Student ownership of projects in an upper-division optics laboratory course: A multiple case study of successful experiences

Abstract

We investigate students' sense of ownership of multiweek final projects in an upper-division optics lab course. Using a multiple case study approach, we describe three student projects in detail. Within-case analyses focused on identifying key issues in each project, and constructing chronological descriptions of those events. Cross-case analysis focused on identifying emergent themes with respect to five dimensions of project ownership: student agency, instructor mentorship, peer collaboration, interest and value, and affective responses. Our within-and cross-case analyses yielded three major findings. First, coupling division of labor with collective brainstorming can help balance student agency, instructor mentorship, and peer collaboration. Second, students' interest in the project and perceptions of its value can increase over time; initial student interest in the project topic is not a necessary condition for student ownership of the project. Third, student ownership is characterized by a wide range of emotions that fluctuate as students alternate between extended periods of struggle and moments of success while working on their projects. These findings not only extend the literature on student ownership into a new educational domainnamely, upper-division physics labs-they also have concrete implications for the design of experimental physics projects in courses for which student ownership is a desired learning outcome. We describe the course and projects in sufficient detail that others can adapt our results to their particular contexts.

Preliminary model for student ownership of projects

“…Projects ranged in duration from four to seven weeks. Previous work in undergraduate physics and biology labs suggests that projects of this length are sufficient for students to develop a sense of ownership [3,4,18], even if students complete only some of their initial goals for the project [4,19].…”

“…Our team is particularly interested in studying and supporting lab courses in which students have the opportunity to carry out their own experimental physics projects over multiple weeks. To this end, we have been exploring the construct of student ownership of projects [3][4][5]. Here, we present work in progress toward developing a model for student ownership of projects.…”

“…Last, Savery (1996) depicted ownership as consisting of four psychological quadrants: metacognitive and cognitive factors (e.g., constructing knowledge), affective factors (e.g., motivation), personal and social factors (e.g., teamwork skills), and individual factors (e.g., attitude toward learning) [14]. In our model development efforts, we build from these and other prior models for ownership, and we take into account results from recent and ongoing research on student ownership in physics [3][4][5] and other contexts (e.g., Refs. [6,8,13]).…”

“…Previously, we have used surveys, interviews, and other sources of information to study student ownership of projects in upper-division physics labs [3][4][5]. Our prior work added nuance to earlier ideas about ownership.…”

“…Our prior work added nuance to earlier ideas about ownership. For example, we found that, in addition to positive feelings like happiness or joy [8], students can experience a wide range of fluctuating emotions that contribute to their sense of ownership, including frustration, tedium, and overwhelmedness [3,4]. We also found that students' interest in a project and their sense of project ownership can sometimes develop in tandem [4], complicating the notion that initial interest in a project is a necessary precursor to ownership [7,13].…”