Psychological insights for improved physics teaching

Aguilar, Lauren; Walton, Greg; Wieman, Carl

doi:10.1063/pt.3.2383

Cited by 64 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…As well, videos and simulations were used to assist the visual learner in seeing what was being discussed, then questions were asked about what had just been watched. Again, much of this was in keeping with the research literature [3,8,10,12,[14][15][16]. A large amount of educational research literature also suggests similar teaching strategies.…”

Section: Context Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 62%

“…Physics has its own persona or, rather, social mask [2], and is perceived as a "hard" subject, only for those who are "really smart" [3][4][5]. Physicists and science educators alike have examined why physics is perceived this way; both realize the importance of a physics component in the education of scientifically literate individuals [2,[6][7][8][9][10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A nontraditional undergraduate astronomy course: Changing pedagogy to better meet students’ needs

2015

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The authors examined a change of pedagogy in the delivery of a three-credit, first-year astronomy course offered to nonphysics majors by the Department of Physics at a small undergraduate university in Canada. The pedagogy was changed to better meet the needs of the students enrolled in the course. The research includes a description of some of the activities and teaching strategies utilized by the professor; an analysis of the students' perspectives, attitudes, and reactions towards this nontraditional astronomy course; and what this meant for the students, their level of understanding of science, scientific literacy, and connection between science and society. The article provides insight into the professor's perceptions, views, classroom observations, and overall analysis of the effectiveness of changing the pedagogy and concludes with thoughts on whether the effort was worth the end result.Résumé : Les auteurs examinent un changement de pédagogie dans un cours de trois crédits d'astronomie donné en première année à des étudiants qui ne sont pas en physique par le département de physique d'une petite université canadienne de premier cycle. Le changement de pédagogie vise à mieux rencontrer les besoins des étudiant inscrits au cours. La recherche comprend une description de certaines activités et des stratégies d'enseignement utilisées par le professeur avec une analyse des perspectives, des attitudes et des réactions étudiantes face à ce cours d'astronomie non traditionnel et ce que cela signifie pour les étudiants, leur niveau de compréhension scientifique, leur compétence scientifique et leur capacité à connecter science et société. Cet article donne un aperçu des perceptions du professeur, de ses vues, de ses observations en classe, avec une analyse globale de l'efficacité du changement de pédagogie et une conclusion qui vise à déterminer si le résultat vaut l'effort déployé par le professeur. [Traduit par la Rédaction]

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Section: Context Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 62%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A nontraditional undergraduate astronomy course: Changing pedagogy to better meet students’ needs

2015

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“…In other words, low belonging can potentially lead to a negative feedback loop where once a woman's belonging is called into question (e.g., after an unfriendly exchange with a classmate or receiving a disappointing grade), she becomes more vigilant in looking for further evidence about whether she belongs while also tending to interpret the meaning of any ambiguous cues with a more negative slant leading her to feel even lower belonging [43].…”

Section: B the Importance Of Domain-specific Belongingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fitting in or opting out: A review of key social-psychological factors influencing a sense of belonging for women in physics

Lewis

Stout

Pollock

et al. 2016

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.

150

131

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[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Gender in Physics.] A number of cultural, social, environmental, and biological factors have been suggested to explain women's relatively lower representation in physics and other science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Given its persistence, the causes of gender disparities are likely to be complex and multiply determined. In this review paper, we discuss how a sense of belonging relates to women's interest, persistence, and achievement in physics. We explore what it means to "fit in" and belong in academic contexts, the situational and interpersonal antecedents to belonging, and the consequences of a lack of belonging. We review the empirical evidence for the efficacy of interventions designed to bolster a sense of belonging. Based on these interventions we conclude the paper with a number of practical recommendations to affirm women's sense of belonging and create more welcoming and inclusive physics environments for all students.

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“…In addition to the above benefits, positive social interactions can be beneficial in how learning experiences are interpreted. Without a sense of belonging, students negatively interpret ambiguous events, which results in more stress and less success in the classroom (Aguilar et al 2014). …”

Section: Theoretical Framework: Science Identity and Belongingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing STEM success: a near-peer mentoring program in the physical sciences

2016

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Background: Mentoring supports professional success in a myriad of fields; in the physical sciences, mentoring increases the retention of diverse groups of students. While physics education has made progress in classifying the availability and structural components related to mentoring programs, little is known about the qualitative nature of mentoring relationships. This article draws from frameworks in science identity and belongs to analyze the nature of relationships in the mentoring program offered by the Sundial Project at Arizona State University, which aims to help new students with diverse backgrounds succeed in physics and related majors. To provide insight into mentoring relationships, we analyze over 150 reports submitted by mentors and mentees in a near-peer mentoring program. Results: Mentoring groups enjoyed positive rapport and often remarked upon becoming friends. As such, mentoring relationships provided mentees with both psychosocial and academic support. Mentoring supported students to deal with a wide variety of topics, ranging from academic to personal, according to the needs of individual mentees. Moreover, outcomes of students in the mentoring program were favorable; the mean GPA of participating mentees was 3.49 for their first college semester. Conclusions: Mentors acted both as guides who shared information and as caring friends who providing psychosocial support, including normalizing struggle. These connections supported students to develop a sense of belonging and positive science identities.

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Psychological insights for improved physics teaching

Abstract: If classroom practices designed to increase diversity in physics are to succeed, physics teachers need to understand students’ perspectives.

Cited by 64 publications

References 11 publications

A nontraditional undergraduate astronomy course: Changing pedagogy to better meet students’ needs

A nontraditional undergraduate astronomy course: Changing pedagogy to better meet students’ needs

Fitting in or opting out: A review of key social-psychological factors influencing a sense of belonging for women in physics

Increasing STEM success: a near-peer mentoring program in the physical sciences

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