Background: Representational competence is commonly considered a prerequisite for the acquisition of conceptual knowledge, yet little exploration has been undertaken into the relation between these two constructs. Using an assessment instrument of representational competence with vector fields that functions without confounding topical context, we…

We used student surveys to assess changes in proficiency with integral calculus, calculus self-efficacy, and physics self-efficacy in a second semester course of introductory physics focused on electricity and magnetism. In addition to tracking the fraction of quantitative problems solved correctly on the calculus proficiency survey, we also used…

This work is aimed to assess the performance of two groups of students from colleges of Science, Education and Engineering on the understanding of electricity and magnetism concepts. To conduct this assessment, the Electricity and Magnetism Conceptual Assessment (EMCA) test was implemented twice as a pre-test and a post-test for two calculus-based…

We investigate students' misconceptions in electrostatics, direct current (DC) and magnetism which are important in electricity and magnetism. We developed and administered a multiple-choice questionnaire test to reveal students' misconceptions related to charged bodies, lightning, electric fields, electric potential, forces, DC resistive electric…

In this dissertation I will present my work in both the fields of spintronics and physics education research. In the first section, I present a method to account for spin pumping in spin torque ferromagnetic resonance (ST-FMR) measurements. A spin current can be generated via the spin Hall effect (SHE), which is typically transverse to the charge…

Access and performance in advanced high school physics have been persistently inequitable when considering student ethnicity and gender. This quasiexperimental, observational study examined access and performance of students in four Advanced Placement (AP) Physics courses in 2018-2019: AP Physics 1 (N = 150 451), AP Physics 2 (N = 20 466), AP…

We investigated the influence of context on students' understanding of cross products of vectors using three isomorphic multiple-choice tests asking for the direction of a cross product in different geometrical settings. One version of the test involved the Lorentz force, the second version involved the torque on an electric dipole, and the third…

Gender equity issues remain a challenge in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, where women are highly underrepresented. As integrated STEM instruction becomes increasingly popular in elementary and middle school classrooms, it is important to consider whether the small group activities that are commonplace in STEM…

The Advanced Placement® (AP®) Program offers high school students the opportunity to take rigorous coursework in high school and receive college credit for AP Exam scores that meet or exceed the requirements of their attending institution. Students receiving AP credit are typically exempted from an introductory level course or series of courses…

The underrepresentation of women in STEM more generally and in physics specifically has been well established (e.g., Hyater-Adams, Fracchiolla, Finkelstein, & Hinko, 2018; Johnson, Ong, Ko, Smith, & Hodari, (2017); Lock & Hazari, 2016), and the field remains challenged by the negative consequences of this underrepresentation. Women's…

The "gender gap" on various physics conceptual evaluations has been extensively studied. Men's average pretest scores on the Force Concept Inventory and Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation are 13% higher than women's, and post-test scores are on average 12% higher than women's. This study analyzed the gender differences within the…

This study of achievement differences, as reflected by course grades, on a third-semester electromagnetism course at a Swedish research university was motivated by instructor concerns about gender inequalities. Quantitative analysis showed a gender gap in course grades between female and male students for the period of fall 2007 to spring 2013.…

Mental rotation is an important spatial processing ability and an important element in intelligence tests. However, the majority of past attempts at training mental rotation have used paper-and-pencil tests or digital images. This study proposes an innovative mental rotation training approach using magnetic motion controllers to allow learners to…

The Advanced Placement® (AP®) Program offers high school students the opportunity to take rigorous coursework in high school and receive college credit for AP Exam scores that meet or exceed the requirements of their attending institution. Students receiving AP credit are typically exempted from an introductory level course or series of courses…