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…

Self-efficacy has emerged as one of the most important noncognitive variables explaining academic behavior. It has been shown to influence students' academic and career decisions as well as their academic performance. Multiple studies have reported differences in self-efficacy between men and women in science, technology, engineering, and…

This study investigates the evolution and associations between exam grades and social comparison concern (SCC) among students in an introductory calculus-based physics course. We begin with a descriptive characterization of midterm and final exam scores as well as pre-post SCC scores, including the concurrent evolution of these scores during the…

Instructional explanations are an ubiquitous component of classroom instruction, but are relatively neglected in science education when compared to other facets of teaching and learning. The ubiquity of instructional explanations and their potential to stimulate learning in students suggests that they should garner more attention from science…

Physics educators keep adding many skill developments to science and engineering students during their education as individuals and groups including critical thinking, conceptual understanding, problem-solving, mathematical implementation, computational implementation, etc. Here, we are discussing how to reach and analyse students' outcomes within…

This study reports an analysis of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) using item response curves (IRC)--the fraction of students selecting each response to an item as a function of their total score. Three large samples (N = 9606, 4360, and 1439) of calculus-based physics students were analyzed. These were drawn from three land-grant institutions…

Previously, we had reported on the relationship between AP physics experience and exam scores, and student scores on the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation and in an introductory calculus-based mechanics course [E. W. Burkholder and C. E. Wieman, Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 15, 020117 (2019)]. Two limitations to our previous work were that we…

Previous work has looked at the relationship between high school preparation and student performance in calculus-based introductory mechanics (physics 1) courses. Here, we extend that work to look at performance in introductory calculus-based electricity and magnetism (physics 2), and we look at the significance of what college math courses have…

We discuss an investigation of students' motivational beliefs and performance on the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) in a calculus-based introductory physics course at a large public university in the U.S. We investigated how students' perception of the inclusiveness of the learning environment (including perceived recognition, perceived…

Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in using virtual reality (VR) technology to benefit instruction, especially in physics and related subjects. As VR devices improve and become more widely available, there remains a number of unanswered questions regarding the impact of VR on student learning and how best to use this technology in the…

Responsive instruction--or instruction that foregrounds and takes up the disciplinary substance of student thinking--is both a hallmark of recent STEM education reforms and challenging to enact. This kind of instruction may be especially challenging in instructional contexts that mandate or rely on curriculum with set, structured learning…

Several prior studies in introductory physics have found a gender gap, i.e., a difference between male and female students' performance on conceptual assessments such as the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) and the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM) with male students performing better than female students. Moreover, prior studies…

Discussion forums provide a channel for students to engage with peers and course material outside of class, accessible even to commuter and nontraditional populations. Forums can build classroom community and aid learning, but students do not always take up these tools. We use network analysis to compare three semesters of forum logs from an…

We examine how student aptitudes impact how much students learn from doing graded online and written homework in an introductory electricity and magnetism course. Our analysis examines the correlation between successful homework completion rates and exam performance as well as how changes in homework completion correlate with changes in exam…

In an effort to maintain the global competitiveness of the United States, ensuring a strong Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) workforce is essential. The purpose of this study was to identify high school courses that serve as predictors of success in college level gatekeeper courses, which in turn led to the successful…