Particle physics and its applications in schools

BACKGROUND AND AIMS  “The learning experiences of physics students are more authentic and more engaging if they explore the science of the last 50 years, including the active field of particle physics” (Pritchard et al., 2009). Decision-makers have recognised the need to connect the physics taught at school, universities and research institutes. Lazzeroni et al. (2021) recognised the value of adding particle physics to the school curriculum to increase student’s engagement, which is one of the important factors for their learning (Bhansali & Sharma, 2020). EXPERIEMENT DESIGN  I constructed ‘intervention’ experiments making use of particle physics concepts on friction, phases, pressure and waves. These were guided inquiry experiments with clear instructions. Students were explicitly asked to discuss, analyze and interpret. The experiments consisted of three-part activities that built the concepts in students’ minds. I also intrigued students with real life scenarios and applications related to the concept of the experiment. In this presentation, I will elaborate on these experiments for researchers and practitioners. FINDINGS  I was a teacher as well as an observer during the sessions with the students. My preliminary results indicate that students were engaged in hands-on activities. Students found it interesting to go into depth using the materials around them and learn physics topics with a lens of particle physics.  IMPLICATIONS  My study shows that inclusion of particle physics experiments, while introducing topics to school students, results in improved conceptual understanding and engagement.  REFERENCES Bhansali, A. & Sharma, M. D. (2020). The Achievement Emotions Questionnaire: Validation and implementation for undergraduate physics practicals. International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 27(9), 34-46, https://dx.doi.org/10.30722/IJISME.27.09.003 Lazzeroni, C., Malvezzi, S. & Quadri, A. (2021). Teaching Science in Today’s Society: The Case of Particle Physics for Primary Schools. Universe, 7, 169. Pritchard, D. E., Barrantes, A. & Belland, B. R. (2009). What else (besides the syllabus) should students learn in introductory physics?.AIP Conference Proeedings. 1179, 43–46, https://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.326674

The Achievement Emotions Questionnaire: Validation and implementation for undergraduate physics practicals

Physics is a discipline associated with diverse emotions; some enjoy it, others don’t. Yet, students’ emotions when studying physics are under researched. This study adapts the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ) to measure the emotions of students with first year physics undergraduate practicals. The aims of this research are to validate the AEQ in our context and to probe students’ emotions towards two practicals; the control which is of standard format and the intervention which incorporates colour and historical aspects seeking to produce more positive emotions. Confirmatory Factor Analysis and descriptive statistics conducted with a sample of 320 students confirm the reliability and internal validity of the adapted AEQ (AEQ-PhysicsPrac) for the purposes of this study. Differences in emotions between the control and intervention are detected indicating that the AEQ-PhysicsPrac has utility in physics education

IMPACT OF COVID-19: STUDENTS’ EMOTIONAL ENGAGEMENT WITH FACE-TO-FACE LABS TRANSITING TO ONLINE MODE

During semester 1 of 2020, which was disrupted by COVID-19, first year physics students at The University of Sydney undertook three face-to-face labs, followed by a 3-week break, and 4 totally online labs. Using the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire, AEQ- PhysicsPrac (Pekrun, Goetz, & Perry, 2005; Bhansali & Sharma, 2019) we probed students’ emotions towards Physics labs during this time of pandemic and compared them to emotions measured previously in the regular face-to-face labs. Our sample consisted of 100 students who were given the survey towards the end of semester 1 of 2020. Comparison with regular electricity experiments in semester 2 of 2018 with 117 students showed that students’ anxiety increased during COVID-19. We also compared students’ emotions with 2 experiments from semester 1 of 2018; a control experiment with black and white lab notes which was perceived by 133 students as quite negatively emotionally engaging, and an intervention practical with a short, colourful, historical story which was perceived by 187 students as positively emotionally engaging (Bhansali & Sharma, 2019). Intriguingly, our comparison showed that the emotions reported during COVID-19 were somewhere in between those reported for the control and intervention. The COVID-19 labs had decreased enjoyment, and increased anxiety and hopelessness when compared with the intervention; while COVID-19 labs had increased pride and anxiety, and decreased boredom when compared with the control. This paper focuses on the implications of our findings in terms of the influence of the reported emotions on students’ attention, focus and the will to continue studies

AEQ-PHYSICS: A VALID AND RELIABLE TOOL TO MEASURE EMOTIONS IN PHYSICS

Undergraduates' emotions in physics are not well studied despite plenty of research showing that students’ emotional engagement influences their academic achievement. Our research uses the Pekrun (2006) model and adapts the associated Achievement Emotions Questionnaire, AEQ. We validate using Confirmatory Factor Analysis and check for reliability with 395 surveys completed by students taking a module run in a face-to-face mode within an introductory physics course. The new survey, called AEQ-Physics, was able to adequately measure and differentiate the following emotions, enjoyment, pride, anger, anxiety, hopelessness and boredom. The AEQ was also administered to students taking the same module in a blended mode, receiving 111 responses. Furthermore, the AEQ-Physics was administered during the COVID-19 affected period; all students were forced to continue online, and 74 responses were received. In this paper, we present Pearson Correlations and descriptive statistics for all three cases. We examine trends and patterns to ascertain if the emotions behave as per the Pekrun conceptual model, affirming that the conceptual basis is suitable for physics courses. The AEQ-Physics can now be used in other contexts providing academics with measures of emotional engagement for use in courses to positively influence students’ achievement

The AEQ-PhysPrac: A tool to measure students’ emotional engagement with physics practicals

BACKGROUND Students’ emotional engagement with Physics is under researched. No one has yet adapted the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ) to first year physics undergraduate practicals. AIMS The aim of our research is to adapt and validate the AEQ in Physics practicals context and measure students’ emotions for two experiments. DESCRIPTION OF INTERVENTION The emotions measured for the standard control practical are compared with the emotions generated by the intervention practical with colour and historical aspects included in the text. DESIGN AND METHODS Descriptive statistics and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were conducted with a sample of 320 students at the University of Sydney, which confirm the reliability and internal validity of the adapted AEQ (AEQ-PhysPrac). RESULTS The acceptable goodness-of-fit indexes validate the six interrelated factors in a multi-dimensional model of the AEQ-PhysPrac. Furthermore, as per the model that we are following, the results show that the emotions are differentiated and discrete. CONCLUSIONS The AEQ-PhysPrac is found to be a reliable and valid tool. Emotions can be probed separately, and can be compared across treatments. The differences found in emotions between the control and intervention indicated that the AEQ-PhysPrac can be useful in monitoring emotions in physics

Measuring, exploring and enhancing undergraduate students’ emotional engagement with physics

Students’ emotional engagement, which is important for their continued interest in the subject, is under researched. My thesis rests on two pillars; measuring emotions and creating research-based ‘colorful historical stories’ in order to encourage emotional engagement. I have adapted the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ) to measure the emotions of students undertaking first year physics studies. The measured emotions are pride, enjoyment, anger, anxiety, hopelessness, and boredom. I adapted the AEQ to measure emotions in the laboratories (AEQ-PhysicsPrac) and whole courses (AEQ-Physics). I used SPSS software, conducted exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). ‘Colorful historical stories’ were crafted for both the laboratory and the lecture components of the course, with different styles being used. Stories were ‘presented’ without intruding into the content being taught. I demonstrated that the use of the stories influences students’ emotional engagement. During the study, the effect of the different teaching modes, face-to-face, blended and entirely online delivery modes were investigated. I found that students engaged more positively in face-to-face mode of teaching than in blended and online mode during the pandemic. During the pandemic students’ positive emotions about the course were reduced. The study shows the utility of the adapted AEQ in physics, where it can be used to differentiate emotion profiles for different factors including introductory story context, different courses and mode of studies. It also shows that colorful stories, containing historical anecdotes, engage students emotionally while stimulating their interest and so can be inserted in students’ learning materials to influence their emotional engagement