Students’ views about the nature of experimental physics

Abstract

The physics community explores and explains the physical world through a blend of theoretical and experimental studies. The future of physics as a discipline depends on training of students in both the theoretical and experimental aspects of the field. However, while student learning within lecture courses has been the subject of extensive research, lab courses remain relatively understudied. In particular, there is little, if any, data available that addresses the effectiveness of physics lab courses at encouraging students to recognize the nature and importance of experimental physics within the discipline as a whole. To address this gap, we present the first large-scale, national study (Ninstitutions = 75 and N students = 7167) of undergraduate physics lab courses through analysis of students' responses to a research-validated assessment designed to investigate students' beliefs about the nature of experimental physics. We find that students often enter and leave physics lab courses with ideas about experimental physics as practiced in their courses that are inconsistent with the views of practicing experimental physicists, and this trend holds at both the introductory and upper-division levels. Despite this inconsistency, we find that both introductory and upperdivision students are able to accurately predict the expert-like response even in cases where their views about experimentation in their lab courses disagree. These finding have implications for the recruitment, retention, and adequate preparation of students in physics.

Introductory physics labs: We can do better

“…They found that students in lab courses whose primary aim was to teach physics concepts as opposed to experimentation skills came away with beliefs that were less expert-like than the ones they held when they started. 3 Labs characterized as "guided" as opposed to open-ended also showed similar negative effects. 4 Looking at student thinking To try to understand why those lab courses were failing to meet their intended aims and what might be done to make them more effective, we turned to the basic method underlying most physics education research: looking at student thinking.…”

Examining students' personal epistemology: the role of physics experiments and relation with theory

“…It is possible that the heavy emphasis on conceptual learning and problem solving is shaping students' personal epistemology in unintended ways in physics courses by hiding or downplaying the diverse purposes of experiments in physics. In a more recent study from Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey for Experimental Physics (E-CLASS), the findings from a large national data set indicated that students in skills-focused courses showed more expert-like responses and more favorable shifts than students in either concepts-focused or both-focused courses [15].…”

“…The emphasis on experiments as tools for improving content learning in lecture is unsurprising given that many faculty have similar goals for labs [15]. However, it is somewhat surprising given the small amount of evidence that lab courses are helpful for learning concepts [16], and some studies suggest simulations may support conceptual learning better than hands-on experiments [17].…”

“…Across all of these surveys, there are very few items focused on experimental aspects of physics (e.g., experimental design, measurements, and uncertainty). In recent years, there has been increased effort to assess students' views about learning in physics lab courses via the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey for Experimental Physics (E-CLASS) [12,13].…”

Analisis Hubungan antara Sikap Penyelesaian Soal dan Hasil Belajar Mahasiswa Calon Guru Fisika

“…Hal ini perlu dilakukan untuk membantu calon guru fisika dalam menyelesaikan soal fisika karena nantinya mereka akan menghadapi penyelesaian soal ketika mengikuti perkuliahan ataupun dalam menyelesaikan studi mereka. Karena cara pandang mahasiswa terhadap fisika mempengaruhi mereka dalam memahami konsep fisika dan keberhasilan dalam mata kuliah fisika (Wilcox & Lewandowski, 2017).…”