An important result of physics education research is that students' learning and success in a course is correlated with their beliefs, attitudes, and expectations regarding physics. However, it is hard to assess these beliefs for individual students, and traditional survey instruments such as the Maryland Physics Expectations Survey (MPEX) are…

We introduce resource graphs, a representation of linked ideas used when reasoning about specific contexts in physics. Our model is consistent with previous descriptions of coordination classes and resources. It represents mesoscopic scales that are neither knowledge-in-pieces nor large-scale concepts. We use resource graphs to describe several…

We examine Illinois educational data from standardized exams and analyze primary factors affecting the achievement of public school students. We focus on the simplest possible models: representation of data through visualizations and regressions on single variables. Exam scores are shown to depend on school type, location, and poverty…

We report on several specific student difficulties regarding the second law of thermodynamics in the context of heat engines within upper-division undergraduate thermal physics courses. Data come from ungraded written surveys, graded homework assignments, and videotaped classroom observations of tutorial activities. Written data show that students…

Narrated animated solution videos were implemented in a clinical study that compared a mastery setting that employed repeated cycles of testing with instructional support to a group that had a single opportunity to experience the materials. The mastery setting students attempted sequential questions sets on a topic, with animated solutions between…

We modified the Just-in-Time Teaching approach and developed a dual safeguard web-based interactive (DGWI) teaching system for an introductory physics course. The system consists of four instructional components that improve student learning by including warm-up assignments and online homework. Student and instructor activities involve activities…

This study was based on the hypothesis that students' epistemological beliefs could become more expertlike with a combination of appropriate instructional activities: (i) preclass reading with metacognitive reflection, and (ii) in-class active learning that produces cognitive dissonance. This hypothesis was tested through a five-year study…

Students' epistemologies affect how and what they learn: do they believe physics is a list of equations, or a coherent and sensible description of the physical world? In order to study these epistemologies as part of curricular assessment, we adopt the resources framework, which posits that students have many productive epistemological resources…

In this study we investigated how two different approaches to drawing free body diagrams influence the development of students' understanding of Newton's laws, including their ability to identify real forces. For this purpose we developed a 12-item two-tier multiple choice survey and conducted a quasiexperiment. This experiment included two groups…

We report on seven years of attitudinal data using the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey from University Modeling Instruction (UMI) sections of introductory physics at Florida International University. University Modeling Instruction is a curricular and pedagogical transformation of introductory university physics that engages…

In this paper we present a series of item response models of data collected using the Force Concept Inventory. The Force Concept Inventory (FCI) was designed to poll the Newtonian conception of force viewed as a multidimensional concept, that is, as a complex of distinguishable conceptual dimensions. Several previous studies have developed…

Separation of variables can be a powerful technique for solving many of the partial differential equations that arise in physics contexts. Upper-division physics students encounter this technique in multiple topical areas including electrostatics and quantum mechanics. To better understand the difficulties students encounter when utilizing the…

Thermal science is challenging for students due to its largely imperceptible nature. Handheld infrared cameras offer a pedagogical opportunity for students to see otherwise invisible thermal phenomena. In the present study, a class of upper secondary technology students (N = 30) partook in four IR-camera laboratory activities, designed around the…

Understanding Maxwell's equations in differential form is of great importance when studying the electrodynamic phenomena discussed in advanced electromagnetism courses. It is therefore necessary that students master the use of vector calculus in physical situations. In this light we investigated the difficulties second year students at KU Leuven…

Standardized conceptual assessment represents a widely used tool for educational researchers interested in student learning within the standard undergraduate physics curriculum. For example, these assessments are often used to measure student learning across educational contexts and instructional strategies. However, to support the large-scale…