Intense Outreach: Experiences Shifting University Students’ Identities

Prefontaine, Brean; Fracchiolla, C. E.; Vásquez, Manuel A.; Hinko, Kathleen A.

doi:10.1119/perc.2018.pr.prefontaine

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The main reason for this approach was to explore whether CoP constructs could differentiate between the differing experiences and program structures. From our larger sample, we identified four UEs that had enough variance and similarities to help us contextualize the individual CoP framework constructs [30,33,34]. We selected two graduate physics students, female and male, both white, who participated in the after-school physics program, and two undergraduate students, a black female physics major and white male nonphysics major, who facilitated the demo show.…”

Section: A Collecting Interviewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These experiences might include the following: connections with peers and other members of the physics community, expansion of social and professional networks, opportunities to participate in the physics community beyond as a student, and the development of a stronger sense of belonging within the field due to a rekindling of interest. All of these experiences could in turn translate to fostering a stronger physics identity [33][34][35]. Broadly, we are looking to determine can the community of practice framework be utilized to understand how informal physics programs aid or dissuade students in developing a physics identity?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Community of practice approach for understanding identity development within informal physics programs

Fracchiolla

Prefontaine

Hinko

2020

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.

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Studies on physics identity have shown that it is one of the main factors that can predict a person's persistence in the field; therefore, studying physics identity is critical to increase diversity within the field of physics and to understand what changes can allow more women and minorities to identify with the field. In this study, we investigate informal physics programs as spaces for physics identity exploration. These programs provide unique conditions under which to study physics identity development along with other identities. Informal physics spaces allow for voluntary engagement, as well as elements of agency and autonomy within the exploration of physics. Thus, these spaces allow an identity to form outside of the constraints traditionally found in academic settings. In this work, we operationalized the community of practice framework to study the development of physics identities within university students who facilitate informal physics programs. We present the stories from two physics graduate students out of our sample to provide a context for testing the feasibility of the extended framework and to identify how experiences within an informal physics program can shape physics identity development. This paper presents the operationalized constructs within the community of practice framework, how these constructs are applied to the narrated experiences of our participants and highlights how we can use this framework to understand the nuances of physics identity development as well as the factors that can influence that development.

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Section: A Collecting Interviewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community of practice approach for understanding identity development within informal physics programs

Fracchiolla

Prefontaine

Hinko

2020

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.

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“…There is an increased interest in understanding how student participation in informal physics programs provides a platform for the development of physics identity and aids in building a sense of community [52][53][54][55][56][57][58], which are constructs potentially critical for female students' success, retention, and persistence in physics. Informal physics programs are less structured and vary in frequency, scale, or target audience scale [59].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do female physics students benefit from informal physics programs they facilitate?

Randolph¹,

Perry²,

Donaldson³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Gender bias, reduced sense of belonging, and lower physics self-efficacy are among the challenges faced by female students who choose to study physics. Prior studies focusing on this underrepresented group have examined the experiences and impacts of formal educational settings, leaving the impact of informal physics programs as a relatively overlooked area. Existing research on the impact of informal physics programs indicates that student facilitators, who help run the programs, can experience positive impacts on their learning and sense of community beyond the formal setting of a classroom or laboratory. In this study we took a first step, narrowing our focus to explore the relation between facilitation of informal physics programs and female students' physics identity, persistence, mindset, and worldview. We analyzed survey responses (32) and interviews (11) collected from undergraduate and graduate female students at a large, land-grant university. Our results, based on self-reported data, showed a statistically significant shift in confidence of choice of major after facilitating informal physics programs. Analysis of interviews indicated a positive effect of facilitation of informal programs on female student interest and motivation with regards to the field of physics, improved performance and competence beliefs, and the development of characteristics indicative of a growth mindset. A semantic network analysis showed statistically significant interdependencies between positive persistence and constructs including growth mindset, important early undergraduate experiences, gender stereotype threat, external recognition, and confidence.

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“…In prior work, we postulated that certain informal physics groups can function as Communities of Practice, especially if the informal activities are designed to be intensive, immersive, or meaningful. We have operationalized the Communities of Practice theory in the context of two different kinds of informal physics education programs: a demonstration program called Science Theatre at Michigan State University and a K-12 afterschool physics program called PISEC at the JILA Physics Frontier Center at the University of Colorado Boulder [3]. These studies showed that the Communities of Practice theory can apply to informal physics programs and that participation within these programs can have a positive impact on students' attitudes towards outreach [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding university students’ identity through engagement in informal physics programs

Rispler¹,

Prefontaine²,

Hinko³

2020

2019 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings

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A physics student's identity is predicated on a multitude of factors, such as research, classes, and activities outside the classroom. Many students choose to participate in informal physics teaching programs during college; however, these programs are an understudied portion of a physics student's experience. We hypothesize that university students' science identity is reshaped by interactions and experiences they have in these programs. We focus on a student group that does demonstrations at local K-12 schools and organizations. Preand post-interviews were collected with undergraduate participants in this group who went on an intensive week-long trip to rural areas in the state. Here, we extend our previous work using a Communities of Practice framework to analyze these interviews. We operationalize students' movement toward or away from central membership as well as look at the intersection of other physics, academic, and personal communities with the informal physics program community.

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Intense Outreach: Experiences Shifting University Students’ Identities

Cited by 8 publications

References 2 publications

Community of practice approach for understanding identity development within informal physics programs

Community of practice approach for understanding identity development within informal physics programs

Do female physics students benefit from informal physics programs they facilitate?

Understanding university students’ identity through engagement in informal physics programs

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