Physics

A large body of research shows that using interactive engagement pedagogy in the introductory physics classroom consistently results in significant student learning gains; however, with a few exceptions, those learning gains tend not to be accompanied by more expertlike attitudes and beliefs about physics and learning physics. In fact, in both traditionally taught and active learning classroom environments, students often become more novicelike in their attitudes and beliefs following a semester of instruction. Further, prior to instruction, men typically score higher than women on conceptual inventories, such as the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), and more expertlike on attitudinal surveys, such as the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS), and those gender gaps generally persist following instruction. In this paper, we analyze three years of pre-post matched data for physics majors at Virginia Tech on the FCI and the CLASS. The courses were taught using a blended pedagogical model of peer instruction, group problem solving, and direct instruction, along with an explicit focus on the importance of conceptual understanding and a growth mindset. We found that the FCI gender gap decreased, and both men and women showed positive, expertlike shifts on the CLASS. Perhaps most surprisingly, we found a meaningful correlation between a student's post- CLASS score and normalized FCI gain for women, but not for men.

The application of social network analysis (SNA) has recently grown prevalent in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education research. Research on classroom networks has led to greater understandings of student persistence in physics majors, changes in their career-related beliefs (e.g., physics interest), and their academic success. In this paper, we aim to provide a practitioner's guide to carrying out research using SNA, including how to develop data collection instruments, set up protocols for gathering data, as well as identify network methodologies relevant to a wide range of research questions beyond what one might find in a typical primer. We illustrate these techniques using student anxiety data from active-learning physics classrooms. We explore the relationship between students' physics anxiety and the social networks they participate in throughout the course of a semester. We find that students' with greater numbers of outgoing interactions are more likely to experience negative anxiety shifts even while we control for {\it pre} anxiety, gender, and final course grade. We also explore the evolution of student networks and find that the second half of the semester is a critical period for participating in interactions associated with decreased physics anxiety. Our study further supports the benefits of dynamic group formation strategies that give students an opportunity to interact with as many peers as possible throughout a semester. To complement our guide to SNA in education research, we also provide a set of tools for letting other researchers use this approach in their work -- the {\it SNA toolbox} -- that can be accessed on GitHub.

The time it takes a student to graduate with a university degree is mitigated by a variety of factors such as their background, the academic performance at university, and their integration into the social communities of the university they attend. Different universities have different populations, student services, instruction styles, and degree programs, however, they all collect institutional data. This study presents data for 160,933 students attending a large American research university. The data includes performance, enrollment, demographics, and preparation features. Discrete time hazard models for the time-to-graduation are presented in the context of Tinto's Theory of Drop Out. Additionally, a novel machine learning method: gradient boosted trees, is applied and compared to the typical maximum likelihood method. We demonstrate that enrollment factors (such as changing a major) lead to greater increases in model predictive performance of when a student graduates than performance factors (such as grades) or preparation (such as high school GPA).

Group work during lab instruction can be a source of inequity between male and female students. In this preliminary study, we explored the activities male and female students take on during a lab session at a university in Denmark. Different from many studies, the class was majority-female, so three of the seven groups were all female and the rest were mixed-gender. We found that students in mixed-gender groups divide tasks in similar ways to mixed-gender groups at North American institutions, with men handling the equipment and women handling the computer more often. We also found that women in single-gender groups took on each of the available roles with approximately equal frequency, but women in single-gender groups spent more time on the equipment than students in mixed-gender groups. We interpret the results through poststructual gender theory and the notion of `doing physics' and `doing gender' in physics labs.

In many upper-division lab courses, instructors implement multiweek student-led projects. During such projects, students may design and carry out experiments, collect and analyze data, document and report their findings, and collaborate closely with peers and mentors. To better understand cognitive, social, and affective aspects of projects, we conducted an exploratory investigation of student ownership of projects. Ownership is a complex construct that refers to, e.g., students' willingness and ability to make strategic decisions about their project. Using data collected through surveys and interviews with students and instructors at five institutions, we developed a preliminary model for student ownership of projects. Our model describes student interactions with the project during three phases: choice of topic, execution of experiment, and synthesis of results. Herein, we explicate our model and demonstrate that it maps well onto students' and instructors' conceptions of ownership and ideas presented in prior literature.

Quantum sensing, quantum networking and communication, and quantum computing have attracted significant attention recently, as these quantum technologies offer significant advantages over existing technologies. In order to accelerate the commercialization of these quantum technologies the workforce must be equipped with the necessary skills. Through a qualitative study of the quantum industry, in a series of interviews with 21 U.S. companies carried out in Fall 2019, we describe the types of activities being carried out in the quantum industry, profile the types of jobs that exist, and describe the skills valued across the quantum industry, as well as in each type of job. The current routes into the quantum industry are detailed, providing a picture of the current role of higher education in training the quantum workforce. Finally, we present the training and hiring challenges the quantum industry is facing and how higher education may optimize the important role it is currently playing.

Authentic research as a method of teaching science is gaining popularity in high schools and colleges. To make this research experience most efficient, students need adequate preparation in traditional science courses. Existing materials available for inquiry-based teaching methods are not intended to prepare a student for independent research. We discuss principles for organization of laboratory classes with this goal in mind and provide examples that we have implemented for algebra-based physics, calculus-based physics, and honors chemistry for high school students.

Thailand-UK Python+Astronomy Summer School (ThaiPASS), a collaborative project comprising UK and Thai institutions and assess its impact and possible application to schools in the United Kingdom. Since its inception in 2018, the annual ThaiPASS have trained around 60 Thai high-school students in basic data handling skills using Python in the context of various astronomy topics, using current research from the teaching team. Our impact assessment of the 5 day summer schools show an overwhelmingly positive response from students in both years, with over 80% of students scoring the activities above average in all activities but one. We use this data to suggest possible future improvements. We also discuss how ThaiPASS may inspire further outreach and engagement activities within the UK and beyond.

Encouraging student engagement is a key aim in any educational setting. Allowing students the freedom to pursue their own methods of solving problems through independent experimentation has been shown to markedly improve this. In many contexts, however, allowing students this flexibility in their learning is hampered by constraints of the material itself, such as in the electronics laboratory, where expensive equipment confines the learning environment to the laboratory room. To address this, we present the development of a low-cost, portable electronics learning platform, the WinterLab board and software interface, designed for use in an introductory science undergraduate electronics course. The platform is comparable or lower in cost than a typical textbook, fits in the palm of the hand, connects to the user's computer via USB, and incorporates all equipment used in a typical undergraduate electronics laboratory. The WinterLab platform was given to a subset of students in the 2019 edition of an electronics and signal processing second year undergraduate course, who used it to complete the course's laboratory curriculum. Students' reception of the board was positive, and several requested to keep the board beyond the end of the semester for use in personal projects. Equipping students with a low-cost test and measurement platform, such as the WinterLab board, that can be used at home and kept after the end of the course represents an accessible avenue for improving engagement in electronics learning at the science undergraduate level.

Smartphone is a powerful internet connected computer packed with internal sensors that measure sound, light, acceleration and magnetic field strength. Physics teachers can use them as measurement devices to demonstrate science concepts and promote the joy of learning. Some research has also shown the benefits of using smartphones for teaching and learning physics. This article aims to extend mobile phone research with our open source apps and low-cost experimental design. The three experiments that we designed include radioactivity, line spectrum, standing sound wave and polarization of light. Students are able to conduct experiments and collect data easily without using bulky data loggers or laptops. Substituting a data logger with a smartphone will mean that every student can possess his/her own measuring tool inside and outside the classroom, instead of having to share with a large group of students in a scheduled lab. By empowering the students to conduct their own experiments and collect data, the use of the smartphone as a tool aims to support student learning anytime and anywhere, igniting greater joy of learning