While the goals for instructional labs have been highly debated, there is consensus that labs have unique potential to develop students’ scientific and experimentation abilities. I present a simple scaffold for introductory labs that uses iterative cycles of comparisons (either between data sets or between data and models) to develop students' epistemologies, experimentation behaviors, and critical thinking abilities. By focusing the iterations on improving measurements, students explore the limits of physical models in the real world and engage in the evaluation and refinement of these models. In a controlled research study, students adopted these behaviors and continued to use them even after instruction to do so had been removed.

N. G. Holmes, Developing Quantitative Critical Thinking in the Introductory Physics Lab, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.plenary.001.

Inherent in the practice of apprentice-model undergraduate research (UR) is a fundamental tension between the educational goals of UR and its basis in faculty scholarship. This tension leads to challenges for faculty in guiding student researchers in their daily work and in positioning their own UR work within institutionally bifurcated domains of teaching and research. It also generates a disconnect when it comes to measuring the outcomes of UR. Traditional outcome measures emphasize students' career outcomes and research productivity, while education research has documented students' personal and professional learning from UR, including new skills and understandings of disciplinary inquiry, growth in confidence and responsibility, and scientific identity development. Thus far, self-report measures including surveys and interviews have dominated this young body of research. I discuss why assessing the outcomes of apprentice-model undergraduate research is inherently difficult, outline some strengths and limitations of the approaches tried to date, and suggest areas for future research, including the design and measurement challenges that arise in attempting to incorporate undergraduate research into courses.

S. L. Laursen, Challenges and opportunities for measuring student outcomes of undergraduate research, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.plenary.002.

Most previous work on student learning with PhET Sims focuses on classroom environments where students work in groups, with scaffolding from both worksheets and instructors. By contrast, we present a study that demonstrates students can learn from PhET Sims when working independently, both in class and at home, when using appropriately scaffolded worksheets. Here we explore the space of when and how students can learn individually from PhET Sims.

W. K. Adams, Z. Armstrong, and C. Galovich, Can students learn from PhET sims at home, alone?, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.001.

Research has shown that visual cues can facilitate problem solving by helping direct students’ attention to relevant areas of a diagram. We investigate the effect of visual cues and outcome feedback on students’ visual attention while solving conceptual physics problems containing a diagram. Students (N=89) enrolled in introductory mechanics courses were individually interviewed using a think-aloud protocol. Students solved four sets of problems, each set containing an initial problem, four training problems, a near transfer problem, and a far transfer problem. Students in the cued conditions saw visual cues on the training problems, and students in the feedback conditions were told whether their responses were correct or incorrect. Two weeks later, the same students solved near and far transfer problems from the main study. We found that a combination of visual cues and outcome feedback significantly improves performance on transfer and delayed transfer problems. Cueing and feedback influence shifts in visual attention to the relevant areas of the diagram on the transfer and delayed transfer problems differently.

E. Agra, D. Johnson, J. Hutson, L. C. Loschky, and N. S. Rebello, Influence of visual cueing and outcome feedback on students’ visual attention during problem solving, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.002.

One vision for the classroom use of learning progressions (LPs) involves using diagnostic assessments to determine a student’s LP “level” in order to make instructional decisions. However, little is known about how experienced teachers reason about assessment information and thus how LP-based information might support their instructional decision-making. In this paper, we explore five experienced teachers’ interactions with the same set of LP-based score reports to address the following questions: (1) What assumptions do teachers make about student thinking as they interact with LP-based assessment information? (2) What instructional reasoning is supported by these assumptions? We find that teachers conceptualize and use the LP levels differently from how the LP designers intended, but that the LP-based diagnostic information can be helpful to them in other, sometimes unanticipated, ways.

A. C. Alonzo and A. Elby, How Physics Teachers Model Student Thinking and Plan Instructional Responses When Using Learning-Progression-Based Assessment Information, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.003.

Evidence suggests that a major obstacle to student success in the construction of physics integrals is an inability to formulate and interpret differentials and products involving differentials. In differentials training, we conducted a controlled experiment at the introductory level to assess the effects of electronic feedback and physical context. This between-students design featured pairs of similarly-styled training tasks that varied by physical context, either on paper without feedback or on a computer with electronic feedback. A post-test featuring all physical contexts and several transfer questions was given to all conditions. We found significant differences in post-test score among the various physical contexts. Also, training with electronic feedback was seen to outperform both Control and paper-based training without feedback.

N. R. Amos and A. F. Heckler, Student Understanding of Differentials in Introductory Physics, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.004.

Grant agencies are requiring documentation that goes beyond anecdote. We work with inservice middle-school and high-school teachers in two high-needs urban school districts in Ohio. Teachers who attend the summer institutes received at least 133 hours of professional development, which leads to changes in classrooms. We report on several ways we measure changes in teacher practice, including self reports and staff observations.

G. J. A. II, J. Esswein, J. Creamer, and B. Schmitt, Revealing Effects Of Changes In Middle School Science Teachers’ Practices, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.005.

A variety of tools have been created to understand student performance on multiple-choice tests, including analysis of normalized gain, item response curves, and more. These methods typically focus on correct answers. Many incorrect responses contain value and can be used as building blocks for instruction, but present tools do not account for productive reasoning leading to an incorrect response. Inspired by Item Response Curves, we introduce Idea Use Curves, which relate frequency with which an idea is used to student performance. We use this tool to consider ideas which may be present in both correct responses and distractors, letting us attend more to students’ conceptual understanding. This tool is made with the goal of identifying ideas that are consistently used by students who perform well or poorly, allowing researchers and instructors to look beyond the “correct/incorrect” paradigm. We explore student reasoning about energy as a proof of concept for this method.

A. Axthelm, M. C. Wittmann, C. Alvarado, and L. A. Millay, Idea Use Curves, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.006.

This study compared the effect of two types of interventions on subsequent student performance with a target synthesis problem. Students either solved two single-concept problems (priming) or compared worked solutions across one of four different analogical reasoning conditions. These four conditions varied according to the type of examples compared (single-concept vs. synthesis) and structural similarity to the target problem. Taken together, the analogical reasoning conditions performed significantly better than control (d=0.31). However, there were no significant differences between the different analogical reasoning conditions, or between analogical reasoning and priming. Although student responses on the target synthesis problem were similar across conditions, their responses to the analogical reasoning tasks showed potentially useful differences in referenced concepts and response grain size, from generic to more precise.

R. Badeau, D. R. White, B. Ibrahim, A. F. Heckler, and L. Ding, Applying analogical reasoning to introductory-level synthesis problems, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.007.

Undergraduate physics students are known to have difficulties with understanding mathematical tools, and with applying their knowledge of mathematics to physical contexts. Using survey statements based on student interviews and written responses to open-ended questions, we investigated the prevalence of correct and incorrect conceptions regarding the divergence and curl of vector fields, among both mathematics and physics students. We compare and contrast pre-instruction responses from intermediate-level E&M students at KU Leuven and the University of St Andrews, with post-instruction responses from St Andrews students enrolled in a vector calculus course. The differences between these student populations were primarily in areas having to do with physics-related concepts and graphical representations of vector fields. Our comparison of pre- and post-instruction responses from E&M students shows that their understanding of the divergence and curl improved significantly in most areas, though not as much as would be desired.

C. Baily, L. Bollen, A. Pattie, P. van Kampen, and M. De Cock, Student thinking about the divergence and curl in mathematics and physics contexts, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.008.

We discover pairs of questions (items) that students answer in a dependent manner by applying Fisher's Exact Test to a sample of 1080 students answering 257 items in the MOOC 8MReVx. To eliminate false positives arising from the large range of student abilities, we divided students into groups of similar ability by: 1) similar percentage correct on first try (CFT) of all available problems, 2) similar percentage CFT of problems attempted, and 3) similar skills determined by Item Response Theory. All three methods dramatically reduce the number of false dependencies in a similar fashion. Importantly, using 5 groups 70% (vs. 5% without groups) of dependent pairs of items have identical ratings in all four categories of the Taxonomy of Introductory Physics Problems, [1] 70% (vs. 23%) are of the same pedagogical type, 45% (vs. <1%) are items in the same problem, and 100% (vs. 12%) reside in the same course Chapter.

T. A. Balint, R. E. Teodorescu, K. Colvin, Y. Choi, and D. E. Pritchard, Identifying characteristics of pairs of questions that students answer similarly, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.009.

Students take a two-phase exam twice: once individually, and a second time working in teams. Proponents hope that during the team phase, students will discuss, debate, and resolve questions by sharing their reasoning, challenging each other, and reaching consensus. Potential adopters fear that students might uncritically follow the majority answer or mimic one dominant team member. To explore this empirically, I data-mined students' solo- and team-phase responses from the final exams of three different introductory physics courses to construct multiple measures of team dynamics. My results substantiate prior findings that teams do engage in meaningful debate and explore the virtues of various possible answers. The two-phase exam implementation used does not force teams to submit a common answer, allows students to "hedging their bets" for partial credit, and incentivizes helping teammates.

I. D. Beatty, Collaboration or copying? Student behavior during two-phase exams with individual and team phases, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.010.

A robust grasp of electromagnetic (EM) plane waves is helpful for studying advanced Optics topics such as reflection, interference, and the wavelength dependence of refractive index. Although there have been many studies of students' understanding of waves, only a small fraction have been dedicated to plane waves, which are particularly challenging both conceptually and mathematically. In this study, nine upper-level science/engineering majors were prompted to explain how a provided mathematical representation of an EM plane wave dictated something conceptually planar. An unexpected initial finding is that students' initial responses always went outside the realm of the prompt: they either focused on aspects of the mathematics that were unrelated to planes, or they relied upon outside information to make the connection to planes. This revealed difficulty in blending the conceptual and mathematical representations.

A. J. Berger, Interviews with Upper-Level Undergraduates about Representations of Electromagnetic Plane Waves, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.011.

One attribute of experts is that they are likely to learn from their own mistakes. Experts are unlikely to make the same mistakes when asked to solve a problem a second time, especially if they have had access to a correct solution. Here, we discuss a study spanning several years in which advanced undergraduate physics students in a quantum mechanics course were given identical problems in both the midterm exam and final exam. Approximately half of the students were given incentives to correct their mistakes in the midterm exam and they could get back up to 50% of the points lost on each midterm exam problem. The solutions to the midterm exam problems were provided to all students in both groups but those who corrected their mistakes were provided the solution after they submitted their corrections to the instructor. The performance on the final exam on the same problems suggests that students who were given incentives to correct their mistakes significantly outperformed those who were not given an incentive. The incentive to correct the mistakes had the greatest impact on the final exam performance of students who performed poorly on the midterm exam.

B. R. Brown, C. Singh, and A. J. Mason, The effect of giving explicit incentives to correct mistakes on subsequent problem solving in quantum mechanics, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.012.

Throughout introductory physics, students create and interpret free body diagrams in which multiple forces act on an object, typically at a single location (the object’s center of mass). The situation increases in difficulty when multiple objects are involved, and further when electric and magnetic fields are present. In the latter, sources of the fields are often identified as a set of electric charges or current-carrying wires, and students are asked to determine the electric or magnetic field at a separate location defined as the observation location. Previous research suggests students do not always appropriately account for how a measurement or calculation depends on the observation location. We present preliminary results from a studio-style, algebra-based, introductory electricity and magnetism course showing the prevalence of correct and incorrect responses to questions about observation location by analyzing student written work involving vector addition of fields.

J. Bryant, R. Dawod, S. M. Fischer, and M. B. Kustusch, Exploring Student Difficulties With Observation Location, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.013.

A recent study in a calculus-based introductory physics course found that students performed significantly better on vector addition and subtraction tasks when questions were given in the ijk representation instead of an ``arrows-on-a-grid'' representation. This study also presented evidence that working knowledge of the ijk format was necessary to correctly perform vector operations in the arrow format, which has instructional implications for algebra-based introductory physics, as many associated courses and texts extensively use the arrow format and neglect the ijk format. We conducted a study of students in an algebra-based introductory physics course where students were given no explicit instruction on the ijk format, but had received instruction on the arrow format. We find that at the end of the semester algebra-based introductory physics students perform significantly higher in the ijk representation than in the arrow representation on both one- and two-dimensional problems. Our findings imply that these students may also benefit from the use of ijk in class or as part of instruction.

J. B. Buncher, Algebra-Based Students and Vector Representations: Arrow vs. ijk, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.014.

Computation, the use of a computer to solve, simulate, or visualize a physical problem, has revolutionized how physics research is done. Computation is used widely to model systems, to simulate experiments, and to analyze data. Yet, in most undergraduate programs, students have little formal opportunity to engage with computation and, thus, are left to their own to develop their computational expertise. As part of a larger project to study how computation is incorporated in some undergraduate physics programs (and how it might be incorporated further), we convened a mini-conference and conducted a series of interviews with industry professionals, academic faculty, and employed bachelor's graduates who make use of computation in their everyday work. We present preliminary results that speak to how participants developed the requisite skills to do professional computational work and what skills they perceive are necessary to conduct such work.

M. D. Caballero, Computation across the curriculum: What skills are needed?, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.015.

A standard method for measuring learning is to administer the same assessment before and after instruction. This pre/post-test technique is widely used in education research and has been used in our introductory physics MOOC to measure learning. One potential weakness of this paradigm is that post-test performance gains may result from exposure on the pre-test instead of instruction. This possibility is exacerbated in MOOCs where students receive multiple attempts per item, instant correct/incorrect feedback, and unlimited time (until the due date). To find the size of this problem in our recent MOOCs, we split the student population into two groups, each of which received identical post-tests but different subsets of post-test items on their group pre-test. We report a small overall advantage (2.9% ± 1.7%) on post-test items due to pre-test exposure. However, this advantage is not robust and is strongly diminished when one obviously anomalous item is removed.

C. Chudzicki, Z. Chen, Q. Zhou, G. Alexandron, and D. E. Pritchard, Validating the pre/post-test in a MOOC environment, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.016.

An assessment question involving Newton’s 2nd law was administered in a physics course for preservice elementary teachers before and again after instruction. The posttest included a prompt asking students to describe the specific ways their thinking changed. Student reasoning was coded for physics content accuracy; many students exhibited changes from primitive, experiential-based reasoning to more formal reasoning. Students' self-reported reflections were then compared to the differences in the pre- and posttest codes. We find that many students do not identify substantive changes in their reasoning, while other students reflect at only a surface level. We also find that some students overestimate their initial level of understanding.

T. Claire, T. L. Tippett, and A. Boudreaux, How accurate are physics students in evaluating changes in their understanding?, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.017.

We describe a new type of faculty working group, a Departmental Action Team (DAT), that forms one component of a larger strategy towards enacting cultural change in higher education. DATs empower a team of faculty members within a single department to make focused, sustainable change in their department. DATs focus on departmental development, supporting faculty in designing and implementing structures to address an educational problem of mutual interest and broad-scale importance to their department (rather than trying to "solve" the problem themselves). This contrasts other faculty development efforts like Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs), which support the individual development of faculty from different departments through reflection on separate education projects. We contextualize the DAT model through a case study of a group that is focused on improving gender and racial equity among their undergraduate majors.

J. C. Corbo, D. L. Reinholz, M. H. Dancy, and N. D. Finkelstein, Departmental Action Teams: Empowering faculty to make sustainable change, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.018.

The internal sensors within students’ smartphones are capable of collecting the data required of a traditional introductory mechanics laboratory curriculum. Some instructors have begun to implement these data collection devices into their labs. This report describes a project—entitled “MyTech,” or “Measurements using everydaY TECHnologies”—that constitutes one such implementation. MyTech includes the development of a curriculum; the creation of a mobile app; and the determination of the impact of students’ smartphones on their kinematics graphing skills and their attitudes regarding their laboratory. A battery of pre- and post-semester testing as well as video recordings allow for determination of these impacts. Administration of the CLASS, for example, indicates greater positive shifts in “real-world connections” for the section using smartphones. The project also involved development of a new tool for video analysis that aids in determining the nature of the student-equipment interactions during the labs.

C. L. Countryman, The educational impact of smartphone implementation in introductory mechanics laboratories, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.019.

The physics classroom provides an excellent opportunity for students to comprehend global sustainability issues and simultaneously be empowered by their science learning. Drawing on data from a large national survey study of college students about their high school science experiences, we compare how frequently sustainability topics (e.g. energy supply, energy demand, climate change, water supply) are covered in high school physics versus other science courses. Furthermore, employing science agency and physics identity theoretical perspectives, we examine whether the inclusion of sustainability topics has an effect on students' science agency beliefs or their physics identities while controlling for demographics and other background variables. Our results indicate that physics courses are reported to cover sustainability topics less frequently than other science courses. In addition, the inclusion of certain topics (e.g. energy supply) has significant effect on students' science agency beliefs and physics identity.

J. C. Doscher, Z. Hazari, G. Potvin, and L. Klotz, Sustainability Topics in Physics Education, Science Agency Beliefs and Physics Identity, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.020.

Troubleshooting systems is integral to experimental physics in both research and instructional laboratory settings. The recently adopted AAPT Lab Guidelines identify troubleshooting as an important learning outcome of the undergraduate laboratory curriculum. We investigate students' model-based reasoning on a troubleshooting task using data collected in think-aloud interviews during which pairs of students attempted to diagnose and repair a malfunctioning circuit. Our analysis scheme is informed by the Experimental Modeling Framework (EMF), which describes physicists' use of mathematical and conceptual models when reasoning about experimental systems. We show how students' work on a troubleshooting task can be mapped onto the EMF.

D. R. Dounas-Frazer, K. L. Van De Bogart, M. R. Stetzer, and H. J. Lewandowski, The role of modeling in troubleshooting: An example from electronics, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.021.

Every year, graduate admissions processes determine which applicants are admitted to doctoral programs in physics around the country, and which are not. Despite their importance, relatively little is known about how admissions decisions are made and the normative practices surrounding them. In the current work, we adapt topological data methods (general techniques for cluster identification and relation) to look for the existence of distinct admissions strategies that institutions use in their admissions decisions. We analyze data drawn from a recent survey of faculty (graduate directors, etc) responsible for doctoral admissions, conducted in conjunction with the APS Bridge Program, which includes responses from individuals at over 85% of the active doctoral programs in the U.S. Our results suggest the existence of two distinct but similar groups of modest size, which differ in their strategies by their approach to the use of student grades and prior research experiences.

J. Doyle and G. Potvin, In search of distinct graduate admission strategies in physics: An exploratory study using topological data analysis, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.022.

Quantum mechanics can seem like a departure from everyday experience of the physical world, but constructivist theories assert that learners build new ideas from their existing ones. To explore how students can navigate this tension, we examine video of a focus group completing a tutorial about the “particle in a box.” In reasoning about the properties of a quantum particle, the students bring in elements of a classical particle ontology, evidenced by students’ language and gestures. This reasoning, however, is modulated by metacognitive moments when the group explicitly considers whether classical intuitions apply to the quantum system. The students find some cases where they can usefully apply classical ideas to quantum physics, and others where they explicitly contrast classical and quantum mechanics. Negotiating this boundary with metacognitive awareness is part of the process of building quantum intuitions. Our data suggest that (some) students bring productive intellectual resources to this negotiation.

B. W. Dreyfus, E. R. Sohr, A. Gupta, and A. Elby, “Classical-ish”: Negotiating the Boundary between Classical and Quantum Particles, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.023.

The language used to describe concepts related to energy within the disciplines of physics and chemistry was interpreted in terms of the common definitions and ontologies of energy. Experts and novices in both domains were asked to define energy, kinetic energy, and potential energy and perform word association tasks as part of a larger semi-structured interview on energy. The provided responses were coded and analyzed based on definition and ontology to determine consistency. In general, a range of views on energy was seen, with most novices defining energy as “the ability to do work.” Experts tended to describe energy more generally based on its characteristics. These are preliminary results related to a larger study looking at the compartmentalization of energy concepts between the domains of chemistry and physics.

T. A. French, A. Sanchez, L. A. Macur Brousil, and E. E. Balison, Compartmentalization of Energy Concepts--Definitions, Ontologies, and Word Associations, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.024.

We administered the Pedagogical Expectancy Violation Assessment (PEVA), a survey that provides information about students’ expectations, experiences, and attitudes pertaining to activities encountered in the classroom, to students enrolled in four sections of an algebra-based active-learning physics course at Eastern Kentucky University. We used results from the PEVA to investigate students’ overall satisfaction in the course. Students’ experiences of the 14 activities on the PEVA clustered into three factors: instructor-related activities, individual effort, and working with classmates. We found that, controlling for students’ expected final grade in the course, frequency of instructor-related activities and affect toward individual effort and working with classmates were good predictors of student satisfaction.

J. D. H. Gaffney and A. L. H. Gaffney, How personal effort, student interactions, and instructor support relate to physics student satisfaction, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.025.

The American Physical Society recently released a statement calling on all university physics departments to provide or facilitate access to research experiences for all undergraduate students. In response, we investigated the current status of access to undergraduate research at University of Colorado Boulder (CU), a large research institution where the number of undergraduate physics majors outnumber faculty by roughly ten to one. We created and administered two surveys within CU's Physics Department: one probed undergraduate students' familiarity with, and participation in, research; the other probed faculty members' experiences as research mentors to undergraduates. We describe the development of these instruments, our results, and our corresponding evidence-based recommendations for improving local access to undergraduate research experiences. Reflecting on our work, we make several connections to an institutional change framework and note how other universities and colleges might adapt our process.

S. 5. Hanshaw, D. R. Dounas-Frazer, and H. J. Lewandowski, Access to undergraduate research experiences at a large research university, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.026.

Students rarely develop school-prompted interest in science in ways that lead to out-of-school engagement. Existing research has highlighted that positive science identities foster this out-of-school engagement. We have been investigating a form of out-of-school engagement called transformative experiences - a construct that characterizes moments where students engage in free-choice transfer of science concepts to everyday settings in ways they find meaningful. Based on interviews conducted with undergraduate students who had indicated deep out-of-school engagement based on a transformative experience survey, we compare and contrast three cases that illustrate a broader spectrum of factors that may contribute to students’ engagement outside of class. While our analysis corroborates previous findings concerning the role that science identity can play, our analysis sheds new light on ways in which topical interest and classroom dynamics can also foster transformative experiences.

K. L. Hayes and B. W. Frank, Identity, Topical Interest, and Classroom Dynamics as Supports of Transformative Experiences, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.027.

We have been conducting a long-term investigation at the University of Washington into student difficulties with electrostatics concepts, involving students at both the introductory and upper-division level. An important finding is that standard instruction through lecture and textbook does not provide students with a coherent conceptual model that is sufficient to understand the behavior of conductors. We have identified specific difficulties and developed worksheets for both Tutorials in Introductory Physics and Tutorials in Physics on the electric properties of conductors. This paper demonstrates that a teaching strategy designed to help students construct a model for conductors can significantly improve student understanding, at both the introductory and junior levels.

R. L. C. Hazelton, P. S. Shaffer, and P. R. L. Heron, Facilitating model-building of electrostatics concepts related to conductors, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.028.

In this project, we seek to understand how instructors scaffold and support students' interdisciplinary engagement in an Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences (IPLS) course developed at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) as part of a broader design research project. Here we analyze how one educator positioned scientific disciplines in relation to one another over a two-year time span. Our analysis of the educator's discourse in the classroom demonstrates shifts in the messages the educator sends about the domains of physics and biology. In year one, physics and biology were largely described as distinct and different, but in year two they were more frequently described as similar, complementary, and overlapping.

D. Hemingway, V. Sawtelle, and C. Turpen, How an educator characterizes scientific domains and disciplinary relationships: A case of change, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.029.

Following the creation of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), many STEM discipline-based education researchers developed their own version of concept inventories. To incorporate all types of concept inventories created, we introduce the terminology of Conceptual Learning Assessment Instruments (CLAIs). Previous research shows much variation between what is considered a CLAI and the type of evidence used to support the inferences made from the results of CLAIs. As part of our study, we began by creating the Conceptual Learning Assessment Inventory Methodology Survey (CLAIMS). The CLAIMS was sent to developers of over 100 CLAIs identified via a systematic/ structured literature review. This paper discusses the research behind the CLAIMS as well as the preliminary results for the different CLAIs specifically differences in the field-testing of the CLAIs.

J. L. Henning, K. A. Douglas, and R. S. Lindell, Preliminary results for the development and deployment of Conceptual Learning Assessment Instruments Methodology Survey (CLAIMS), 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.030.

In order to better understand the impact of lab courses and experiential learning on students' views of professional physics and physics careers, we are developing tools that assess students' epistemology specifically related to physics experiments. We developed an open-ended survey about doing physics experiments and administered the survey to students from introductory-level to graduate level students. We then constructed a framework of student epistemology of experimental physics, which includes topics such as link between theory and experiment, autonomy in experimentation, and justifications for the validity of experiments. We also identified key aspects of epistemological development from introductory physics students to graduate students.

D. Hu and B. M. Zwickl, Framework for Students’ Epistemological Development in Physics Experiments, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.031.

As part of a larger project we analyze think-aloud data to produce descriptions of thinking. This analysis requires inferring thinking from observable participant behaviors, primarily what participants say. To produce rich and reasonably accurate descriptions of the thinking we focus on several different features in the data. We analyze the participants’ speech for both their description of their thinking and the insight provided into their context dependent expectations. We also attend to two non-verbal features in the data, gestures and pauses. In this paper we focus on each analytic feature, first describing the relevant research base and then explaining how we operationalize it in our analyses. We tentatively claim that coordinating the analyses of the four features produces more accurate descriptions of reasoning than traditional think-aloud analysis methods, which focus primarily on analyzing speech.

P. Hutchison, I. Monaghan, and R. Morgan, A multidimensional analysis method for think-aloud protocol data, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.032.

In order to characterize how individuals make sense of their physics and racial identities and intersections of these identities, four university graduate students were interviewed about their own pathways into the field. To analyze these interviews, we utilize a narrative inquiry process combined with Nasir’s (2011) framework of racialized identity resources. These interviews are analyzed in a two-step process: 1) to understand how participants make sense of their journey into physics, and 2) to investigate how their stories connect to race and gender. We find that the way these graduates talk about their pathways draws from common discourses around race and gender in STEM and provides information about what resources were most influential along their way.

S. Hyater-Adams, K. A. Hinko, and N. D. Finkelstein, Pathways to STEM: Understanding Identity of Adult Physicists through Narrative Analysis, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.033.

An important focus of the projects and practices in physics (P3) classroom at Michigan State University (MSU) is the development of scientific practices. However, it is very difficult for students to learn scientific practices such as communicating scientific information or constructive argumentation without feedback based on social interactions involving these practices. In the P3 class week, students are provided with written feedback based on observations by an instructor that is aimed at guiding the students in the appropriation of scientific practices. Through interviews, we examine student’s reflections on their interpretation of the purpose of the feedback and what effect if any it had on their participation. By understanding how students respond to certain feedback, we can operationalize and improve the feedback that we give to students.

P. W. Irving, V. Sawtelle, and M. D. Caballero, Troubleshooting Formative Feedback in P³ (Projects and Practices in Physics), 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.034.

Students’ frustration could be a crucial factor preventing successful implementation of inquiry-based learning environments. Here we describe the results of improving students’ attitudes towards open-ended ISLE labs where students design their own experiments. We apply the “flow” framework to analyze students’ responses to the survey concerning their experience during the labs. We describe the revisions of the course based on this analysis that resulted in a significant improvement of students’ attitude toward the labs

A. Karelina, Designing a lab course from the perspective of flow theory, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.035.

This study investigates the characteristics valued by teacher-researchers in collaborative group learning. Video data of groups engaging in the Physics and Everyday Thinking High School activities was collected from one teacher implementing the curriculum, and salient characteristics of group interactions were identified. These characteristics were organized into codes. The frequency of these codes was analyzed for trends. Based upon the code frequency analysis, the group that teacher-researchers identified as most effective engaged in more sense-making, displayed greater equity of voice, and demonstrated more equitable contributions. These findings may have implications for what actions teacher-researchers value in student groups. These valued behaviors may provide potential for interventions to improve group effectiveness and student achievement.

J. Keil, R. Stober, E. Quinty, B. Molloy, and N. Hooker, Identifying and Analyzing Actions of Effective Group Work, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.036.

The science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education communities have developed many innovative teaching strategies and learning materials in the past few decades. While these innovations have significant promise for improving undergraduate STEM education they commonly go unused by other STEM instructors. This study is an inquiry into the relatively small number of teaching innovations that have become widely used in college-level STEM disciplines. The disciplines include biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, geoscience, mathematics, and physics. The successfully propagated innovations were identified via experts in each discipline and were validated through member checking and searches of relevant literature. Short descriptions of each innovation were developed and, when applicable, sent to the original developer for feedback, and publically-available funding data was collected. In this paper we focus on the “branded” innovations—innovations with a central leadership and core set of practices. Many of these originated in physics, and the majority focus on changes in pedagogy, not content. In addition, most have received funding for at least ten years. These commonalities have implications for the structure of current funding models and the ease of implementing changes in content.

R. Khatri, C. R. Henderson, R. Cole, J. Froyd, D. Friedrichsen, and C. Stanford, Characteristics of well-propagated undergraduate STEM teaching innovations, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.037.

Quantum entanglement is a central concept of quantum theory for multiple particles. Entanglement played an important role in the development of the foundations of the theory and makes possible modern applications in quantum information technology. As part of the QuVis Quantum Mechanics Visualization Project, we developed an interactive simulation Entanglement: The nature of quantum correlations using two-particle entangled spin states. We investigated student understanding of entanglement at the introductory and advanced undergraduate levels by collecting student activity and post-test responses using two versions of the simulation and carrying out a small number of student interviews. Common incorrect ideas found include statements that all entangled states must be maximally entangled (i.e. show perfect correlations or anticorrelations along all common measurement axes), that the spins of particles in a product state must have definite values (cannot be in a superposition state with respect to spin) and difficulty factorizing product states. Outcomes from this work will inform further development of the QuVis Entanglement simulation.

A. Kohnle and E. Deffebach, Investigating student understanding of quantum entanglement, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.038.

Summer academic bridge programs often play a dual role of supporting students’ academic and social integration in the transition from high school to college. Assessment of the impact of such programs tends to rely on self-reported student surveys and institutional records and often does not control for self-selection effects. Using multivariate-matching methods, this study examines the effect of a summer bridge engineering program on subsequent academic performance such as cumulative GPA. Controlling for selection effects, the analysis accounts for pre-college academic and demographic covariates and creates a matched control and treatment group. Within this well-controlled framework, we find no impact on an academic outcome, which resonates with other research findings. Viewed through the lens of Nora’s student engagement model, we discuss social integration outcomes which can potentially assess indirect programmatic effects such as participation in a Learning Assistant Program and enrollment in reformed STEM classes.

H. Kornreich-Leshem, E. Brewe, Z. Hazari, M. Milani, G. Potvin, and L. H. Kramer, Evaluation of a Summer Bridge Program Using Multivariate Matching, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.039.

We studied a group of middle school teachers as they modified curriculum and developed common formative assessments on force and motion concepts. While discussing assessment goals for student understanding of acceleration, two of the teachers held opposing models about the implications of the sign of acceleration on the direction of an object’s motion and whether it was speeding up or slowing down. Failing to resolve the inconsistency between their individual models, the teachers wrote an assessment item for which both models would provide the same correct response, albeit for different reasons. The potential for correct answers for incorrect reasons created ambiguity in the classroom use of the assessment as a formative measure of student understanding. More specifically, the item had limited ability both to refine the teachers’ thinking and accurately inform their instruction, interventions, and feedback that would support students in identifying their mistakes.

G. D. Kranich, M. C. Wittmann, and C. Alvarado, Teachers’ conflicting conceptual models and the efficacy of formative assessments, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.040.

Current step-by-step, problem-solving frameworks have been shown to improve aspects of students’ problem solving. However, conceptual problem-solving shortcuts that break from these frameworks may demonstrate adaptive problem solving. Following an approach from Heckler [1], we show that prompting introductory physics students to complete a common initial step of these frameworks (“draw a free-body diagram”) before solving force problems decreases the use of conceptual shortcuts and increases reproduction of standard procedures. Extending this paradigm, students were then asked to evaluate a sample informal solution for a force problem. When the problem text included a diagram prompt, students rated the informal solution less favorably, commenting that the solution was not formal enough. These results imply that the prompt to draw a diagram not only cues procedural problem-solving approaches, but also may push students away from informal approaches that demonstrate problem-solving expertise.

E. Kuo, N. R. Hallinen, and L. D. Conlin, How prompting force diagrams discourages student use of adaptive problem-solving shortcuts, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.041.

Science education at all levels is currently undergoing dramatic changes to its curricula and developing assessments for these new curricula is paramount. We have used the basis of many of these new changes (scientific practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas) to develop sets of criteria that can be used to guide assessment development for this new curriculum. We present a case study that uses the criteria we have developed to revise a traditional physics assessment item into an assessment item that is more aligned with the goals of current transformation efforts. Assessment items developed using this criteria can be used to assess student learning of both the concepts and process of science.

J. T. Laverty, M. M. Cooper, and M. D. Caballero, Developing the Next Generation of Physics Assessments, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.042.

Building on successful work on studying and transforming our senior-level Advanced Lab course, we have transformed our junior-level Electronics course to engage students in a variety of authentic scientific practices, including constructing, testing, and refining models of canonical measurement tools and analog circuits. We describe our approach to the transformation, provide a framework for incorporating authentic scientific practices, and present initial outcomes from the project. As part of the broader assessment of these course transformations, we examine one course learning outcome: development of the ability to model measurement systems. We demonstrate that in the transformed course students demonstrate greater likelihood of identifying discrepancies between the measurement and the model and significantly greater tendencies to refine their models to reconcile with the measurement.

H. J. Lewandowski and N. D. Finkelstein, Redesigning a junior-level electronics course to support engagement in scientific practices, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.043.

We report on ongoing work to gain insight into the astronomy knowledge and perspectives of pre-service teachers and middle school students in Norway. We carefully adapted and translated into Norwegian an existing instrument, the Introductory Astronomy Questionnaire (IAQ); we administered this adapted IAQ to (i) pre- service teachers at the largest teacher education institution in Norway, and (ii) students drawn from eight middle schools in Oslo, in both cases before and after astronomy instruction. Amongst our preliminary findings—based on an analysis of both free-response writing and multiple-choice responses—was that when prompted to provide responses to hypothetical students, the pre-service teachers exhibited a marked drop in pedagogical responses pre- to post-instruction, with corresponding shifts towards more authoritative responses. We also identified potentially serious issues relating to middle school students’ conceptions of size and distances in the universe, with significant stratification along gender lines.

C. Lindstrøm, V. Rajpaul, M. Brendehaug, and M. C. Engel, Perspectives on astronomy: probing Norwegian pre-service teachers and middle school students, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.044.

Although the number of students earning bachelor’s degrees in physics has increased, the percentage of those degrees earned by women has not increased for more than 10 years. We use a physics identity framework to understand the factors that may impact physics career choice. Physics identity consists of three dimensions: recognition (perception of recognition by others), interest (desire to learn more), and performance/competence (perception of ability to understand). Our previous work has shown that recognition and interest are more significant predictors of physics career choice than performance/competence, and that women may require more recognition than men in order to choose physics careers. Therefore, teaching strategies that specifically target recognition and interest should be identified. Using data from a survey administered to a nationally representative sample of college students, we use regression models to determine which teaching strategies predict recognition and which strategies predict interest.

R. M. Lock, J. Castillo, Z. Hazari, and G. Potvin, Determining strategies that predict physics identity: Emphasizing recognition and interest, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.045.

Many upper-division physics courses have as goals that students should ‘think like a physicist.’ While this is often not defined, most would agree that thinking like a physicist includes quantitative reasoning skills: considering limiting cases, dimensional analysis, and using approximations. However, there is often relatively little curricular support for these practices and many instructors do not assess them explicitly. As part of a project to investigate student learning in math methods, we have developed a number of written questions testing these skills. Although there are limitations to assessing these skills with written questions, they can provide insight to the extent to which students can apply a given skill when prompted, even if they do not help understand how and when students choose to activate these skills.

M. E. Loverude, Quantitative reasoning skills in math methods, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.046.

Research suggests that students often have difficulty transferring their learning from one context to another. We examine upper-level undergraduate and graduate students’ facility with questions about the interference pattern in the double-slit experiment (DSE) with single photons and polarizers of various orientations placed in front of one or both slits. Before answering these types of questions, students had worked through a tutorial on the Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) in which they learned about interference of single photons when polarizers of various orientations are placed in the two paths of the MZI. After working on the MZI tutorial, students were asked similar questions in the isomorphic context of the DSE. We discuss the extent to which they were able to transfer what they learned in the context of the MZI to analogous problems in the isomorphic context of the DSE.

A. Maries, R. Sayer, and C. Singh, Investigating transfer of learning in advanced quantum mechanics, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.047.

Dirac notation is often used in upper level quantum mechanics courses, but students struggle with this representation. To investigate the difficulties that advanced students (i.e., upper-level undergraduate and graduate students) have while translating state vectors in Dirac notation to wave functions in position and momentum representations, we administered free-response and multiple-choice questions and conducted individual interviews with students. We find that students display common difficulties with these topics.

E. Marshman and C. Singh, Student difficulties with quantum states while translating state vectors in Dirac notation to wave functions in position and momentum representations, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.048.

Introductory algebra-based physics courses frequently feature multiple student major populations in the same course section; however, different majors’ requirements may impact students' motivations towards different aspects of the course material, e.g. problem solving, and hence, impact course performance. A preliminary categorization of student attitudes towards a lab group coordinated problem solving exercise, in which students individually reflect on their group-based problem attempt, is based upon students’ written interpretations about the usefulness of the exercise: respectively towards intrinsic value of a problem solving framework, towards performing well in the course, and towards less specific aspects of the exercise. The relationship between choice of major and this preliminary categorization for a typical algebra-based physics course is analyzed, as are trends by major and by category type in a measure of course performance. We also discuss more in-depth development of interpretation for the categorization construct via written artifacts from the problem solving exercise.

A. J. Mason, Potential Relationship of Chosen Major to Problem Solving Attitudes and Course Performance, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.049.

We present the preliminary results of a study on student use of representations in problem solving within the Modeling Instruction Physics 2 course (MI-Phys2), which covers introductory electricity and magnetism (E&M). Representational competence is a critical skill needed for students to develop a sophisticated understanding of college science topics and to succeed in their science courses. In this study, approximately 70 students from the MI-Phys2 course were given a survey of 25 physics problem statements both pre- and post- instruction, over both Newtonian mechanics (NM) and E&M. For each problem statement, students were asked to select one or more representations they would use in that given situation. We analyze the survey results through network analysis (NA) in order to identify which students selected similar representations. We also compare the student networks for those students who had previously taken the Modeling Instruction Physics 1 course (MI-Phys1) and those students who had taken an alternative Physics 1 course.

D. R. McPadden and E. Brewe, Network Analysis of Students' Representation Use in Problem Solving, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.050.

Students preparing for physics exams must make decisions on how to best prepare, and how to estimate their preparedness. Previous research shows that low-performing students tend to over-predict both their learning and level of preparedness. Providing students with normative feedback has been shown to reduce over-prediction. We present a pilot study where low-performing students in an introductory mechanics course completed a computer-adaptive practice exam, then completed a pretest followed by an intervention involving one of two styles of narrated, animated PowerPoint solutions, and then completed a post-test before taking a midterm exam. Findings suggest that students are able to learn from viewing animated solutions. We discuss the educational implications of our findings.

J. P. Mestre, J. W. Morphew, and G. Gladding, Learning from Different Styles of Animated Solutions Among Low-Performing Students, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.051.

It is known that experts identify/perceive meaningful patterns in visual stimuli related to their domain of expertise. This study explores the speed with which experts and novices detect changes in physics diagrams. Since change detection depends on where individuals direct their attention, differences in the speed with which experts and novices detect changes to diagrams would suggest differences in attention allocation between experts and novices. We present data from an experiment using the "flicker technique,” in which both physics experts and physics novices viewed nearly identical pairs of diagrams that are representative of typical introductory physics situations. The two diagrams in each pair contain a subtle difference that either does, or does not change the underlying physics depicted in the diagram. Findings indicate that experts are faster at detecting physics-relevant changes than physics-irrelevant changes, however there is no difference in response time for novices, suggesting that expertise guides attention for experts when inspecting physics diagrams. We discuss the cognitive implications of our findings.

J. W. Morphew, J. P. Mestre, B. H. Ross, and N. E. Strand, Attention differences in viewing physics diagrams among experts and novices, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.052.

Research has shown that an Interactive Learning Environment (ILE) can be an effective learning environment for acquiring transferable knowledge. Our research analyzed the relationship between students’ participation in different areas of two consecutive ILE physics classes that implemented the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) curriculum, a type of widely used ILE, and their ability to learn new physics through teamwork. We quantified students’ participation in two areas: in-class learning-activities and class review sessions. To measure students’ ability to learn through teamwork, we gave them “group exams” that presented real life scenarios that could only be understood using physics they had not yet learned. We then gave them standard physics problems related to the group exam problems to solve individually. Our results suggest that successful students built an effective habit of teamwork learning through participating in group learning activities, whereas students who were disengaged in review did not perform well in these teamwork learning activities.

B. Nainabasti, D. T. Brookes, Y. Yang, and Y. Lin, Connection Between Participation in Interactive Learning Environment and Learning through Teamwork, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.053.

Student reasoning remains an important topic in physics education. To begin studying reasoning in a simple context we pilot tested short, dichotomous classification questions. These questions present students with a physical situation and ask for classification as possible or impossible, followed by a logical justification and several Likert scale self-assessments. The questions require reasoning, but can be figured out with one key idea, and few logical steps. We developed 16 questions and tested them in clinical interviews with 22 undergraduates who had studied algebra-based or calculus-based physics through electricity and magnetism. Using qualitative and quantitative analysis we find evidence that these questions can help identify differences in students’ verbalized explanations that evidence their reasoning. Using these differences we posit testable hypotheses about how subtle differences in the questions can impact students’ reasoning. This pilot-testing suggests this type of question may be a useful tool for studying reasoning in physics education.

C. M. Nakamura, M. A. Donnelly, R. Muraleedharan, and M. Cassar, Pilot Testing Dichotomous Classification Questions for Assessing Student Reasoning, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.054.

With the advent of high-level programming languages capable of quickly rendering three-dimensional simulations, the inclusion of computers as a learning tool in the classroom has become more prevalent. Although work has begun to study the patterns seen in implementing and assessing computation in introductory physics, more insight is needed to understand the observed effects of blending computation with physics in a group setting. In a newly adopted format of introductory calculus-based mechanics, called Projects and Practices in Physics, groups of students work on short modeling projects -- which make use of a novel inquiry-based approach -- to develop their understanding of both physics content and practice. Preliminary analyses of observational data of groups engaging with computation, coupled with synchronized computer screencast, has revealed a unique group interaction afforded by the practices specific to computational physics -- problem debugging.

M. J. Obsniuk, P. W. Irving, and M. D. Caballero, A Case Study: Novel Group Interactions through Introductory Computational Physics, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.055.

Professional development workshops are commonly used to promote the adoption of research-based instructional strategies among physics and astronomy faculty. After learning about such strategies, faculty are often motivated to modify and adapt them within their own classrooms, but prior research shows they may be underprepared to do so in ways likely to maintain the positive student outcomes the designers were able to foster. In this paper, we analyze the experiences of a focal group of faculty during one session of the Physics and Astronomy New Faculty Workshop, where they are asked to engage in a task as mock physics students. We compare their experiences to student behaviors documented in others’ research, and find that their group coordination and sense-making poorly represent the kinds of interactions our community would encourage them to foster in their own students. We briefly discuss the implications of these preliminary findings for professional development and our plans for future research.

A. R. Olmstead and C. Turpen, "I got in trouble": A case study of faculty "doing school" during professional development, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.056.

We have investigated the extent to which students can qualitatively determine the effect of perturbations to a Hamiltonian on the energies of the eigenfunctions. The results indicate that after lecture instruction many students cannot determine some important features of the first-order correction. We examine the possibility that this failure may stem from a lack of understanding of the inner product. Since perturbations are often represented graphically, the focus has been on student ability to determine the inner product of functions represented graphically. In the process, we have found that some students are unable to find inner products even in contexts outside of quantum mechanics.

G. Passante, P. J. Emigh, T. Wan, and P. S. Shaffer, Investigating Student Understanding of Perturbation Theory and the Inner Products of Functions, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.057.

This work investigates whether the class-average normalized gain score is a useful measure of individual student learning on the Force Concept Inventory. Average normalized gain emerges as a poor description of the learning of students who enter the author’s mechanics classes with pretest scores less than 20, but a reasonable description of the learning of those with pretest scores of 20 or more. This pretest threshold prompted a study of the impact of misconceptions on gain. Among the author’s students, it appears that those exhibiting certain key misconceptions or failing to exhibit certain core skills on the pretest will have average normalized gains lower than the average among students who do not exhibit the misconceptions or do exhibit the skills. A future study will investigate whether early intervention explicitly addressing key misconceptions and core skills makes the class-average normalized gain score a better description of individual gains.

A. Pawl, What can normalized gain reveal about individual learning on the FCI?, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.058.

When physics students engage in collaborative exercises, they must negotiate their different problem-solving strategies in order to work together effectively. One lens through which to understand these interactions is the construct of “epistemic games”. These constructs have been used to describe particular methods of problem solving with which students are observed to engage. In prior work, an “answer-making epistemic game” has been observed, wherein the student perceives the objective of the activity as producing an answer, and reasons until they arrive at an answer or intuits an answer and then tries to justify this answer. This game was observed in the context of individual students working independently on multiple-choice questions. We present preliminary analysis of the appearance of a shared answer-making epistemic game when a group of students worked collaboratively on conceptual problems.

A. Pawlak, P. W. Irving, and M. D. Caballero, Identification of a shared answer-making epistemic game in a group context, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.059.

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 separation of variables technique, we examined responses to midterm exam questions and conceptual assessments, and conducted think-aloud, problem-solving interviews. Our analysis was guided by an analytical framework that focuses on how students activate, construct, execute, and reflect on the separation of variables technique when solving physics problems. Here we focus on student difficulties with separation of variables as a technique to solve Laplace's equation in spherical coordinates in the context of junior-level electrostatics. Challenges include: recognizing when separation of variables is the appropriate tool, identifying implicit boundary conditions, and spontaneously reflecting on their solutions.

S. J. Pollock and B. R. Wilcox, Upper-Division Students' Use of Separation of Variables, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.060.

As part of a project to explore successful strategies for using studio methods, such as SCALE-UP, we explore strategic self-regulatory and motivational characteristics of students in said courses at three universities with varying student populations and differing success in studio-mode courses. We survey students using compiled questions from several existing questionnaires designed to measure student characteristics such as attitudes toward and motivations for learning physics, organization of scientific knowledge, experiences outside the classroom, and demographics. Other studies have identified five distinct learning profiles across varying student populations. Using a person-centered approach, we utilize cluster analysis methods to group students into learning profiles to better understand the study strategies and motives of algebra-based studio physics students. We present results from first-semester and second-semester studio-mode introductory physics courses across three universities. We identify these five distinct learning profiles, found in previous studies, to be present within our student population.

J. W. T. Pond and J. J. Chini, Exploring Student Learning Profiles in Algebra-based Studio Physics: A Person-Centered Approach, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.061.

Undergraduate research can support students’ more central participation in physics. We present analysis of one way this participation may shift: changes in their beliefs about the Nature of Science coupled to changes in a sense of ability to contribute to authentic research. Students in the study worked with faculty and graduate student research mentors on research projects and also participated in a seminar where they learned about research and reflected on their experiences. In videotaped interviews, we asked students to describe their experiences in research. Students developed nuanced views about how the research process works coupled to shifts in their sense of confidence in ability to contribute to research, feeling like their contributions as novices mattered.

G. M. Quan and A. Elby, Connecting Self-Efficacy and Nature of Science Shifts in Undergraduate Research Experiences, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.062.

Several educational strategies and tools have been designed to improve physics education for undergraduate students. Physics Education Technology (PhET) is a recent technology based on interactive simulations that provides the possibility to experiment real world phenomena without the need for laboratory equipment. Similarly, Tutorials for Introductory Physics have been proved to be one of the best research-based strategies to promote conceptual understanding. We worked in a Chilean private university with engineering students who were not familiar with PhET simulations but somewhat with Tutorials. We examined students’ conceptual learning of electric circuit concepts after they worked on two Tutorials with a PhET simulation instead of real equipment. We report results of their learning from pre/post-tests and an open-ended test. We note the benefits of using technology combined with research-based strategies in positively influencing students learning.

M. Quezada-Espinoza, V. del Campo, and G. Zavala, Technology and research-based strategies: Learning and alternative conceptions, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.063.

The importance of valuing student ideas in science education stands on firm empirical, theoretical, and moral grounds. However, the reasons for which one might value student ideas are often not explicitly distinguished, even if implicit distinctions are made in the literature. In this paper, I define and distinguish between three ways of valuing student ideas – moral, instrumental, and intellectual – and I suggest implications of these distinctions for teacher education and research.

A. D. Robertson, Valuing student ideas morally, instrumentally, and intellectually, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.064.

In conjunction with the Physics and Astronomy New Faculty Workshops (NFW), we are investigating mechanisms to further support faculty to improve their teaching. Previous work indicates that many faculty return from the NFW eager to integrate new ideas in their classrooms, but many struggle due to lack of ongoing support, and subsequently revert back to traditional instruction. We are investigating ways to provide such support by offering Faculty Online Learning Communities (FOLCs) to a subset of the NFW participants. The goal of the FOLC is to develop a community of self-reflective teachers who can support each other’s long-term growth as educators. We base the design of the FOLC on a set of principles that emerge from several areas of literature, and we use these principles as a framework to understand the experience of the participants of the pilot FOLC.

A. Rundquist, J. C. Corbo, S. V. Chasteen, M. ". Martinuk, C. R. Henderson, and M. H. Dancy, Faculty Online Learning Communities to support physics teaching, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.065.

Boundary conditions (BCs) are considered as an important topic that advanced physics under- graduates are expected to understand and apply. We report findings from an investigation of student difficulties using boundary conditions (BCs) in electrodynamics. Our data sources include student responses to traditional exam questions, conceptual survey questions, and think-aloud interviews. The analysis was guided by an analytical framework that characterizes how students activate, construct, execute, and reflect on boundary conditions. Common student difficulties include: activating boundary conditions in appropriate contexts; constructing a complex expression for the E&M waves; mathematically simplifying complex exponentials and checking if the reflection and transmission co- efficient are physical. We also present potential pedagogical implications based on our observations.

Q. X. Ryan, S. J. Pollock, and B. R. Wilcox, Student Difficulities with Boundary Conditions in Electrodynamics, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.066.

As part of ongoing research in teaching and learning quantum mechanics using the Spin First approach, we are investigating student learning of basic introductory quantum concepts in sophomore level Modern Physics courses at Cal Poly Pomona in two different contexts. In one (perhaps more traditional) approach, postulates of quantum mechanics are introduced in the context of spatial wavefunctions of particles in simple potential wells; the second approach uses a Stern-Gerlach experimental context, with discrete bases of spin. Here, we compare student performances on a subset of Quantum Mechanics Concept Assessment (QMCA) posttest. We will share the results and discuss the implications for instructors of introductory quantum courses.

H. R. Sadaghiani and J. Munteanu, Spin First instructional approach to teaching quantum mechanics in sophomore level modern physics courses, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.067.

Studies show that having students attempt to invent a scientific rule (“invention activity”) before receiving direct instruction benefits their learning. However, the design affordances of these invention activities have not been fully addressed. In this paper, we compare the effect of two different brief invention activities on student learning about buoyancy. In one treatment condition, students are provided with contrasting cases of a phenomenon to invent the rule. In the other treatment condition, students explore the phenomenon using an interactive simulation. Students in the contrasting cases condition invented more complete rules and performed significantly better in solving buoyancy problems. We hypothesize that this difference between conditions results from different levels of attention to important features of the phenomenon, which we illustrate with differences in what students explore in the simulation. This study suggests that proper scaffolding to ensure sufficient exposure to the underlying structure is essential in designing an invention activity.

S. Salehi, M. Keil, E. Kuo, and C. E. Wieman, How to structure an unstructured activity: Generating physics rules from simulation or contrasting cases, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.068.

Educational psychology studies have linked self-belief constructs to success in STEM, including self-efficacy (the belief in one’s ability to succeed at specific tasks). However, most of the work with these constructs uses traditional psychology large-N quantitative studies to show that change happens without describing in qualitative detail the mechanism by which it happens. This paper will focus on a case study of a student who sees herself as competent in neuroscience, identifies as a math person, but still places physics in a category of special difficulty. Evidence from this case suggests that receiving grade-based evidence of her capability in physics is insufficient for impacting her self-beliefs in physics. We explore ways in which a nuanced understanding of how a sense of capability develops helps us understand this student’s disciplinary self-efficacy.

V. Sawtelle and A. Little, Understanding the Nuance in Disciplinary Self-Efficacy, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.069.

Learning quantum mechanics is challenging, even for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students. Interactive tutorials which build on students’ prior knowledge can be useful tools to enhance student learning. We have been investigating student difficulties with the quantum mechanics pertaining to the double-slit experiment in various situations. Here we discuss the development and evaluation of a Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorial (QuILT) which makes use of an interactive simulation to improve student understanding. We summarize common difficulties and discuss the extent to which the QuILT is effective in addressing them in two types of courses.

R. Sayer, A. Maries, and C. Singh, Developing and evaluating a tutorial on the double-slit experiment, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.070.

The Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) seeks to better understand physics teacher education efforts taking place at member institutions, in order to better engage and support those institutions in educating greater numbers of well-prepared physics teachers. PhysTEC also seeks to understand faculty leaders’ theories about barriers to increasing the number of physics teachers at their institution, in order to foster faculty leadership and support their efforts at institutional transformation. Institutions studied exhibit four broad patterns of institutional engagement with physics teacher education (“inactive,” “track,” “active,” and “priority”). Faculty leaders’ theories about the scarcity of future physics teachers refer to both structural and cultural barriers to educating more physics teachers.

R. E. Scherr, M. Plisch, and R. M. Goertzen, Physics teacher production: Patterns of institutional engagement and faculty theories, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.071.

Quality assessment of student learning is important in physics education. However, it can be challenging to construct assessments measuring students’ understanding of concepts and elicit deeper levels of cognition during problem solving. Tests are common assessments, but students assume test questions will have a numeric or symbolic answer. This study analyzes test responses and reflections on a question without a numeric or symbolic answer from a calculus-based physics class. Though designed to test conceptual understanding, students’ assumptions and expectations about test questions hindered their ability to accurately represent their understanding.We analyzed students’ responses and short reflections on the problem by looking at ways students tried to solve the problem and their uncertainties when confronted by a non-traditional test question. Using a framework of epistemic resources, we found that students used a variety of resources to pursue a solution; though common patterns emerge that can inform instructors and physics education researchers.

T. D. Scott, C. McGough, and L. Benson, Physics students' epistemic framings for a conceptual test question, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.072.

Complex numbers and functions are used in multiple subfields in undergraduate physics. We use pretests, quizzes, and exams administered throughout the junior year to identify middle-division students' difficulties with complex number fluency. These difficulties are classified into three categories: performing calculations, switching between forms, and appropriately selecting forms to simplify calculations. Our exploration suggests that students in middle-division physics courses have varying levels of fluency with complex number manipulations. Some of these difficulties persist over time.

E. M. Smith, J. P. Zwolak, and C. A. Manogue, Student difficulties with complex numbers, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.073.

I present a reanalysis of data from the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation. The current analysis focuses on comparing student responses to force questions based on whether the answer choices are presented as verbal descriptions of forces or as graphs of force vs. time. I use contingency tables and the chi-squared test of independence to measure the correlations between responses and consistency plots to represent how student responses change after a full term of algebra-based introductory mechanics. Consistency plots display the wide variety of students' learning trajectories. Preliminary analyses reveal that student responses to graph questions improve more than their responses to verbal/description questions.

T. I. Smith, Telling new stories by reanalyzing old data: FMCE edition, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.074.

In collaborative small-group work, physics students need to both manage social conflict and grapple with conceptual and epistemological differences. In this paper, we document several outlets that students use as tools for managing social conflict when addressing quantum mechanics tutorials in clinical focus groups. These resources include epistemic distancing, humor, playing on tutorial wording and looking ahead to subsequent questions. We present preliminary analysis of episodes where students work through a Particle in a Box tutorial. Each episode highlights a different manner of navigating social tension: through shared epistemic humor in one case, and reinterpretation of the question in the other.

E. R. Sohr, B. W. Dreyfus, A. Gupta, and A. Elby, “Because math”: Epistemological stance or defusing social tension in quantum mechanics?, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.075.

Comparative case study analyses are used to investigate a physics lesson sequence in which students used a simple simulation and a set of animations with playback controls to explore aspects of projectile motion. The sequence was conducted within naturalistic high school settings (2 schools) in 11 physics class sections (n=212) where roughly half the sections encountered the animations in a whole class discussion format and matched sections used them in a small group format in which students controlled playback. Earlier unexpected pre-post results indicated no advantage for the hands-on condition. Present analyses using classroom videotapes and student written work also do not show any overall advantage for the small group students for the factors examined. Notably, more than twice as much teacher and student-generated support for recognizing visual features was identified in whole class discussion, and in small groups these episodes appeared to cluster around teacher visits to the groups.

A. L. Stephens and J. J. Clement, Whole class vs. small group settings for using animations in physics: Case study comparisons, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.076.

It is often the case that students who did not take a high school physics course have difficulties in understanding content in college introductory physics courses. This trend in the U.S was examined in Japan. In this study factors that have strong correlations with the level of HS physics were identified for Japanese students in a lecture-type introductory physics course for science education majors (N=22). We found that physics grades as well as FCI scores had a strong correlation with the level of high-school. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 4 students who did not take HS physics and were having serious problems in following the content of the course. Our analysis revealed their high need to be prompted as a common feature when they tried to explain the motion of an object on a slope. We argue that interactive teaching strategies would be an effective way to help such students.

S. Tosa, Obstacles for Learning Introductory College Physics in Japan: Identifying Factors from a Case Study, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.077.

Student-to-student interactions are foundational to many active learning environments, but are most often studied using qualitative methods. Quantitative network analysis tools complement this picture, allowing researchers to describe the social interactions of whole classrooms as systems. Past results in introductory physics have suggested a sharp division in the formation of social structure between large lecture sections and small studio classroom environments. Extending those results, this study focuses on calculus-based introductory physics courses at a large public university with a heavily commuter and nontraditional student population. Community detection network methods are used to characterize pre- and post-course collaborative structure in several sections, and differences are considered between small and large classes. These results are compared with expectations from earlier findings, and comment on implications for instruction and further study.

A. L. Traxler, Community structure in introductory physics course networks, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.078.

Vector decomposition is a skill required across physics contexts and levels. In this paper, we present our analysis of 463 student responses to an item on the Colorado Classical Mechanics/Math Methods Instrument that assesses student proficiency with vector decomposition in multiple coordinate systems. We offer separate categorizations for students' final expressions and their approaches to determining those expressions. The intersection between approaches and final expressions suggests that certain approaches are more productive. We discuss these intersections and the differences between students' responses in Cartesian and polar coordinate systems.

A. Turnbull, L. Doughty, V. Sawtelle, and M. D. Caballero, Student Ideas around Vector Decomposition in the Upper Division, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.079.

Students in physics laboratory courses, particularly at the upper division, are often expected to engage in troubleshooting. Although there are numerous ways in which students may proceed when diagnosing a problem, not all approaches are equivalent in terms of providing meaningful insight. It is reasonable to believe that metacognition, by assisting students in making informed decisions, is an integral component of effective troubleshooting. We report on an investigation of authentic student troubleshooting in the context of junior-level electronics courses at two institutions. Think-aloud interviews were conducted with pairs of students as they attempted to repair a malfunctioning operational-amplifier circuit. Video data from the interviews have been analyzed to examine the relationship between each group’s troubleshooting activities and instances of socially mediated metacognition. We present an analysis of a short episode from one interview.

K. L. Van De Bogart, D. R. Dounas-Frazer, H. J. Lewandowski, and M. R. Stetzer, The Role of Metacognition in Troubleshooting: An Example From Electronics, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.080.

This study investigates how faculty, student, and course features are linked to student outcomes in Learning Assistant (LA) supported courses. Over 4,500 students and 17 instructors from 13 LA Alliance member institutions participated in the study. Each participating student completed an online concept inventory at the start (pre) and end (post) of their term. The physics concept inventories included Force and Motion Concept Evaluation (FMCE) and the Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment (BEMA). Concepts inventories from the fields of biology and chemistry were also included. Our analyses utilize hierarchical linear models that nest student level data (e.g. pre/post scores and gender) within course level data (e.g. discipline and course enrollment) to build models that examine student outcomes across institutions and disciplines. We report findings on the connections between students' outcomes and their gender, race, and time spent working with LAs as well as instructors' experiences with LAs.

B. Van Dusen, L. Langdon, and V. K. Otero, Learning Assistant Supported Student Outcomes (LASSO) study initial findings, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.081.

In an effort to enhance the traditional calculus-based introductory physics course at Princeton University, an Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) inspired lab transformation is underway, currently in its 3rd year. In the first two years the new curriculum was implemented in a subset of the lab sections, while the remaining sections performed traditional lab activities. To assess the effectiveness of the new design labs, we conducted interviews with the students, and administered a pre/post attitudes survey. The primary questions guiding the evaluations are i) what are the students’ lived experiences in the new lab, ii) how did students relate physics to their everyday lives, iii) what are the student-reported short and long term learning gains of the skills developed in design labs, and iv) what are the differences in attitudes between students in the new and traditional labs. Here we describe the pedagogical approach used in the transformed sections and show results from the interviews and survey.

K. Visnjic, C. Riihimaki, C. Sealfon, and E. Laffey, ISLE-inspired Design Laboratory Transformation at Princeton University: Year Two Results, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.082.

Representations such as graphs, pictures, words, and equations play a crucial role in the pedagogy of introductory physics. Activities such as labs and tutorials often require students to analyze and produce these representations. We investigate the use of representations in a variety of activities. Specifically, we examine both labs and tutorials as well as both evidence-based and non-evidence-based activities. We define evidence-based activities as those that have been connected with positive learning outcomes in published research articles. Our evidenced-based activities are inspired by physics education research, while our non-evidence-based activities are more traditional. We compare and contrast the use of representations among these types of activities. We investigate several uses of representations, including representations produced by the student; representations provided by the activity; and representations that the student re-examines at a later point in the activity.

J. S. Von Korff, C. Zhan, B. Vaishnav, J. J. Chini, A. Warneke, and O. Sengul, The Use of Representations in Evidence-Based and Non-Evidence-Based Physics Activities, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.083.

Students use a variety of resources to make sense of integration, and interpreting the definite integral as a sum of infinitesimal products (rooted in the concept of a Riemann sum) is particularly useful in many physical contexts. This study of beginning and upper-level undergraduate physics students examines some obstacles students encounter when trying to make sense of integration, as well as some discomforts and skepticism some students maintain even after constructing useful conceptions of the integral. In particular, many students attempt to explain what integration does by trying to interpret the algebraic manipulations and computations involved in finding antiderivatives. This tendency, perhaps arising from their past experience of making sense of algebraic expressions and equations, suggests a reluctance to use their understanding of "what a Riemann sum does" to interpret "what an integral does."

J. F. Wagner, What the Integral Does: Physics Students' Efforts at Making Sense of Integration, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.084.

Students often leave Introductory Physics for Life Science (ILPS) courses without a solid understanding of fluid dynamics, which is necessary for them to be successful in their future biology courses. In an effort to reconcile this issue, researchers at UNE have focused on improving students’ understanding of the circulatory system. This requires students to apply multiple fluid dynamics concepts, specifically, conservation of mass and the Bernoulli and Hagen-Poiseuille Principles. The researchers developed a kinesthetic circulatory system model made of transparent plastic tubing of different radii and branched connectors. This hands-on model enabled students to see the fluid travel at different speeds (visually) and different pressures (using digital pressure sensors) similar to the cardiovascular system. Preliminary evaluation data from close-ended multiple-choice assessments and open-ended assessments indicates significant improvement in student understanding of conservation of mass and Bernoulli's principle and but little improvement of Hagen-Poiseuille’s Principle.

E. K. Whitmore, D. Grimm, B. Moser, R. S. Lindell, and J. Vesenka, A Kinesthetic Circulatory System Model for Teaching Fluid Dynamics, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.085.

Our recent study showed that two lab courses, whose goals were exclusively to reinforce material developed in the lecture courses, do not have any impact on exam performance at the 2% level. In this study, we replicated this analysis with a modified version of one of these lab courses whose goals also included modeling, designing experiments, and analyzing and visualizing data. This modified course used the same sets of apparatus as the previous version, but changed the pre-lab and in-lab activities to focus on developing and testing models with data. The study evaluated the impact of these additional goals and activities, comparing performance with students in the same course who did not take the lab. We found that students taking the lab still performed no better or worse on the final exam than students who did not take the lab. We also observe the critical thinking behaviors that were the new goals of the lab.

C. E. Wieman and N. G. Holmes, Measuring the impact of introductory physics labs on learning and critical thinking, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.086.

Student learning in instructional physics labs is a growing area of research that includes studies exploring students' beliefs and expectations about experimental physics. To directly probe students' epistemologies about experimental physics and support broader lab transformation efforts both at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU) and nationally, we developed the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey for Experimental Physics (E-CLASS). Previous work focused on establishing the accuracy and clarity of the instrument through student interviews and preliminary testing. Ongoing validation efforts include establishing the extent to which student epistemologies as measured by E-CLASS align with other measures of student learning outcomes (e.g., course grades). We find a weak but statistically significant correlation between final course grades and E-CLASS scores from two semesters of upper-division lab courses at CU and no statistically significant correlation for introductory courses. Here, we discuss implications of these findings for the validity of the E-CLASS instrument.

B. R. Wilcox and H. J. Lewandowski, Correlating students' beliefs about experimental physics with lab course success, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.087.

Through the use of the Real-time Instructor Observing Tool (RIOT) we examine the differences in actions of multiple TAs in mini-studios, which combine student-centered recitations with inquiry-based labs. TA actions observed include open or closed dialogue, passive or active observing, and clarifying or explaining to students. We observed five TAs teaching seven algebra-based first-semester physics labs to approximately 30 students per section. Individual TAs created an action profile that consists of the proportion of time spent on each action for that specific TA. These action profiles were found by averaging the duration of TA actions across multiple labs for a single TA. Surprisingly, with this method we found that TAs with a Learning Assistant tended to explain less and interact with the students less. We also found that there is a lack of consistency between the TAs in the overall time spent on each action.

M. Wilcox, C. C. Kasprzyk, and J. J. Chini, Observing Teaching Assistant Differences in Tutorials and Inquiry-Based Labs, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.088.

Collaborative learning environments in undergraduate introductory physics courses, such as those promoted by Modeling Instruction (MI), influence both student performance and student social interactions. Because collaborative learning is inherently a social activity, we applied Network Analysis methods to examine student social interactions within the classroom using a survey administered periodically in class. We then calculated centrality, which is a family of measures that quantify how connected or "central" a particular student is within the classroom social network. In order to understand what centrality means in this context, we investigated the relationships among centrality, student demographics, and student outcomes in a large-scale MI classroom with 70 students and 6 instructors. We addressed two research questions: "Is centrality predicted by sex, ethnicity, incoming GPA, or Force-Motion Concept Evaluation (FMCE) pre-score?" and "Does centrality predict FMCE gain or final grade in course?" A series of linear regressions showed that centrality can be predicted by sex and incoming GPA, and is a predictor of FMCE gain.

E. A. Williams, E. Brewe, J. P. Zwolak, and R. Dou, Understanding Centrality: Investigating Student Outcomes within a Classroom Social Network, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.089.

Teachers discussing pedagogical strategies to help students with an incorrect idea about potential energy expressed competing goals for guiding student thinking: keep it simple and explore complexity. On the one hand, teachers wished to avoid being "overly complicated" in their teaching, suggesting that they should have students stick to naming forms of energy in a system and naming principles like the law of conservation of energy. On the other hand, teachers recognized that students might also engage with, wonder about, and have good ideas about systems, mechanisms, and causality. In addition, teachers themselves showed a need develop operational understandings of energy transformation, conservation, and system even in a simple energy scenario, rather than simply identifying forms and principles. Thus, the initial desire for keeping instruction simple was contradicted both by the recognition that students were capable of more complex analysis, even if it interfered with the goals of simple instruction, and by an awareness that understanding even a simple energy scenario involves grappling with complex ideas.

M. C. Wittmann, C. Alvarado, and L. A. Millay, Teacher responses to their multiple goals for teaching energy, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.090.

We investigated the effect of hint modality on students’ eye movements on conceptual physics problems with diagrams. We recruited 57 students enrolled in a physics class for future elementary teachers. The participants were randomly assigned to conditions with no hints, visual hints, text hints, audio hints, and all possible hint modality combinations. We found that different hint modalities affect students’ eye movements differently and the difference of students’ eye movements relates to their problem-solving performance. The results of this study are different from the predictions based on Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML). Our results suggest that the cognitive process in physics problem solving may not be fully explained by CTML and therefore more research might be necessary in this area.

X. Wu, J. Hutson, L. C. Loschky, and N. S. Rebello, How do Multimedia Hints Affect Students’ Eye Movements in Conceptual Physics Problems?, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.091.

Transfer of learning is an important objective of education. However, students usually have difficulties in solving physics transfer tasks even after having solved similar problems previously. We investigated if instruction provided using videos containing detailed explanations of previously solved problems will improve students’ performance in tackling near and far transfer tasks. We also investigated whether the combination of visual cues followed by video solutions yields further enhancement of students’ performance. N=33 students in an algebra-based physics class participated in an interview containing two problem sets each with one initial task, a training session, and a near and far transfer task. For the training, students either received visual cues, visual cues and a video or only videos, depending on the condition. We compare students’ correctness rate on near and far transfer tasks in the three conditions.

T. Zu, E. Agra, J. Hutson, L. C. Loschky, and N. S. Rebello, Effects of Visual Cues and Video Solutions on Conceptual Tasks, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.092.

Preliminary results are presented from an ongoing study that is investigating both academic and industrial career paths in optics and photonics. By grounding the discussion of workforce development in education research, it will be possible to have more productive discussions and a more accurate understanding of contentious topics such as skills gaps, shortages of skilled STEM workers, and similarities and differences between academic and industrial careers. The study is clarifying how specific math, physics, and communication skills are utilized in academic and industrial labs. Initial results indicate significant use of computational mathematics in the workplace and communication modes that extend beyond technical writing, including group work, critiquing, one-on-one training, documenting, and more. Physics departments trying to link their curriculum with students' future careers will likely benefit from these findings, which also serve as a case study for directly linking physics education research with national priorities in workforce development.

B. M. Zwickl, J. Olivera, K. N. Martin, and K. M. Winans, Preparing students for physics-intensive careers in optics and photonics, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.093.

Increasing student retention and persistence -- in particular classes or in their major area of study -- is a challenge for universities. Students' academic and social integration into an institution seems to be vital for student retention, yet research on the effect of interpersonal interactions is rare. Social network analysis is an approach that can be used to identify patterns of interaction that contribute to integration into the university. We analyze how students position within a social network in a Modeling Instruction (MI) course that strongly emphasizes interactive learning impacts their persistence in taking a subsequent MI course. We find that students with higher centrality at the end of the first semester of MI are more likely to enroll in a second semester of MI. While the correlation with increased persistence is an ongoing study, these findings suggest that student social integration influences persistence.

J. P. Zwolak and E. Brewe, The impact of social integration on student persistence in introductory Modeling Instruction courses, 2015 PERC Proceedings [College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015], edited by A. D. Churukian, D. L. Jones, and L. Ding, doi:10.1119/perc.2015.pr.094.