In this study we investigated how two different approaches to drawing free body diagrams influence the development of students' understanding of Newton's laws including their ability to identify real forces. For this purpose we developed a 12- item two-tier multiple choice survey and conducted a quasi-experiment. This experiment included two groups of first-year physics students from Rijeka (RG) and Split (SG) University. Students from both groups solved mechanics problems for a period of two class hours. The only difference was that RG students used the superposition of forces approach to solving mechanics problems and in SG the decomposition of forces approach has been used. The ANCOVA showed a statistically significant difference in favour of RG, whereby the effect sizes were moderate to large, and largest differences have been observed in the ability of identifying real forces. Students from the control group (SG) more often exhibited the misconception that forces and their components act on a body independently and simultaneously. Our results support the idea that the practice of resolving forces into components may not be the most effective way to develop understanding of Newton's laws and the concept of force.

This study was based on the hypothesis that students’ epistemological beliefs could become more expertlike with a combination of appropriate instructional activities: (i) preclass reading with metacognitive reflection, and (ii) in-class active learning that produces cognitive dissonance. This hypothesis was tested through a five-year study involving close to 1000 students at two institutions, in four physics courses. Using an experimental design, data from student interviews, writing product assessments, and the Discipline-Focused Epistemological Beliefs Questionnaire (DFEBQ) we demonstrate that the beliefs of novice science learners became more expertlike on 2 of the 4 DFEBQ factors. We conclude that a combination of an activity that gets students to examine textual material metacognitively (Reflective Writing) with one or more types of in-class active learning interventions can promote positive change in students’ epistemological beliefs.

Interactive lecture tutorials can help sophomore physics students understand of the difference between superposition states and mixed states that is needed for more advanced quantum mechanics classes.

In this paper we present a series of item response models of data collected using the Force Concept Inventory. The Force Concept Inventory (FCI) was designed to poll the Newtonian conception of force viewed as a multidimensional concept, that is, as a complex of distinguishable conceptual dimensions. Several previous studies have developed single-trait item response models of FCI data; however, we feel that multidimensional models are also appropriate given the explicitly multidimensional design of the inventory. The models employed in the research reported here vary in both the number of fitting parameters and the number of underlying latent traits assumed. We calculate several model information statistics to ensure adequate model fit and to determine which of the models provides the optimal balance of information and parsimony. Our analysis indicates that all item response models tested, from the single-trait Rasch model through to a model with ten latent traits, satisfy the standard requirements of fit. However, analysis of model information criteria indicates that the five-trait model is optimal. We note that an earlier factor analysis of the same FCI data also led to a five-factor model. Furthermore the factors in our previous study and the traits identified in the current work match each other well. The optimal five-trait model assigns proficiency scores to all respondents for each of the five traits. We construct a correlation matrix between the proficiencies in each of these traits. This correlation matrix shows strong correlations between some proficiencies, and strong anticorrelations between others. We present an interpretation of this correlation matrix.

Broad instructional methods like interactive engagement have been shown to be effective, but such general characterization provides little guidance on the details of how to structure the instructional materials. In this study, we seek instructional specificity by comparing two ways of using an analogy to learn a target physical principle: (i) applying the analogy to the target physical domain on a Case-by-Case basis and (ii) using the analogy to create a General Rule in the target physical domain. In the discussion sections of a large, introductory physics course (N = 231), students who sought a General Rule were better able to discover and apply a correct physics principle than students who analyzed the examples Case-by-Case. The difference persisted at a reduced level after subsequent direct instruction. We argue that students who performed Case-by-Case analyses are more likely to focus on idiosyncratic problem-specific features rather than the deep structural features. This study provides an example of investigating how the specific structure of instructional materials can be consequential for what is learned.

We report on seven years of attitudinal data using the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey from University Modeling Instruction (UMI) sections of introductory physics at Florida International University. This work expands upon previous studies that reported consistently positive attitude shifts in UMI courses; here, we disaggregate the data by gender and ethnicity to look for any disparities in the pattern of favorable shifts. We find that women and students from statistically underrepresented ethnic groups are equally supported on this attitudinal measure, and that this result holds even when interaction effects of gender and ethnicity are included. We conclude with suggestions for future work in UMI courses and for attitudinal equity investigations generally.

Student difficulties with separation of variables in the context of upper-division electrostatics.

Upper division physics students can do vector calculations but have poor understanding of the conceptual meaning of vector operators.

Standardized conceptual assessment represents a widely-used tool for educational researchers interested in student learning within the standard undergraduate physics curriculum. For example, these assessments are often used to measure student learning across educational contexts and instructional strategies. However, to support the large-scale implementation often required for cross-institutional testing, it is necessary for these instruments to have question formats that facilitate easy grading. Previously, we created a multiple-response version of an existing, validated, upper-division electrostatics diagnostic with the goal of increasing the instrument's potential for large-scale implementation. Here, we report on the validity and reliability of this new version as an independent instrument. These findings establish the validity of the multiple-response version as measured by multiple test statistics including item difficulty, item discrimination, and internal consistency. Moreover, we demonstrate that the majority of student responses to the new version are internally consistent even when they are incorrect, and provide an example of how the new format can be used to gain insight into student difficulties with specific content in electrostatics.