Karen Cummings

Evaluating innovation in studio physics

In 1993, Rensselaer introduced the first Studio Physics course. Two years later, the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) was used to measure the conceptual learning gain 〈g〉 in the course. This was found to be a disappointing 0.22, indicating that Studio Physics was no more effective at teaching basic Newtonian concepts than a traditional course. Our study verified that result, 〈gFCI,98〉=0.18±0.12 (s.d.), and thereby provides a baseline measurement of conceptual learning gains in Studio Physics I for engineers. These low gains are especially disturbing because the studio classroom appears to be interactive and instructors strive to incorporate modern pedagogies. The goal of our investigation was to determine if incorporation of research-based activities into Studio Physics would have a significant effect on conceptual learning gains. To measure gains, we utilized the Force Concept Inventory and the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE). In the process of pursuing this goal, we verified the effectiveness...

What Factors Really Influence Shifts in Students’ Attitudes and Expectations in an Introductory Physics Course?

To gauge the impact of instruction on students’ general expectations about physics and their attitudes about problem solving, we administered two different, but related, survey instruments to students in the first semester of introductory, calculus‐based physics at McDaniel College. The surveys we used were the Maryland Physics Expectation Survey (MPEX) and the Attitudes about Problem Solving Survey (APSS). We found that the McDaniel College students’ overall responses were more “expert‐like” post‐instruction: on the MPEX, the students’ Overall agree/disagree score started at 59/18 and ended at 63/17, and on the APSS, the students’ agreement‐score went from 63 to 79. (All scores are out of 100%.) All of the students to whom we administered the MPEX and a significant sub‐group to whom we administered the APSS realized these improvements without experiencing any explicit instructional intervention in this course aimed toward improving attitudes and expectations. These results contrast much of the previously...

Attitudes Toward Problem Solving as Predictors of Student Success

The survey of attitudes towards, and views of, problem solving that is presented here is still under development. It is part of a larger project to develop an assessment of student problem solving ability in introductory physics. The survey is intended for use in a manner similar to the Maryland Physics Expectation Survey (MPEX). That is, it is given to students pre‐ and post‐instruction. Student responses are evaluated in comparison to the answers given by “experts”. Post‐instruction movement of student responses toward those given by the “experts” is considered to be improvement. This paper presents the survey questions, expert responses and discusses responses of several hundred students at three different institutions. Correlations between student survey results and grades, conceptual survey scores and instructor evaluation of student problem solving ability are presented. The goal is to begin to probe whether student attitudes toward problem solving are correlated to success on other metrics.

Development of a Survey Instrument to Gauge Students’ Problem‐Solving Abilities

In this paper we discuss the early stages of development of a survey instrument to assess students’ problem‐solving abilities in a first‐term, undergraduate, calculus‐based physics course. Specifically, we present our motivation for the development of such a survey, details of a preliminary version of the survey, and some sample items.

A Study of Peer Instruction Methods with High School Physics Students

This paper reports on the results of an experiment to test the use of a Peer Instruction (PI) pedagogical model in a small class, high school environment. The study reports findings based on a population of 213 high school students attending algebra based physics courses, both Honors and A level, taught by 5 different instructors. The results show a correlation between use of Peer Instruction and improved student conceptual understanding, as demonstrated by gains on a pre‐/post‐ assessment instrument (FCI). However, there also appears to be a number of other factors that strongly influence the resulting gains. In addition to instructor differences, the data seem to indicate that students who are more “physics‐inclined” and can answer questions correctly prior to instruction and prior to any Peer Instruction discussion subsequently achieve higher gains as measured by the FCI. While this is to be expected, the use of normalized gains is intended to mitigate this result, but it appears to be prevalent noneth...

The Effectiveness of Incorporating Conceptual Writing Assignments into Physics Instruction

This preliminary study examines the impact of conceptual writing assignments on student understanding of two physics concepts. Writing assignments covered the concepts of Newton’s Third Law and the impulse‐momentum relationship and were given to students in both high school and college level introductory physics classes. The students in these classes along with students in classes taught in an identical fashion by the same instructors without the addition of writing assignments were tested on their conceptual understanding of the two content areas. The results of this initial study indicate that the efficacy of this approach varied with topic. This study further indicates that students’ benefit from the writing assignments was independent of their writing ability.

Beta‐Test Data On An Assessment Of Textbook Problem Solving Ability: An Argument For Right/Wrong Grading?

We have developed an assessment of students’ ability to solve standard textbook style problems and are currently engaged in the validation and revision process. The assessment covers the topics of force and motion, conservation of momentum and conservation of energy at a level consistent with most calculus‐based, introductory physics courses. This tool is discussed in more detail in an accompanying paper by Marx and Cummings. [1] Here we present preliminary beta‐test data collected at four schools during the 2009/2010 academic year. Data include both pre‐ and post‐instruction results for introductory physics courses as well as results for physics majors in later years. In addition, we present evidence that right/wrong grading may well be a perfectly acceptable grading procedure for a course‐level assessment of this type.

Publishing and refereeing papers in Physics Education Research

At the 2007 Physics Education Research Conference, a workshop on publishing and refereeing was held with a panel of editors from four different publishing venues: the physics education research section of the American Journal of Physics, the Journal of the Learning Sciences, Physical Review Special Topics–Physics Education Research, and the Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings. These editors answered questions from participants regarding publishing in their respective venues, as well as writing referee reports that would be useful to both journal editors and authors. This paper summarizes the discussion.

Conceptual Underpinnings of Students’ Ability to Understand Reflections from a Plane Mirror

In this paper we explore students’ pre‐instruction knowledge of several conceptual and procedural pieces of knowledge that we believe are prerequisite to one’s ability to generate correct light ray diagrams and understand image formation by a plane mirror. The research population is an algebra‐based, introductory physics class of about 50 students at a medium‐sized, urban, public university. Both individual interviews and written free response questions were used to gather data.