Informal physics programs as communities of practice: How can programs support university students’ identities?

Prefontaine, Brean; Mullen, Claire; Güven, Jonna Jasmin; Rispler, Caleb; Rethman, Callie; Bergin, Shane D.; Hinko, Kathleen A.; Fracchiolla, C. E.

doi:10.1103/physrevphyseducres.17.020134

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 26 publications

(39 reference statements)

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“…This helped develop their physics identity, their feeling of belonging to the physics community, and their career skills. Another study [37] identified interactions with the audience, working in teams, thorough training, clear mission, and supportive schedule as key structures in ISEAs that help build the physics identity of undergraduate participants.…”

Section: Improving Mentoring Teaching and Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, there is research within the Physics Education Research (PER) field that have looked at the positive impact that facilitating ISEAs has on the students who organize them, including fostering physics identity, development of communication and pedagogical skills, sense of belonging, and confidence among peers [7,25,36,37,[48][49][50][51][52][53].…”

Section: Recruiting and Equity/diversity/inclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the number of students from underrepresented groups that enrolled in physics has increased, in part due to engagement efforts, the trends for students who graduate and pursue a career in physics have unfortunately not changed significantly [54][55][56]. Prior research [57][58][59][60][61] demonstrates that developing a physics identity is a key factor in attracting and retaining students in physics, and participation in informal physics spaces can support and foster the development of a physics identity for both audience and facilitators [1,7,37,50].…”

Section: Recruiting and Equity/diversity/inclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Informal Science Education and Career Advancement

Smith¹,

Fracchiolla²,

Fleming³

et al. 2021

Preprint

Self Cite

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This document supports a proposed APS statement that encourages academic, research, and other institutions to add the participation in informal science education activities to the criteria they use for hiring and career advancement decisions. There is a prevalent attitude that the time spent by a researcher on these activities takes time away from research efforts that are more valued by their peers and their institution. To change this mindset, we enumerate the many benefits of informal science education activities to the public, to researchers, to their institutions, and to the field of physics. We also suggest aspects of these activities that may be considered by institutions in evaluating informal educational efforts for recruitment and career advancement decisions.

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Section: Improving Mentoring Teaching and Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Recruiting and Equity/diversity/inclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Recruiting and Equity/diversity/inclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Informal Science Education and Career Advancement

Smith¹,

Fracchiolla²,

Fleming³

et al. 2021

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Over the years, the informal physics education research (IPER) community has investigated the development and impact of informal physics programs on their participants and facilitators [1][2][3]. For example, researchers have shown that different structures within informal physics support physics identity development [4][5][6]. In particular, informal physics programs are spaces for an increased sense of belonging to the physics community, and for gaining confidence and communication skills necessary for one's career [7,8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personas for supporting physicists' engagement in informal education

El-Adawy¹,

Sayre²,

Lau³

et al. 2022

2022 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings

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The pathways and engagement of physicists in informal physics education are varied, which makes their professional development needs not well understood. As part of ongoing efforts to build and support community in the informal physics space, we conducted interviews with physics practitioners and researchers with a range of different experiences. Through thematic analysis, we use personas methodology to articulate the needs and pain points of professional physicists. We present our set of four personas: the physicist who engages in informal physics for self-reflection, the physicist who wants to spark interest in physics, the physicist who wants to provide diverse role models to younger students and inspire them to pursue a STEM career, and the physicist who wants to improve the relationship between scientists and the public. This work will allow the informal physics community to create tailored resources for the variety of professional development needs of informal physics facilitators.

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“…One place where a physics identity can develop are informal learning spaces that allow for participants to become agents of their own learning [3]. Prior work has shown that some informal physics programs can support physics identities of its members by serving as communities of practice [4][5][6][7][8][9]. However, this prior work is focused on established informal physics programs, i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining community of practice formation within a new informal art and physics program

Prefontaine¹,

Smith²,

Izadi³

et al. 2022

2022 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings

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The need for physicists to work with others outside of the discipline of physics has become more prominent due to the growing necessity of interdisciplinary subjects and careers. While this need exists, there are few opportunities for physics students to gain collaborative experiences and skills. This study looks at how a community of practice formed within an informal physics program that was designed specifically to bring undergraduate physics and graphic design students together to create an aesthetic physics teaching tool. Throughout this 10 week summer project, we collected qualitative data in the form of interviews and written responses from a team of four undergraduate students, observed meetings, and interviewed the project co-developers. These data record the students' and co-developers' experiences as they work together to develop a public engagement project aimed at combining physics with art and design. Using an operationalized Communities of Practice framework to analyze these data, we are able to explore the formation of a Community of Practice and better understand how developing informal physics programs can foster a community of practice environment.

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Informal physics programs as communities of practice: How can programs support university students’ identities?

Cited by 15 publications

References 26 publications

Informal Science Education and Career Advancement

Informal Science Education and Career Advancement

Personas for supporting physicists' engagement in informal education

Examining community of practice formation within a new informal art and physics program

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