Frequent small group interactions improve student learning gains in physics: Results from a nationally representative pre-post study of four-year colleges

Student-centered learning has been shown to be more effective than traditional instructional methods, but deeper investigation is necessary to identify how specific classroom practices lead to improved conceptual learning and student attitudes. The purpose of this study was to identify classroom practices associated with gains in student conceptual understanding and physics identity using pre-post survey data taken from a nationally representative sample of first-semester physics students in four-year colleges and universities. From this sample, we found that students who reported working in small groups during every class saw greater gains in their conceptual understanding of physics than students who did not. Other classroom practices, such as the frequent use of computer simulations, using equipment, and performing labs, were also found to increase student conceptual gains. This work provides further evidence that certain instructional practices—small group learning, in particular—provide benefits to students in college physics classrooms

Pushing and Pulling Sara: A Case Study of the Contrasting Influences of High School and University Experiences on Engineering Agency, Identity, and Participation

This manuscript reports on a longitudinal case study of how one woman, Sara, who had previously considered dropping out of high school authored strong mathematics and science identities and purposefully exhibited agency through her experiences in high school science. These experiences empowered her to choose an engineering major in college; however, her introductory university engineering experiences ultimately pushed her out of engineering. Drawing on critical agency theory, we argue that by paying careful attention to how and why women author their identities and build agency through their experiences in high school, we may gain insight into why women may choose an engineering path in college. Additionally, we examine how Sara’s perceptions of engineering structures and practices chipped away at the critical engineering agency she developed and caused her to leave engineering after her first year in college

Generalized Hot Enhancons

We review what has been learnt and what remains unknown about the physics of hot enhancons following studies in supergravity. We recall a rather general family of static, spherically symmetric, non-extremal enhancon solutions describing D4 branes wrapped on K3 and discuss physical aspects of the solutions. We embed these solutions in the six dimensional supergravity describing Type IIA strings on K3 and generalize them to have arbitrary charge vector. This allows us to demonstrate the equivalence with a known family of hot fractional D0 brane solutions, to widen the class of solutions of this second type and to carry much of the discussion across from the D4 brane analysis. In particular we argue for the existence of a horizon branch for these branes.Comment: 25 pages, Late

Impact of out-of-class science and engineering activities on physics identity and career intentions

The number of physics bachelor’s degrees that are awarded in the United States annually is small compared to most other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, and only about one-fifth of these degrees are awarded to women. Understanding the influence of students’ science and engineering experiences on career choices is critical in order to improve future efforts to increase the number of physics majors and the participation of women. In this work, we use a physics identity framework to examine the impact of out-of-class science and engineering activities on three identity dimensions and the relationship between these dimensions and physics career choice. Through structural equation modeling of survey data from 5541 college students, we find that out-of-class science and engineering activities have the largest influence on physics performance/competence beliefs, but the association of performance/competence beliefs to overall physics identity and physics career choice is primarily mediated through recognition beliefs and physics interests. Furthermore, out-of-class science and engineering activities have a larger effect on recognition beliefs for men than for women, which is a challenging finding in light of the fact that recognition beliefs are the most influential identity dimension for women. The results of this work begin to highlight the need for out-of-class science and engineering activities that focus on not only enhancing students’ performance/competence beliefs but also students’ interests, particularly those students not previously interested, and women’s recognition beliefs with respect to physics

Identity, critical agency, and engineering majors: An affective model for predicting engineering as a career choice.

Prior to college, many students do not have experience with engineering, but some ultimately choose an engineering career. Additionally, women choose engineering at lower rates than men, which results in women’s underrepresentation. The framework of critical engineering agency (CEA) is utilized to understand student attitudes and beliefs for choosing engineering. We investigate the relationships among students’ math and physics identities in high school that predict choice of engineering careers; how students’ beliefs about science and technology predict a choice of engineering careers; whether these beliefs are different by gender; and how well CEA explains students’ engineering choice. The data were drawn from the nationally representative Sustainability and Gender in Engineering (SaGE) survey distributed during Fall 2011 (n = 6,772). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to understand students’ affective beliefs for predicting engineering choice in college. Multiple subject-related identities compose engineering students’ identity at the beginning of college. Recognition from others and interest in a subject are important predictors of developing an identity. Students’ performance/competence alone are not significant predictors of engineering, but are mediated by interest and recognition from others. Student identities and agency beliefs are significant predictors of engineering choice (explaining 20.2% of the variance). Gender differences were found for students’ math and physics identities and agency beliefs. Students’ self-beliefs account for approximately one-fifth of the variance in engineering choice in the transition from high school to college. Steps can be taken to improve students’ affective beliefs in early engineering experiences through addressing identity and agency beliefs

Intersectionality of Non-normative Identities in the Cultures of Engineering Survey

This is a survey measuring students\u27 attitudes and beliefs in engineering. The survey was distributed at four institutions across the U.S. in the fall semester of 2015. Students in first semester first-year engineering courses were surveyed on a paper-and-pencil instrument as part of a larger study. We collected 2,916 valid student responses that were digitized by the research group and audited for accuracy. Validity evidence for this survey has been document in ASEE conference proceedings

Understanding How Engineering Identity and Belongingness Predict Grit for First-Generation College Students

Increasing the participation of underrepresented students, including first-generation college students, in engineering plays a central role in sustaining the U.S. research and innovation capacity. Diversity continues to be recognized as an asset in engineering. However, we also know that the culture of engineering has an implicit assumption about who can be and who is recognized as an engineer. There is also a complex relationship between participation in a community of practice and identity. Diverse students must not only author an identity as an engineer but also must grapple with how that identity, historically constructed as white and masculine, becomes a part of how they see themselves. This research study uses structural equation modeling to examine how first-generation college students’ engineering identity and sense of belongingness in engineering serve as mediators for students’ grit in terms of persistence of effort and consistency of interest. Results reveal that engineering identity has a positive direct effect on students’ sense of belongingness. Both engineering identity and belongingness have a positive direct effect on persistence of effort but were not significant predictors of consistency of interest. Additionally, belongingness is a mediator between engineering identity and persistence of effort. These results begin to uncover how grit is not a stand-alone measure and defies the idea that some students have it while others do not. Persistence of effort is present for first-generation college students when they see themselves as the kinds of people that can do engineering and feel a sense of belongingness within the field. The results of this work highlights ways to support grit development in first-generation college students

Engineering Women’s Attitudes and Goals in Choosing Disciplines with Above and Below Average Female Representation

Women’s participation in engineering remains well below that of men at all degree levels. However, despite the low enrollment of women in engineering as a whole, some engineering disciplines report above average female enrollment. We used multiple linear regression to examine the attitudes, beliefs, career outcome expectations, and career choice of first-year female engineering students enrolled in below average, average, and above average female representation disciplines in engineering. Our work begins to understand how the socially constructed masculine cultural norms of engineering may attract women differentially into specific engineering disciplines. This study used future time perspective, psychological personality traits, grit, various measures of STEM identities, and items related to career outcome expectations as theoretical frameworks. The results of this study indicate that women who are interested in engineering disciplines with different representations of women (i.e., more or less male-dominated) have significantly different attitudes and beliefs, career goals, and career plans. This study provides information about the perceptions that women may have and attitudes that they bring with them into particular engineering pathways

More Comprehensive and Inclusive Approaches to Demographic Data Collection

In this evidence-based practice paper, we discuss ways for researchers and educators to more sensitively, accurately, and effectively collect demographic information on surveys. Identifying variables that capture diversity more broadly is vital in understanding the variety of ways in which students participate in and experiencing engineering education. We frame this discussion through publically available statistics that suggest the potential error in common approaches employed for demographic collection. While basic questions about participants’ sex and ethnicity are standard items in assessment and data collection, these questions only develop a limited representation and potentially present an inaccurate accounting of students’ social identities and honest self-expression. Classic demographic measurement approaches classify students on broad, general, and historically driven elements of diversity typically defined by others rather than individual students. Unfortunately, simply asking a participant to self-identify their gender dichotomously or select from a pre-defined set of ethnicity options has the potential to record information that does not completely or accurately represent a student’s self-identified characteristics or a researchers latent purpose. Alternatively, asking questions via simple open-ended queries both maintains any problem represented in the phrasing of the question as well as presents a major loss in efficiency by requiring a post-collection coding step. In this paper we discuss three major topics through reviews of literature, emergent cultural norms, and suggestions for better practices. First, we will cover the framing of demographic questions to gather the intended information (i.e., differentiating how the student experiences the world and how the world experiences the student). Second, we address ordering of demographic questions and the extended capability provided by modern online collection tools. Finally, using the lessons of parts one and two we offer some examples of improved ways of collecting a variety of demographic information such as gender identity, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, disability status, and socioeconomic status. The examples will show how researchers can be more sensitive to issues of diversity while at the same time improving research quality

Understanding the importance of graduate admissions criteria according to prospective graduate students

Understanding perceptions of graduate admissions from multiple stakeholders can cultivate an improved understanding about the process of graduate induction, the role that admissions plays in restricting diversity in physics, and contribute to more informed practices for all involved. Prior studies in graduate admissions have reported on how certain admission criteria weigh in the consideration of applicants primarily from faculty perspectives. Motivated by the concept of multivocal knowledge, in this article, we report on prospective students’ perspectives of the importance of the same admission criteria—a stakeholder group that is critical but underempowered in the admissions process. We identify a substantial agreement between students and faculty regarding the importance of recommendation letters, undergraduate math or physics GPA, and standardized exam scores (GRE). On the other hand, students rated several criteria, including personal statements, prior research experiences, publications, and familiarity with department as significantly more important than did faculty. A perceived “overimportance” of criteria may be detrimental to students’ admissions-related decision making and reduce their chances of success, so these results emphasize the importance of taking students’ perspectives into account in the admissions process