, women, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Nepantla is a theoretical framework that explicitly explores how individuals navigate opposing identities and realities. Physics students from marginalized groups are navigating multiple, often conflicting identities. Therefore, this paper asks how applying the theoretical framework of Nepantla to PER contributes to the physics identity conversation by providing insight into how individuals in marginalized populations are able to navigate their multiple identities. This paper looks at how Nepantla has been used as a theoretical framework in other areas of STEM-Ed, then applies Nepantla to existing research within PER. The results suggest that the theoretical framework of Nepantla contributes to understanding how Nepantler@s both navigate the system and change the system.

Nepantla in Physics Education Research

Teachers use a variety of resources when reasoning quantitatively in science contexts. We identify patterns related to the resources high school STEM teachers use, both productive and unproductive, when reasoning quantitatively on an inventory designed to probe Physics Quantitative Literacy (PQL). Based on these patterns, we identify topics for professional development that can provide teachers an opportunity to refine their PQL so that they can support their students to develop productive quantitative reasoning resources.

Quantitative Literacy of High School STEM Teachers: Resources and Opportunities

Hispanic serving institutions (HSIs) are an increasingly large set of higher education institutions in the United States. From 2010-2020 the number of HSIs increased from 311 to 569. Within the physics education research (PER) community, research perspectives from HSIs have provided critical insights into how to support racially and ethnically diverse students. Within the last decade, research from HSIs made up approximately 20% of publications from US higher education institutions in common PER journals. These publications do not always fully name and leverage their HSI context, though the work done at HSIs still more consistently centers students' identities as compared to research from non-HSIs. As our research community looks forward, elevating and appropriately valuing research at HSIs will be critical to build a more robust understanding of physics education in multiple institutional contexts.

Leveraging Hispanic-Serving Institutions within physics education research

Typically, physics education research addresses alternatives to transmission-based models of instruction. In light of critical pedagogy, I argue that the more relevant model to address is the banking model of education as identified by Paulo Freire, which subjects students to the colonialist consciousness and obedience to authority. In doing so, we can better identify root structural issues that plague the physics community. I argue that the Western conception of objectivity in science is motivated by the colonialist consciousness. The rigidity of what is considered science limits the identity of scientists to those of European descent, erasing the historical scientific knowledge of other peoples, such as the Indigenous peoples. I demonstrate a framework in which physics education is informed by critical pedagogy, as shaped by bell hooks and Sandy Grande, principled upon respect, reciprocity, and the human experience.

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Identifying student resources for reasoning microscopically about heat and temperature

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You Pick My Brain, I’ll Pick Yours: Research-Practice Partnership in an Informal Physics Space

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