This paper presents findings from research about the experiences among 39 undergraduate queer and trans* (QT) students of color in STEM majors that illustrate how introductory physics reinforces white cisheteropatriarchy. Two cases of Black queer STEM students’ counter-stories highlight how uncertainty about faculty bias, lack of identity-conscious support, and stereotypes of ability shaped intersectional oppression in introductory physics courses. The counter-stories also exemplified agency in managing oppression as physics students, including strategic concealment of their queer identities. The paper concludes with implications for pedagogical practice in introductory physics to advance queer and intersectional justice for QT students of color.

L. A. Leyva, “We can’t just turn that off and then do some physics”: A counter-storytelling analysis of introductory physics as a white, cisheteropatriarchal space in undergraduate STEM education, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.plenary.pr.Leyva.

In this paper, we advocate for inclusion of queer and trans* (QT) students in physics by promoting epistemic diversity. We draw on literature documenting racial epistemic oppression and research exploring the experiences of QT students of color in STEM to build theory around intersectional, coalition-building epistemic justice for queer inclusion. We highlight the affordances of physics teaching that embraces queer epistemic subjectivity (ways of thinking shaped by the lived experience of transgressing regulatory categories of sexuality and gender), and offer implications for instructors that cultivate appreciation for diverse approaches to physics learning in the classroom.

R. T. McNeill, L. A. Leyva, G. D. White, and N. D. Mitchell, Leveraging queer epistemic subjectivity to advance justice through physics teaching, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.plenary.pr.McNeill.

This work presents a case study of a team of students and faculty working to increase the diversity of their department through cultural change. We focus on the perspective of the two faculty change leaders organizing this team, who received training and continued support by Departmental Action Leadership Institutes (DALIs). DALIs are workshops led by the Effective Practices for Physics Programs (EP3) team that prepare faculty members to lead change efforts in their local departments by forming teams based on the Departmental Action Team (DAT) model. Concurrent to change leaders' participation in DALI, the DAT pursues a change effort to address internal issues relating to undergraduate education. In this work, we look at how one DAT approaches the practice of "Students as Partners'' (SaP), a pedagogical practice that re-positions the relationship between educators and students in the endeavor of learning. While most efforts of SaP illustrated in the literature center curriculum, assessment, teaching, and research as areas of collaboration, this particular DAT used SaP in their efforts to increase the enrollment and retention of underrepresented students in their department. Through a series of interviews with change leaders and observations of DAT meetings, we document the pre-existing and emerging departmental cultures of partnering with students Additionally, we describe the culture of SaP on the DAT that appears to be operating as the transition between these pre-existing and emerging cultures . Finally, we discuss the elements present that enabled a potentially productive attempt at cultural change through SaP.

F. N. Abdurrahman, C. Turpen, and D. Sachmpazidi, A case study of cultural change: learning to partner with students, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Abdurrahman.

Prior work has found inequities in what experimental roles students take on during instructional labs. Research also suggests that this role division might arise implicitly and that prompting explicit role negotiation might improve equity in lab group work. To understand these various ways students negotiate roles in their lab groups, we use the lens of positioning to analyze two different video episodes of a gender-and-race-diverse group of three students. In one episode, students implicitly take on roles through subtle negotiations and in the second episode, one student explicitly assigns roles. We find that the positioning dynamics in both episodes lead to inequitable learning experiences within the group. This inequity, moreover, occurs along gender and racial lines, prompting future work relating students’ intersectional identities to their positioning dynamics in small groups.

M. Akubo, M. Sundstrom, and N. G. Holmes, Exploring diverse students' negotiation of lab roles through positioning, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Akubo.

We identify three conceptual resources that introductory physics students in our sample commonly use when reasoning microscopically about thermal physics topics: 1) differences will eventually even out, 2) macroscopic changes connect to microscopic collisions, and 3) when something is hotter (colder), its molecules are moving faster (slower). We report the prevalence of these resources, as well as the prevalence of microscopic thinking, in 624 written responses to three different heat and temperature questions administered to introductory physics students at four different colleges and universities. This work complements past research identifying common student difficulties in using microscopic models for heat and temperature, and it adds to the small but growing body of literature that focuses on student resources for heat and temperature, identifying ideas in student thinking that are sensible and continuous with formal physics. By reporting common student resources, we aim to assist instructors in noticing, appreciating, and building on student ideas during introductory thermal physics instruction.

A. T. Alesandrini, T. Huynh, L. C. Bauman, and A. D. Robertson, Identifying student resources for reasoning microscopically about heat and temperature, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Alesandrini.

As physics educators integrate computational activities, they must attend to the overarching processes that students follow when interacting with computer code. We describe one such process, Coding Expediently, as an epistemic game that students might play with a goal of minimizing the amount of time or keystrokes required to carry out a set of programming steps. Playing this game reduces the time and cognitive load students devote to step-by-step interaction with computer code, leaving more time and cognitive load for bigger-picture sense-making. We describe observations of two students playing this game during think-aloud interviews in which they completed an introductory Python tutorial. These students represent two differing technical backgrounds: rich experience with mathematics and no programming experience, and moderate experience with mathematics and rich programming experience outside of Python. We describe observations of these students playing this epistemic game selectively (even when they are aware of its benefits) and how they play this game in significantly different ways.

A. Anderson, P. Pressler, and W. B. Lane, Coding Expediently: A Computationally Situated Epistemic Game, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Anderson.

The ways in which physics majors make career decisions is a critical, yet understudied, aspect of the undergraduate experience. Such decisions are important to students, physics departments, and administrators. In this project, we specifically examine how students develop interests and intent to pursue specific subfields of physics by interviewing 13 physics majors from all years of study. The interviews examined factors that led students to choose their most preferred and least preferred subfields. Interviews leveraged the framework of Social Cognitive Career Theory, a model that describes how several constructs such as self-efficacy, learning experiences, and outcome expectations relate to decision-making. Findings highlight the differences in decision-making between upper-division students and beginning students. For instance, we see how popular culture and popular science provide an initial learning experience about certain subfields, such as astronomy and astrophysics, which strongly affect beginning students' perceptions of that subfield. Initial exposure to biology and chemistry in high school or early undergraduate classes often negatively affected students' interests in fields like biophysics or chemical physics. Data also suggests a splitting between students with respect to their outcome expectations of a desirable career in science. While some students prioritize using science to help people, others prioritize discovery of new knowledge though science, and some are in between. Students in both groups form perceptions about subfields that do not align with their identities and hence make decisions based on these perceptions. For instance, a student who prioritizes helping others through science may be quick to reject astrophysics as a subfield choice as they do not think that astrophysics can help people enough.

R. Bennett, D. Zohrabi Alaee, and B. M. Zwickl, Analysis of Physics Students' Subfield Career Decision-Making Using Social Cognitive Career Theory, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Bennett.

The second quantum revolution has prompted not only research in quantum science and technology, but also research on how best to educate students who may enter this burgeoning field. Much of the conversation around quantum science education has focused on students' conceptual learning or skills desired by potential employers; there has been an absence of work understanding how laboratory courses and experiments contribute to undergraduate quantum education. To begin understanding the role quantum experiments may play, we surveyed instructors who implement experiments with single and entangled photons in undergraduate lab courses and found that one of the most important learning goals was to "see quantum mechanics in real life.'' To better understand this goal, we interviewed 15 of the surveyed instructors asking what seeing quantum mechanics means to them and why they believe it is an important part of students' education. We present emergent themes from a qualitative coding analysis of these interviews, which begin to elucidate how instructors think about seeing quantum mechanics and what learning goals instructors hope seeing quantum mechanics---and working with quantum experiments more generally---will help students achieve.

V. Borish, A. Werth, and H. J. Lewandowski, Seeing quantum mechanics: The role of quantum experiments, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Borish.

With the growing ubiquity of computation in STEM fields, understanding how to teach computational thinking (CT) practices has become an active research area in the last two decades, with particular emphasis on developing CT frameworks. In this paper, we apply one of these CT frameworks and compare the results with a task analysis to examine how CT practices relate to specific design features of an in-class problem. We have analyzed video data from two separate groups working on one computational class period, which utilizes a minimally working program to model magnetic field vectors. While still in the initial stages of the study, our preliminary results indicate that what is left out of the minimally working program will impact the CT practices students use, particularly around building computational models. Ultimately, we hope this work will help instructors to design activities that can target & build specific CT practices.

T. E. Bott, T. Stump, M. D. Caballero, D. R. McPadden, and P. W. Irving, Examining how problem design relates to computational thinking practices, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Bott.

Collaborative learning with peers can lead to students learning from each other and solving physics problems correctly not only in situations in which one student knows how to solve the problems but also when none of the students can solve the problems alone. In the latter situation, students are co-constructing knowledge that helps them solve the problems, while in the former, one student helps the other construct knowledge. In this study, we investigated student learning measured by student performance on a validated quantum mechanics survey and frequencies of construction and co-construction of knowledge when students first worked individually after lecture-based instruction in relevant concepts and then worked with peers during class without receiving any feedback from the course instructor. We find that construction of knowledge consistently occurred at a high rate during peer collaboration. However, rates of co-construction were more varied. High rates of co-construction were generally achieved when approximately half of the students knew the correct answers initially. We also conducted an analysis of some of the survey questions with high rates of co-construction to gain insight into what students converged on after peer interaction and what types of difficulties were reduced. Our findings can be valuable for physics instructors who want to provide in-class and out-of-class opportunities for peer collaboration, e.g., in their quantum mechanics courses.

M. J. Brundage, A. Malespina, and C. Singh, Peer interaction facilitates co-construction of knowledge related to quantum mechanics formalism and postulates, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Brundage.

Instructors new to active learning classrooms frequently ask how they should best structure groups in the classroom to ensure optimum learning. Groups within classrooms are complex social systems with many variables, so unfortunately there is no easy answer. Existing group-formation algorithms do not specify how groups should be structured; they only provide a way for instructors to specify their own algorithm based on factors like GPA or Gender. There are many dimensions of student thinking, motivation, and experience that may be relevant, but here we focus on one measurement that is relatively easy to measure: prior preparation. There have been some studies investigating the role of preparation in cooperative grouping, but each study seems to come to a different conclusion. Here we provide some evidence as to why that might be the case by investigating outcomes based on different measures of preparation and investigating the effects of cooperative grouping for different groups of students. We find that groups that are heterogeneous with respect to physics preparation tend to perform better. Additionally, we find that this effect is particularly pronounced for women and underrepresented students, but not for white men. This would seem to suggest that a reason for disagreements in the literature could be sensitive to how preparation is measured as well as the demographics of the study population.

E. Burkholder and R. S. Strain, Investigating the role of student preparation on cooperative grouping in an active learning classroom, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Burkholder.

Recent advancements in natural language processing (NLP) have generated interest in using computers to assist in the coding and analysis of students' short answer responses for PER or classroom applications. We train a state-of-the-art NLP, IBM's Watson, and test its agreement with humans in three varying experimental cases. By exploring these cases, we begin to understand how Watson behaves with ideal and more realistic data, across different levels of training, and across different types of categorization tasks. We find that Watson's self-reported confidence for categorizing samples is reasonably well-aligned with its accuracy, although this can be impacted by features of the data being analyzed. Based on these results, we discuss implications and suggest potential applications of this technology to education research.

J. Campbell, K. Ansell, and T. Stelzer, Using IBM’s Watson to automatically evaluate student short answer responses, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Campbell.

In this paper, we analyze video recordings of students working on tutorials in Zoom breakout rooms in an upper-division quantum mechanics course. We investigate group behaviors in this virtual environment, including the effects of instructor presence. To this end, we modify the Color Frames coding scheme introduced by Scherr to suit the virtual nature of the interactions. By broadening the frames and allowing for multiple overlapping frames, we are able to describe some group behaviors not otherwise captured. For example, in some instances, students take on an authoritative role in the group, and in other instances, groups engage in overtly casual behavior while nonetheless having on-topic discussions. We observe significant variation in how much time each group spends in each frame, but find that all groups spend some time in all frames. Instructors can be present without dominating or eliminating discussion between students, and their presence need not significantly impact the time students spent in an "informal/friendly'' frame. However, instructor presence significantly reduces time spent working individually. Our findings will support additional research into the dynamics of student discussions during tutorials and aid ongoing development of online tutorials that can, e.g., be assigned for use outside of class.

B. Cervantes, G. Passante, G. Corsiglia, and S. J. Pollock, Modified color frames for analyzing group interactions during an online quantum tutorial, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Cervantes.

We use a communities of practice framework to explore how departments value different constituent groups, focusing on faculty, undergraduate, and graduate students. Through a collaborative, autoethnographic, contrastive case study of two physics departments, we analyze the inter- and intra-constituency interactions and shared practice of each community, demonstrating how each department centers or peripheralizes constituent groups. We argue that how each department enacts their community of practice demonstrates a foundational shared value: faculty autonomy for one and pastoral care of undergraduates for the other.

J. R. Changstrom, M. B. Kustusch, and E. C. Sayre, Using communities of practice to explore departmental values, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Changstrom.

We draw on methods from lines-of-argument analysis in Critical Interpretive Synthesis to synthesize and critique pathways through which disabled students access supports in postsecondary STEM. Integrating recent literature about pathways to access in postsecondary education as well as our ongoing research, we describe various mechanisms through which disabled students are currently provided (or not provided) access in postsecondary STEM and identify strengths and weaknesses with these various pathways. Specifically, we describe and problematize the typical accommodations process, which requires students to register with a Disability Resource Center which then negotiates accommodations with the disabled student and their instructors. Next, we describe alternatives to the traditional accommodations model, such as normalizing discussion of access needs (a tenant of disability justice), allowing individual instructors to validate students’ needs and appropriate accommodations, and access through interdependence (another tenant of disability justice). We describe dimensions along which these pathways vary, such as process, disclosure, requirements for validity, and burden. We suggest instructors and mentors pull from all these models to create a transparent ecosystem of supports.

J. J. Chini and E. M. Scanlon, Synthesizing disabled physics students' pathways to access: a call for more access talk, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Chini.

To improve accessibility and inclusion in postsecondary STEM education, we propose implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) based practices to meet the needs of a variety of learners. The UDL is a design framework aimed at improving and optimizing teaching and learning for all people, regardless of their disability status. As part of a larger professional development project, interviews were conducted with members of a faculty learning community to discuss their instructional practices and to offer feedback regarding opportunities to remove barriers to access and participation. In this paper, we focus on an interview with a physics instructor and examine their beliefs about students with disabilities as evidenced by the disability-specific language used in the interview. This prompted a new perspective on professional development regarding accommodating students with disabilities that focuses on confronting ablest beliefs as a crucial component in promoting inclusion in STEM education.

C. A. Coffie, W. James, E. M. Scanlon, and J. J. Chini, Identifying Academic Ableism: Case Study of a UDL-Learning Community Participant, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Coffie.

The Departmental Action Leadership Institute (DALI), a component of the Effective Practices for Physics Programs (EP3) Initiative, works with physics departments to help them implement improvements to their undergraduate programs. Each participating department designates two faculty members as change leaders. These change leaders participate in DALI activities for one year, through which they learn about, reflect on, and implement effective change practices. During DALI, the change leaders facilitate local teams based on the Department Action Team (DAT) model. We introduce the DALI model, including some of the principles that went into its design. We then present some of the results from a summative assessment of the first DALI cohort. We focus on the growth of change agents' feeling of preparedness to enact aspects of effective departmental change and on their increased feelings of motivation and ability to create change.

J. C. Corbo, D. A. Craig, R. P. Dalka, and C. Turpen, Introducing the Departmental Action Leadership Institute and its preliminary outcomes, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Corbo.

Changing basis is a common task when solving quantum mechanical problems. As part of a research project investigating student understanding of basis and change of basis in quantum mechanics, we developed a tutorial to support students in learning about basis in the context of spin-1/2 systems. We have since created an interactive online version of the basis tutorial as part of a freely available suite of online quantum tutorials called ACE Physics (https://acephysics.net). The ACE Physics tutorials include dynamic guidance elements and, unlike other tutorials, are intended for use outside the classroom without instructor facilitation. After extensive study in an instructor-supported environment, we assigned the ACE Physics basis tutorial as homework in two semesters of upper-division quantum mechanics, and we report on the effectiveness of the activity based on pre-/post-testing and comparison of student exam performance with a similar semester that did not include the activity. We find that the tutorial produces sufficient learning gains to justify continued assignment as a homework problem in our classes.

G. Corsiglia, S. J. Pollock, and B. R. Wilcox, Effectiveness of an online homework tutorial about changing basis in quantum mechanics, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Corsiglia.

Self-efficacy has been shown to affect student engagement, learning, and persistence in various science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses and majors. Additionally, prior research has shown that women have lower self-efficacy than men in STEM courses in which women are outnumbered by men. This study examines the self-efficacy of men and women with similar performance in two consecutive algebra-based introductory physics courses in which women make up two-thirds of the students. These were mandatory courses at a large public university in the US taken primarily by bioscience majors, many of whom are interested in health professions. Our findings show a gender gap in self-efficacy disadvantaging women when controlling for course grades in both physics 1 and physics 2 both at the beginning and end of the course. Additionally, we find that most of the gender gap in self-efficacy is due to biased perceptions rather than performance in the courses.

S. Cwik and C. Singh, Women have lower physics self-efficacy controlling for grade even in courses in which they outnumber men, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Cwik.

This study aims to understand how physics faculty seeking guidance in making departmental changes related to recruitment and retention frame the challenges in their program. We focus our analysis on one set of applications submitted to the Departmental Action Leadership Institute (DALI) in its first year of operation. DALI is the community engagement activity of the Effective Practices for Physics Programs (EP3) initiative. It brings together a cohort of physics faculty to apprentice into strategies for sustainable institutional change and facilitation practices associated with leading change teams. Through analysis of DALI applications, we find that many applicants attribute their enrollment challenges to sources outside of their immediate control, while those that do propose solutions to these challenges primarily focus on curriculum change. By understanding how DALI applicants frame their enrollment challenges, developers of departmental change resources can better mold their recommendations and community engagement activities to what is needed, whether that be meeting faculty and departments where they are at or pushing departments to explore new strategies and frameworks for evaluating their challenges.

R. P. Dalka, C. Turpen, J. C. Corbo, and D. A. Craig, Exploring faculty's explanations of enrollment issues: where does responsibility and control reside?, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Dalka.

Students’ framing of an activity – their understanding of “what is it that’s going on here” [1] – shapes how they act, think, and learn. Prior research suggests that framing instructional physics laboratory activities as confirming known results is problematic for learning [2, 3]. Here, we complicate those findings by presenting a case-study of students who exhibit confirmation framing as they engage in productive behavior. In this case, data that are inconsistent with the theoretical model of the lab motivate a genuine problem for the three students, who troubleshoot their apparatus and analyze their data to construct an explanation for this anomaly. We claim that their productive behavior is supported by their confirmation framing; put another way, we claim that their confirmation framing engenders their productive behavior: the students seek to explain how they could have caused this error. The case-study reported on here is part of a larger project studying student behavior in non-traditional physics labs.

I. Descamps, S. M. Jeon, and D. Hammer, A case of productive confirmation framing in an introductory lab, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Descamps.

While understanding laboratory equipment is an important learning goal of physics laboratory (lab) instruction, previous studies have found inequities as to who gets to use equipment in in-person lab classes. With the transition to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, class dynamics changed and the effects on equipment usage remain unclear. As part of a larger effort to make intro physics labs more equitable, we investigated student equipment usage based on gender and race in two introductory physics lab courses, one taught in-person and one taught remotely. We found inequities between men and women for in-person instruction, replicating previous work with a new student population. In contrast, we found that remote instruction created a more gender equitable learning environment, albeit with one student typically in charge of the equipment per class session. When we looked at equipment handling based on student race, we found no inequities in either format. These results suggest that changes should be made in introductory labs to create a more gender equitable learning environment and that some aspects of remote labs could help make these labs more equitable.

M. Dew, A. M. Phillips, S. Karunwi, A. Baksh, E. M. Stump, and N. G. Holmes, So Unfair it's Fair: Equipment handling in remote versus in-person introductory physics labs, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Dew.

Conceptual inquiry-based introductory physics labs deploy PER-informed pedagogical strategies in physics labs with the aim of helping to improve students' understanding of physics concepts. Unlike traditional labs (which tend to be highly-structured and focus on verification of scientific relationships via precision measurements) and skills-based labs (which tend to eschew the aim of helping students learn physics concepts in favor of teaching experimental skills), some studies have suggested that conceptual inquiry-based labs may have a positive impact on student conceptual understanding, as measured by concept inventories. This paper reports on a randomized controlled study that compares student conceptual gains in electricity and magnetism between a conceptual inquiry-based lab and a skills-based lab. Following a difference-in-differences analytical strategy and using hierarchical linear modeling, the result from this study is that the conceptual inquiry-based lab provides no additional benefit to students' conceptual learning gains compared with the skills-based lab. Studies such as these may help physics departments make decisions about the goals and scope of transformations to their introductory lab courses.

D. Doucette, Measuring the impact of conceptual inquiry-based labs, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Doucette.

The pathways and engagement of physicists in informal physics education are varied, which makes their professional development needs not well understood. As part of ongoing efforts to build and support community in the informal physics space, we conducted interviews with physics practitioners and researchers with a range of different experiences. Through thematic analysis, we use personas methodology to articulate the needs and pain points of professional physicists. We present our set of four personas: the physicist who engages in informal physics for self-reflection, the physicist who wants to spark interest in physics, the physicist who wants to provide diverse role models to younger students and inspire them to pursue a STEM career, and the physicist who wants to improve the relationship between scientists and the public. This work will allow the informal physics community to create tailored resources for the variety of professional development needs of informal physics facilitators.

S. El-Adawy, E. C. Sayre, A. C. Lau, and C. Fracchiolla, Personas for supporting physicists' engagement in informal education, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.El-Adawy.

We examine how upper-division physics students find derivatives from an equipotential graph in an individual interview setting. We focus specifically on identifying the different kinds of behavior that students engage in when finding a derivative from an equipotential graph, and also on the representational elements that students use or introduce during their work. We find that the students were able to find the derivative successfully using a ratio-of-small-changes approach. Students engaged in behavior like sketching straight lines or arrows on the given graph as a way to choose points for calculating a ratio and to keep one variable constant for the derivative. We also saw students make sense of the equipotential graph and reinterpret the derivative they found using those representations using two other graphical representations: cross-sections and three-dimensional plastic surfaces. We find these results encouraging because the students had studied equipotential graphs and derivatives as ratios-of-small-changes as part of their junior-level electrostatics, suggesting that such a course is effective at helping students develop representational fluency for working with multivariable derivatives.

P. J. Emigh and C. A. Manogue, Finding Derivatives from an Equipotential Graph, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Emigh.

An emerging body of research suggests that poor student performance on certain physics questions may stem, at least in part, from the nature of human reasoning itself. While students may demonstrate that they possess the requisite knowledge and skills to reason correctly on one question, they may abandon that same line of reasoning on an analogous question containing a salient distracting feature. As part of a larger effort to investigate and support student reasoning in physics by leveraging dual-process theories of reasoning, we developed and tested an intervention aimed at helping students draw upon the knowledge and skills they already possess to address such reasoning inconsistencies. In this study, we also explored specific factors to see if they were related to student reasoning and how students engage with the intervention. We found that the intervention was effective in helping students reason more productively and consistently, but its effectiveness appears to be related to students’ cognitive reflection skills. In addition, out of the students who initially answered two analogous physics questions inconsistently, those who were able to successfully apply their correct reasoning from one question to the other question upon explicit prompting were more likely to revise their thinking and demonstrate consistent reasoning after the intervention.

T. Fittswood, D. J. Rosen, and M. R. Stetzer, Insights from an intervention designed to support consistent reasoning, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Fittswood.

Students' use of support from peers and instructors is an important aspect of success in college. This preliminary phenomenographic study examines a variety of help seeking behaviors of undergraduate majors in physics and life sciences and factors that lead to those behaviors. Seven students described their experiences using semi-structured interviews during the summer of 2021. The analysis was structured around identifying characteristics of peers and instructors, as well as personal help-seeking attitudes, that either promoted help seeking or help avoidance. Peers were generally the first source of help, and were prioritized based on ability and the closeness of the relationship. Instructors fostered help seeking through availability and a non-judgemental demeanor. A feeling of vulnerability and fear of judgement was cited as the most common reason for avoiding help. The findings provide insights for faculty and departments seeking to encourage student success.

M. Flores, R. Verchimak, D. Zohrabi Alaee, and B. M. Zwickl, Factors influencing help seeking and help avoidant behaviors among physics and life science majors, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Flores.

A common goal of undergraduate physics laboratory classes is for students to gain experience in the ways of thinking like an experimental physicist when designing experiments, taking measurements, performing analysis, and communicating results. Whether or not students actually develop more expert-like ways of thinking by the end of their degree remains an outstanding question. In this work, we describe a longitudinal study to answer that question using the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey for Experimental Physics (E-CLASS). As a preliminary exercise, we make explicit our expectations for the results of the longitudinal study, so that in the future we may critically analyse the results while being conscious of our own biases.

M. F. J. Fox, S. Bland, S. P. D. Mangles, and J. McGinty, Expectations of how student views on experimental physics develop during an undergraduate degree, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Fox.

Elementary ODEs are seen as prerequisite knowledge gained from the introductory calculus sequence for any physics student entering the upper division. In this paper, we provide evidence that while students might be well-versed in the rules and notations of ODEs, this does not necessarily translate to the application of these “rules without a reason” to novel physics tasks. Using the mathematics education researchers Tall and Vinner’s concept image framework, we propose that the body of knowledge or concept image a student brings to an upper division physics environment regarding ODEs is restricted. We present, via four student interviews, three potential signals of this “restricted concept image”: mathematical processes that are formally taught in introductory calculus courses but are not reliably evoked when faced with a novel physics task. Our goal for this paper, as part of a larger project exploring student difficulties regarding ODEs, is to create a “proof of concept” that can be used in future work to more definitively identify the presence of a restricted ODE concept image.

A. Fung and M. E. Loverude, “Rules without a Reason”: ODEs in a concept image framework, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Fung.

Natural language processing (NLP) has the capacity to increase the scale and efficiency of content analysis in Physics Education Research. One promise of this approach is the possibility of implementing coding schemes on large data sets taken from diverse contexts. Applying NLP has two main challenges, however. First, a large initial human-coded data set is needed for training, though it is not immediately clear how much training data are needed. Second, if new data are taken from a different context from the training data, automated coding may be impacted in unpredictable ways. In this study, we investigate the conditions necessary to address these two challenges for a survey question that probes students' perspectives on the reliability of physics experimental results. We use neural networks in conjunction with Bag of Words embedding to perform automated coding of student responses for two binary codes, meaning each code is either present (positive) or absent (negative) in a response. We find that i) substantial agreement is consistently achieved for our data when the training set exceeds 600 responses, with 80-100 responses containing each code and ii) it is possible to perform automated coding using training data from a disparate context, but variation in code frequencies (outcome balances) across specific contexts can affect the reliability of coding. We offer suggestions for best practices in automated coding. Other smaller-scale investigations across a diverse range of coding scheme types and data contexts are needed to develop generalized principles.

R. Fussell, A. Mazrui, and N. G. Holmes, Machine learning for automated content analysis: characteristics of training data impact reliability, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Fussell.

Researchers across all scientific disciplines routinely face ethical decisions in their work, from addressing conflicts of interest to deciding whether and how to make data available for reproducibility. To help strengthen their ethical reasoning skills, they are encouraged to take online training programs like the CITI program. Ethics training is insufficient for improving ethical behavior. Better understanding of how scientists make decisions and reason about ethics is needed. To develop that understanding, we need expanded, asset-based measures of ethical reasoning that can be applied to open-ended responses and discussions. As part of a year-long intervention on a group of fifteen scientists’ value-based reasoning, we conducted pre/post interviews that included open-ended questions about ethical scenarios. For this paper, we explore an application of three theories of ethical and stakeholder reasoning to those answers, and determine that we can use them to examine quality, principles, and subjects of their reasoning in open responses.

T. Garcia, C. Solis, C. Linville, B. Bridges, W. Jones, J. Herington, S. Tanona, and J. T. Laverty, Examining Physicists' Ethical Reasoning: A New Methodology, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Garcia.

Research characterizing common student ideas about particular physics topics has significantly impacted university-level physics teaching by providing knowledge that supports instructors to target their instruction and by informing curriculum development. In this work, we utilize a Natural Language Processing algorithm (Latent Dirichlet Allocation, or LDA) to identify distinct student ideas in a set of written responses to a conceptual physics question, with the goal of significantly expediting the process of characterizing student ideas. We preliminarily test the LDA approach by applying the algorithm to a collection of introductory physics student responses to a conceptual question about circuits, specifically attending to whether it is useful for characterizing instructionally-relevant student ideas. We find that for a large enough collection of student responses (N ? 500), LDA can be useful for characterizing the ideas students used to answer conceptual physics questions. We discuss some considerations that researchers may take into account as they interpret the results of the LDA algorithm for characterizing student’s physics ideas.

J. M. Geiger, L. M. Goodhew, and T. O. B. Odden, Developing a natural language processing approach for analyzing student ideas in calculus-based introductory physics, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Geiger.

Hispanic serving institutions (HSIs) are an increasingly large set of higher education institutions in the United States. From 2010-2020 the number of HSIs increased from 311 to 569. Within the physics education research (PER) community, research perspectives from HSIs have provided critical insights into how to support racially and ethnically diverse students. Within the last decade, research from HSIs made up approximately 20% of publications from US higher education institutions in common PER journals. These publications do not always fully name and leverage their HSI context, though the work done at HSIs still more consistently centers students' identities as compared to research from non-HSIs. As our research community looks forward, elevating and appropriately valuing research at HSIs will be critical to build a more robust understanding of physics education in multiple institutional contexts.

B. Gutmann and R. Rosenblatt, Leveraging Hispanic-serving institutions within physics education research, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Gutmann.

We analyze the results of two surveys administered to a Faculty Online Learning Community teaching a common physics curriculum designed primarily for pre-service elementary teachers. We use Social Network Analysis to represent the faculty network and compare members’ closeness, a measure of how closely connected a person is with every other person in their network, to their reported experience in the community. We find that participants’ self-efficacy, as well as their teaching and sense of benefitting from the community, are predictors of their centrality in the network as measured by closeness with other participants.

C. Hatcher, E. Price, P. S. Smith, C. Turpen, and E. Brewe, Social Network Analysis of a Physics Faculty Online Learning Community, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Hatcher.

A framework of cyclic observation and triangulation was applied over a period of 4 years to graduate student difficulties related to quantum spin, in which numerous in-class observations and interviews were used to identify common, persistent difficulties. Written items were iteratively developed over two years to add a quantitative component. Items were administered to graduate students at two collaborating institutions, over three years. We find that students generally obtained scores or correct proportions ranging from 30%-70% on the written items, and answering patterns were similar across all institutions. All items were identified by the course instructors as being relevant to instructional goals of the course. We report on a number of graduate student difficulties with spin, including orthogonality of spin-1/2 states, projections of spin states, spin addition, and exchange symmetry. We briefly discuss possible theoretical frameworks through which to interpret these results.

A. F. Heckler and C. D. Porter, Graduate student understanding of quantum mechanical spin, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Heckler.

Research-validated clicker questions comprise an easy-to-implement instructional tool that can scaffold student learning while formatively assessing students’ knowledge. We present findings from the development, validation and implementation, in consecutive years, of a Clicker Question Sequence (CQS) on measurement uncertainty as it applies to two-state quantum systems. This study was conducted in an advanced undergraduate quantum mechanics course, in both an online and in-person learning environment. Student learning was first assessed after receiving traditional lecture-based instruction on relevant concepts, and their performance on it was compared with that on a similar assessment given after engaging with the CQS. We analyze and discuss similar and differing trends observed in the two modes of instruction.

P. Hu, Y. Li, and C. Singh, Development, validation and online and in-person implementation of clicker question sequence on quantum measurement uncertainty, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Hu.

At the University of Vienna and at Tokyo Gakugei University, we aim to equip our pre-service teachers (PSTs) with “curricular knowledge” about instructional materials, knowledge about the “theory” underlying the curriculum and the reasons behind particular choices such as conceptual flow, use of individual vs. group work, and so on. This study presents two case studies grounded in of our attempts to teach nuanced curricular knowledge about differences between two fairly similar sets of curricular modules. Our analysis centers on two Masters of Science (MS) students who had various experiences involving Open Source Tutorials (OSTs), guided worksheets developed by the University of Maryland. A theoretically nuanced (and hence deep) component of curricular knowledge regarding OSTs is that they are based upon the “Knowledge in Pieces” (in contrast to a “Misconceptions” or unspecified) model of student ideas. The Pieces model maintains that student ideas are not always robustly intact and inherently incorrect cognitive structures, but rather, that student ideas are often temporary coherences of thought assembled from finer-grained pieces of knowledge that can productively be drawn upon and refined in instruction. In our courses, PSTs read research literature about OSTs, conduct mock lessons using existing OSTs, improve existing OSTs, design and teach their own OSTs to real students, and reflect upon the process to further improve the curriculum. Our analysis focuses upon case studies of Brock and Saki, MS students at our institutions. In addition to one-on-one interviews with these PSTs, we will draw upon data from in-class observations and written coursework to discuss how PSTs progressed in their understanding of nuanced curricular knowledge about OSTs and how they differ from some other tutorials.

M. M. Hull, H. Uematsu, and A. Elby, A progression of pre-service teachers towards deep curricular knowledge (the Pieces model in Open Source Tutorials), 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Hull.

Participation in sensemaking discourse is widely seen as important to students’ learning in physics classes. Many physics curricula and pedagogical strategies use collaborative small group activities to create opportunities for students to engage in authentic collaborative sensemaking discourse, but we also know collaborative small groups sometimes function inequitably. Access to discourse in them is co-constructed by group members and impacted by both the histories of individual members and the cultural attitudes and expectations they bring. As a result, some students can be marginalized and excluded from fair access to valuable participation in discourse. This study focuses on one student in a previously studied small group known to frequently function inequitably. The focus student, “Jessica”, was an infrequent participant and arguably a low-influence member of the group. Because she was usually denied fair access to participation in the on-task sensemaking discourse, Jessica is a type of student our research community needs to focus on as we work to better understand the dynamics of collaborative small groups. By analyzing video data of this group, this study aimed to understand how Jessica negotiated her, albeit infrequent, episodes of participation in on-task discussion. Using positioning theory as the primary analytic framework, the analysis illustrates how Jessica negotiated on-task participation opportunities by establishing access to the conversational floor and/or positioning herself with authority in off-task discourse and leveraging that to negotiate access to the group’s on-task discourse.

P. Hutchison, Equity and off-task discussion in a collaborative small group, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Hutchison.

In this study, we showcase the various ways high school physics teachers make connections between science content and social justice, pushing the boundary of what is counted as science content by bringing social justice engagement to the center of science learning. We analyze lessons submitted by eighteen high school physics teachers who participated in a professional development program that supported the integration of equity into their science teaching. Three themes represent teachers’ approach toward integrating social justice in their science lessons: (1) investigating the nature of science in specific science concepts and re-evaluating/redefining science concepts, (2) connecting students’ everyday activities with science and global social justice issues, and (3) using science knowledge to engage with and advocate for social justice issues in students’ local communities.

T. Huynh, K. E. Gray, L. C. Bauman, J. Hernandez, L. Seeley, and R. E. Scherr, Physics teachers integrating social justice with science content, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Huynh.

Learning assistants are undergraduate peer educators that help facilitate learning in a university classroom environment. Jardine (2019) found that learning assistant feedback to faculty roughly fell into three categories: course logistics, student behavior, and student understanding. We built from this previous work by further characterizing the feedback given to faculty by learning assistants and found the following categories: student experience, classroom content, classroom structure, accessibility, empathy, and broad feedback. Using interview data with learning assistants and faculty working with learning assistants, we created a preliminary framework for the types of feedback and examples by learning assistants. This framework may be useful for both learning assistants and faculty members as they provide and elicit feedback.

S. Indukuri and G. M. Quan, Characterizing the feedback that learning assistants give to faculty, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Indukuri.

We report on an investigation in which we compare the conceptual performance of upper-level undergraduates and graduate students, who worked on two different validated Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorials (QuILTs). One of the QuILTs incorporates mathematical reasoning while focusing on helping students develop a good conceptual understanding of quantum optics using a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer with single photons and polarizers. Performance of students who engaged with this “hybrid” (integrated conceptual and quantitative) QuILT is compared with those who engaged with a conceptual QuILT focusing on the same topics without quantitative tools. We find that the posttest performance on conceptual questions of physics graduate students who engaged with the hybrid QuILT was generally better than those who engaged with the conceptual QuILT. For undergraduate students, the results were mixed.

P. Justice, E. Marshman, and C. Singh, Impact of mathematical reasoning on students’ understanding of quantum optics, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Justice.

The competencies required of physics-oriented STEM professionals are rapidly evolving to include computational practices (the use of computers to study physical systems). Developing these practices in students requires sustained learning experiences, and high school students benefit from encountering this domain at an appropriate level. However, many high school physics teachers have had limited (if any) exposure to computation, let alone practice with integrating it in a high school-appropriate manner. Our interdisciplinary team of university STEM educators designed and facilitated two semesters of an online professional development sequence for high school teachers. This sequence included asynchronous modules and monthly remote meetings centered around teachers reflecting on their experiences as learners and adaptations to these modules for delivery in their classrooms. At the end of spring 2022, we conducted semi-structured interviews to explore the teachers' experiences and plans for implementation. When analyzing the transcripts from the remote meetings and interviews, we attended to how the teachers operated within two frames. Their learner frame focuses on what the teacher is learning about computation, what piques their own curiosity and interest, and what they feel they can accomplish. Their mediator frame focuses on what they believe their students could reasonably accomplish with computation, what their students are curious about, and how they can use computation to develop their ideal classroom environment. Our analysis highlights teachers' enthusiasm about how computation can contribute to the playful, creative environment that they value in their classrooms. They also saw curiosity as a necessity for productive computational integration and that computation could engage students' curiosity in new ways. We offer implications for future iterations of professional development to emphasize computation's potential to inspire curiosity in all students.

W. B. Lane, T. M. Galanti, A. Pruett, J. Whitley, and F. Faridian, Creating a computational playground in high school physics, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Lane.

Students' sense of belonging contributes to success at universities. Studies hint that students' sense of belonging in their introductory STEM courses may be tied to the course structures. In this study, we compared students' sense of belonging and letter grade between four semesters of an introductory calculus-based electricity and magnetism course. The course structures varied throughout the four semesters with hybrid versus in-person instruction and midterm exams versus quizzes for assessment, but all implementations used research-based instruction. Here, we compare students' sense of belonging and letter grades within these different course structures. Students expressed a stronger sense of belonging and earned higher letter grades with the lower-stakes quiz structure than in prior semesters with midterm exams. However, students' sense of belonging did not change when attending hybrid compared to in-person.

D. T. Lang and E. M. Smith, Investigating the effects of course structure on students' sense of belonging and course performance, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Lang.

Research based assessments have a productive and storied history in PER. While useful for conducting research on student learning, their utility is limited for instructors interested in improving their own courses. We have developed a new assessment design process that leverages three-dimensional learning, evidence-centered design, and self-regulated learning to deliver actionable feedback to instructors about supporting their students’ learning. We are using this approach to design the Thermal and Statistical Physics Assessment (TaSPA), which also allows instructors to choose learning goals that align with their teaching. Perhaps more importantly, this system will be completely automated when it is completed, making the assessment scalable with minimal burden on instructors and researchers. This work represents an advancement in how we assess physics learning at a large scale and how the PER community can better support physics instructors and students.

J. T. Laverty, A. Sirnoorkar, A. P. Jambuge, K. D. Rainey, J. Weaver, A. Adamson, and B. R. Wilcox, A New Paradigm for Research-Based Assessment Development, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Laverty.

In this study, we adapted a prior identity framework to investigate how students’ perception of the inclusiveness of the learning environment (including sense of belonging, peer interaction and perceived recognition) in an introductory physics course predicts their course grades and physics motivational beliefs (including self-efficacy, interest and identity) at the end of this course. We found signatures of inequitable and non-inclusive learning environment in that female students’ mean scores for sense of belonging, peer interaction and perceived recognition were all lower than male students’ in the course. In addition, we found that female students had lower average course grades than male students. Using structural equation modeling, we found that students’ perception of the inclusiveness of the learning environment predicts their self-efficacy, interest, identity and grades at the end of the course even after controlling for students’ gender, motivational beliefs and grades in a previous course as well as their high school GPA and SAT math scores. In particular, students’ perceived recognition, e.g., by instructors and teaching assistants, played a major role in predicting students’ physics identity, and students’ sense of belonging in physics played an important role in explaining the change in students’ physics self-efficacy. Our findings can be helpful for creating an inclusive and equitable learning environment in which all students can excel.

Y. Li and C. Singh, How inclusiveness of learning environment predicts female and male students’ physics grades and motivational beliefs in introductory physics courses, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Li.

Intelligence mindset has been studied extensively in education research, but domain-specific intelligence mindset research is relatively new in the physics context. Additionally, recent mindset research has uncovered separable factors within the intelligence mindset construct. In this study, we test a model involving four factors (My Ability, My Growth, Others’ Ability, and Others’ Growth) to pre and post survey data from Physics 1 classes. In particular, we explore how these mindset factors change over time as well as their ability to predict course grade. We find that students are less likely to endorse a growth mindset for themselves and others at the end of their first calculus-based introductory physics course than at the beginning. We also find that decrease in mindset measures are more drastic for female students than male students. Finally, we find that the best predictor of course grades is the My Ability component of the mindset construct, which has implications both for creating equitable and inclusive learning environment and determining how educators implement mindset interventions.

A. Malespina, C. D. Schunn, and C. Singh, To whom do students believe a growth mindset applies?, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Malespina.

A previous study showed that incentivizing students to correct mistakes on unit exam problems within an upper-division quantum mechanics course improved students’ problem-solving efforts on those same problems in a final exam environment, relative to a comparison group of students who were not incentivized. We attempt to replicate the quantitative portion of this study within a first-semester upper-division electromagnetism course, specifically examining students’ invoking correct concepts and applying those concepts correctly. A statistical comparison of students who accepted the offer to rework unit exam problems for partial credit, versus students who declined the offer, demonstrates a better improvement for students who chose to rework relative to students who declined. As the results suggested that unit exam performance might provide a covariate within the comparison of choice to rework between groups, the results were analyzed using ANCOVA; to understand the effect size, a pre-post normalized gain comparison was also made; statistical results were consistent across both measurements. Results additionally appear to show that incentivization works more specifically for invoking correct concepts on a primarily conceptual problem, and more specifically for applying concepts correctly on a primarily algorithmic problem. Future plans include a more complete analytical framework using think-aloud protocol interviews for students from the sample, as well as more statistical detail to determine the interaction between unit exam score and choice to rework problems.

A. J. Mason and J. S. Colton, Reworking exam problems to incentivize improved performance in upper-division electrodynamics, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Mason.

The topic of electric fields is often confusing to many students in introductory physics courses. This study details the evaluation of two new technological tools, an online game and simulation, that were developed by our research group. To evaluate the efficacy of these tools, we compare the learning gains and technology anxiety of students who have interacted with the game, simulation, and a video playlist in a controlled environment. The results showed that no individual learning tool was significantly more effective than the others; however, gains from pre- to post-diagnostic were significant across all three groups. It was also found that students vastly preferred learning about electric fields via the video playlist over the game and simulation. Additionally, the study provides insight into the further development of our technological tools through student feedback. Students commonly requested more guidance and instruction from the two tools.

T. Mburu, L. Rodelli, and C. L. Countryman, Assessing the efficacy of a new online game and simulation to teach electric fields, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Mburu.

Although social identity, as it relates to physics identity, is not a new area of research, disability identity is woefully understudied in physics. Disability is political, and ableism is real, ordinary, and pervasive in physics. Disabled people find themselves as the subject of sociopolitical violence both in and out of the classroom, simply for existing in their body. In a climate charged with politicality and identity discourse in the classroom, it is surprising that a framework for understanding disability and the transactional relationship disabled persons have with their environment in a political way has yet to be used in physics education. In this paper, I introduce Political Disability Identity as a framework for studying disability identity in Physics Education Research. I outline the domains of Political Disability Identity, and the underlying themes which should guide research using this framework. Finally, I call for its use both in the physics classroom, and in Physics Education Research.

L. G. E. McDermott, Introducing political disability identity as a framework for studying disability in physics, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.McDermott.

Significant attention in the PER community has been paid to student cognition and reasoning processes in undergraduate quantum mechanics. Until recently, however, these same topics have remained largely unexplored in the context of emerging interdisciplinary quantum information science (QIS) courses. We conducted exploratory interviews with 22 students in an upper-division quantum computing course at a large R1 university crosslisted in physics and computer science, as well as 6 graduate students in a similar graduate-level QIS course offered in physics. We classify and analyze students' responses to a pair of questions regarding the fundamental differences between classical and quantum computers. We specifically note two key themes of importance to educators: (1) when reasoning about computational power, students often struggled to distinguish between the relative effects of exponential and linear scaling, resulting in students frequently focusing on distinctions that are arguably better understood as analog-digital than classical-quantum, and (2) introducing the thought experiment of analog classical computers was a powerful tool for helping students develop a more expertlike perspective on the differences between classical and quantum computers.

J. C. Meyer, G. Passante, S. J. Pollock, and B. R. Wilcox, Investigating student interpretations of the differences between classical and quantum computers: Are quantum computers just analog classical computers?, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Meyer.

Traditionally, self-efficacy (SE), or the confidence in one's capability to execute a task, is measured using pre/post-surveys to demonstrate shifts in students' SE. In this work, we present a preliminary analysis of a single student drawing on a mixed methods approach to examine how their SE fluctuates over time. This novel design employs the Experience Sampling Method, a quantitative technique using surveys of domain-specific self-efficacy, and daily reflections, a qualitative technique investigating threats and supports towards students' SE. The preliminary analysis was broken into two strands: (1) using interquartile range (IQR) to define low, normal, and high SE for a student based on their survey scores, and (2) using the student's daily journal reflection responses as proof of concept for defining the student's SE as low, normal, or high from the IQR analysis of survey responses. Findings indicate the boundaries of a student's IQR can define high, normal, and low SE and the student's responses to the daily journal prompts corroborates these definitions.

C. Myers, V. Sawtelle, and R. Henderson, A Mixed Methods Approach Towards Defining A Student's Ranges of Self-Efficacy, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Myers.

In this paper, we present a case study with a disabled physics student to draw attention to his experiences in the physics community, and the barriers and supports that he experienced as he advanced through his physics career. Using a methodology of narrative analysis, we identify themes and genres within the stories told by the participant. Narratives are often created to explain the unexpected and to solve a problem. In the physics community, disabled students find their “differences” (i.e., disability/impairments) are often positioned as unexpected and a problem to be solved. We use narrative analysis to humanize disabled physics students and to highlight their lived experiences of progressing through the physics community over their perceived deviation from the physics “norm.” From this, we create resources for physics mentors to increase their knowledge of disabled physics students’ experiences and how to support accessibility and inclusion in the physics community

D. P. Oleynik, E. M. Scanlon, and J. J. Chini, The Epic and the Tragedy: Narratives of a Disabled Physics Student, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Oleynik.

Covariational reasoning--considering how changes in one quantity affect another, related quantity--is a foundation of quantitative modeling in physics. Understanding quantitative models is a learning objective of introductory physics instruction at the college level. Prior work suggests that covariational reasoning in physics contexts differs from the reasoning about functions and graphs in purely mathematical contexts that students develop in math courses; this reasoning is effortful in physics even for mathematically well-prepared students. In order to improve physics students' covariational reasoning, we must first characterize covariational reasoning with physics quantities. To this end, we present a framework of covariational reasoning in physics contexts, to describe the ways that covariational reasoning is used in physics modeling. The framework can be used as a lens through which to analyze student reasoning, and can help inform instructional interventions. We describe an application of this framework in the development of a set of computer-based training assignments.

A. Olsho, C. Zimmerman, A. Boudreaux, T. I. Smith, P. Eaton, and S. White Brahmia, Characterizing covariational reasoning in physics modeling, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Olsho.

With the second quantum revolution and the growing need of a competent workforce in Quantum Information Science, formal instruction on contemporary physics topics such as quantum mechanics (QM) is a particularly important component of modern secondary science education. Additionally, a formal introduction to physics is incomplete without an exploration of the quantum realm and the findings of the first quantum revolution. Exposure to QM can radically alter an individual’s view of the physical universe and can broadly engage secondary students. Exposure to QM in secondary schools has increased substantially in recent years yet is still an understudied area with a limited body of research on this topic. The aim of this paper is to analyze this body of research by bibliometric analysis, examining yearly output, citation index, author nationality, publishing venue, and keywords of relevant publications. The academic search engines SCOPUS and Web of Science were used to collect publications emphasizing the teaching and learning of QM at the secondary level. First, we present a quantitative analysis of the bibliometrics, followed by an assessment of publication trends in teaching and learning. Lastly, an analysis of research gaps and opportunities for further investigation is discussed.

Z. Patterson and L. Ding, A bibliometric analysis of PER on quantum mechanics in secondary schools, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Patterson.

Introductory mechanics is classified as a general education laboratory science at many colleges and universities. General education outcomes often include the ability to reason from evidence or justify claims with evidence. These skills are also central components of the Next Generation Science Standards for K-12 education. In contrast to this mandate to focus on evidence-based reasoning, both the teaching and the assessing of the ability to reason from evidence are often implicit rather than explicit parts of the introductory mechanics laboratory curriculum. This article reports the first results of an ongoing attempt to scaffold the learning of reasoning from evidence and to make the assessment of this skill explicit by employing the "Claim, Evidence and Reasoning'' framework in a college-level introductory mechanics laboratory.

A. Pawl, Claims, evidence and reasoning in the introductory mechanics Lab, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Pawl.

As opposed to practices that reinforce inequitable power structures, disciplinary practices in STEM that converge with themes of resistance (identified through Critical analysis) are better suited to support marginalized students. We identify two instances (within the setting of a computational physics course) where we notice resonance between disciplinary practices and queer theory. We use this queer reading of our learning environment to explore possibilities for queering physics education. We argue that identifying and amplifying STEM practices that are compatible with such themes can support justice-oriented pedagogy and align with efforts to incorporate agency and scientific practices into Physics classrooms.

A. M. Phillips, E. Gouvea, B. Gravel, and T. J. Atherton, Disciplinary Inq[ee]ry in Computational Physics, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Phillips.

It is well documented that there is little diversity within physics at the undergraduate level in the United States, and this problem is amplified in graduate school and the workforce. The cause of this underrepresentation of women and people of color in physics is reported to be partially due to a "cold" and unwelcoming climate within physics departments and differential pre-college experiences. Our larger research project aims to investigate undergraduate physics students' experiences, to better understand the factors leading to the selection and retention of a physics major, and how these experiences may differ by the intersectionality of one’s social identities. To achieve this goal, we conducted a series of in-depth interviews with physics majors at one university to learn more about their pre-college and college experiences regarding physics and astronomy. In this paper, we report a subset of our findings. In particular, we share our preliminary results on the data collected from our nine participants with identities underrepresented in the discipline of physics with regards to their selection of a physics major. Our findings reveal both internal and external motivators for selecting a major in physics and suggest that many of the pre-college obstacles they faced relate to their underrepresented identities.

K. Piatek-Jimenez, D. Keblbeck, and C. MedinaMedina, Investigating underrepresented students’ choice of a physics major, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Piatek-Jimenez.

Recently, the "second quantum revolution” has been identified as crucial for technical innovation and a potential driver for workforce development and economic growth in the United States and beyond. However, there is a severe workforce shortage in the Quantum Information Science and Engineering (QISE) domain. QISE sits at the intersection of many fields, and there is no universally agreed-upon curriculum for it. It is thus necessary to produce an inter-disciplinary curriculum for QISE, which not only trains future smart workforce, but also makes sure that the workforce is diverse (e.g., in terms of gender and ethnicity). Our interdisciplinary team, including education researchers and content experts from across STEM, arts, and other disciplines, aims to fill this important gap by creating a modular, industry-connected curriculum called QuSTEAM. The modular nature of the curriculum will allow content to be applied at various institutions (e.g., R-1, community colleges, and HBCUs) in a seamless manner.

C. D. Porter, Z. Atiq, and E. Fletcher, Creating a modular, workforce-relevant undergraduate curriculum for quantum information science and engineering for all people, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Porter.

The need for physicists to work with others outside of the discipline of physics has become more prominent due to the growing necessity of interdisciplinary subjects and careers. While this need exists, there are few opportunities for physics students to gain collaborative experiences and skills. This study looks at how a community of practice formed within an informal physics program that was designed specifically to bring undergraduate physics and graphic design students together to create an aesthetic physics teaching tool. Throughout this 10 week summer project, we collected qualitative data in the form of interviews and written responses from a team of four undergraduate students, observed meetings, and interviewed the project co-developers. These data record the students’ and co-developers’ experiences as they work together to develop a public engagement project aimed at combining physics with art and design. Using an operationalized Communities of Practice framework to analyze these data, we are able to explore the formation of a Community of Practice and better understand how developing informal physics programs can foster a community of practice environment.

B. Prefontaine, R. Smith, D. Izadi, and K. A. Hinko, Examining community of practice formation within a new informal art and physics program, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Prefontaine.

Learning is a process that involves mutual responsibility and practice adjustments. By mutual responsibility, we mean students' relying on their instructors and classmates for feedback as they proactively navigate new material. By practice adjustments, we mean changes in a student's approach to a course based on monitoring and evaluating their progress in the course. However, in introductory physics, many students struggle to adjust their practices in response to challenges encountered in the learning process. We studied these difficulties in an introductory studio physics course by assigning a weekly reflection journal with questions about the students' experience in the course, including the challenges they encountered and the study habits they practiced. These reflection assignments prompted the students to describe the roles fulfilled (or unfulfilled) by members of the course community, to identify practice adjustments (or lack thereof), and to self-assess their progress toward positive learning outcomes. We reviewed these students' final reflection assignment and recorded themes that emerged: These students talked about collaboration (interacting with a classmate in the learning process), course difficulty (degrees or progression of difficulty), responsibility (Who is responsible for the student's learning?), self-managed growth (the learner making adjustments or taking actions to maintain or assert agency over their learning), and a lack of change in their practices, capabilities, or success. These insights into the student learning experience will be used to further classify student responses and generate course improvements.

P. Pressler, A. Anderson, K. Humphreys, M. Swartz, and W. B. Lane, Insights into Student Metacognition from Reflective Writing in an Introductory Studio Physics Course, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Pressler.

As part of an effort to examine student understanding of expressions for probability in an upper-division spins-first quantum mechanics (QM) context, clinical think-aloud interviews were conducted with students following relevant instruction. Students were given various tasks to showcase their conceptual understanding of the mathematics and physics underpinning these expressions. The symbolic forms framework was used as a lens through which to analyze their understanding. Various symbol templates and conceptual schemata were identified, in Dirac and function notations, with multiple schemata paired with different templates. The overlapping linking suggests that defining strict template-schema pairs may not be feasible or productive for studying student interpretations of expressions for probability in upper-division QM courses.

W. D. Riihiluoma, Z. Topdemir, and J. R. Thompson, Applying a symbolic forms lens to probability expressions in upper-division quantum mechanics, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Riihiluoma.

We have developed and validated a rubric for the assessment and scaffolding of problem-solving process in introductory physics courses via an iterative approach. The current version of the rubric consists of eight criteria based on research in expert-like problem solving practice and aspects of Cooperative Group Problem Solving (CGPS) pedagogy. In contrast to recent work on problem-solving assessment for use in research and curriculum development, this rubric was specifically designed for instructor use in the assignment of grades and for student use as a scaffold. This means that the rubric can be used within group problem-solving activities as a student support, formative assessment of individual work, and summative assessment, such as exams. For this study, the rubric was used to score N = 166 student solutions to 6 individually-assigned homework problems covering content in introductory mechanics in a course enrolling 32 students. Inter-rater and re-rater reliability was high for undergraduate Learning Assistant raters receiving only moderate training (approximately 4 hours). Factor analysis identified two factors that have been categorized as: (1) framing & defining, and (2) planning & execution. These factors align with our initial theory of the construct, suggesting evidence for criterion-related validity. Tau-equivalent reliability was found to be 0.76, and an item-total correlations test demonstrated all criteria correlations consistent with averaged behavior.

K. Rodenhausen and J. C. Moore, Reliability and Validity of an Introductory Physics Problem-Solving Grading Rubric, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Rodenhausen.

Computational thinking (CT), the thought processes used in solving computational problems, has been added to the educational standards in many countries around the world. However, this new content presents challenges around preparing teachers to integrate computational thinking robustly into the STEM disciplines. In this proceedings, we conduct a preliminary investigation of the challenges of preparing secondary pre-service teachers to integrate computation into their subject teaching. We present data from interviews with three pre-service secondary subject teachers in the KURT at UiO to highlight two challenges of pre-service teacher (PST) preparation: first, (1) the computation learned in upper division subject courses does not directly translate to the computational thinking that they will be teaching their future students; and (2) in their pedagogy courses, they learn about computational thinking but are not able to translate that into their practice of teaching. We consider the implications of and solutions for these challenges on pre-service teacher preparation.

H. C. Sabo, T. O. B. Odden, and T. F. Gregers, Challenges of preparing secondary STEM pre-service teachers in computational thinking, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Sabo.

Cultural change that requires revision of taken-for-granted assumptions is necessitated to enact programmatic changes. However, such cultural change processes are challenging and time-consuming and therefore require continued support and resources. Data sensemaking is one important aspect of culture that local stakeholders often overlook. In this project, we study the change process enacted by local Departmental Action Teams (DATs) resulting from physics faculty members' participation in the Departmental Leadership Action Institutes (DALIs). This study followed two faculty change leaders from one physics program in their journey in DALI and their DAT over a year. This paper discusses preliminary interview results that help us understand how the DAT's microculture is situated within the dominant departmental culture, focused on the facet of data use. For example, we found that past data collection efforts were a primary responsibility of a single person and rarely became the focus of joint attention. Within the DAT, in contrast, a broad set of stakeholders engaged in joint data collection and sensemaking that informed decision making and led to revising initial assumptions about what programmatic changes might be needed in order to reach their goal.

D. Sachmpazidi, C. Turpen, and R. P. Dalka, Changing the culture: Documenting shifts in a department's norms around data use, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Sachmpazidi.

The prevalence of Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnoses has increased in the last two decades thanks to greater mental health awareness and access to mental health care. The number of students diagnosed with ADHD entering colleges and universities is also increasing, yet scholarship around effective pedagogical methods that cater to this population’s strengths is severely lacking and remains largely deficit focused. After struggling to find published work on the experiences of adult physics students with ADHD, we set out to conduct our own research. Through our collaborative autoethnographic investigation we discovered that active learning environments such as those supported by the Learning Assistant (LA) Model cater to ADHD students’ strengths due to their flexibility and adaptability to unique ways of thinking and processing. Furthermore, we found that these students’ success was bolstered by the pedagogical and cultural changes in the department brought on by the adoption of the LA Program’s evidence-based and equity-focused philosophy.

K. I. Salty, A. E. Gobernatz, and E. W. Close, ADH… Disorder? Discoveries on ADHD and physics learning from collaborative autoethnography, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Salty.

Results from a multi-semester study of the effects of eight supplemental laboratory activities in a general education physics course will be presented. A total of two control and three treatment semesters were studied. The results allowed comparison between expert-like attitudes measured by the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) and scientific reasoning skills measured by Lawson's Classroom Test of Science Reasoning. Correlation of the pre/posttest CLASS scores and posttest Lawson scores found no relationship between the scores. Both student attitudes and scientific reasoning skills showed improvement, relative to a control semester, for the first semester the intervention was applied. In subsequent semesters, improved scientific reasoning skills continued to be observed, but not improvement in students' scientific attitudes. A detailed comparison of the CLASS and Lawson scores are presented along with a discussion of implications for instruction given this apparent decoupling of expert-like attitudes and reasoning skills.

A. Sammons, R. Rosenblatt, and R. Zich, Comparison of expert-like attitudes and scientific reasoning skills, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Sammons.

This research focuses on the experiences of physics and astronomy graduate women of color. We conducted semi-structured, empathetic interviews to understand their experiences in their graduate program and how they navigate the physics department at a large research university, which is a predominantly white institution. The interviews are guided by critical race theory (CRT). We use CRT to examine how racial identities play a role in the obstacles faced by these women, including interactions with peers and faculty members. In this paper, we focus on the experiences of a Black woman in physics, Linda, to understand how her marginalized identities affected her experiences in physics during her undergraduate and graduate programs. The themes that emerged from Linda’s interview include lack of support, more than just doing physics, and persistence in physics.

L. M. Santana and C. Singh, Investigating experiences of a Black woman in physics and astronomy, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Santana.

Research-Practice Partnership (RPP) is recognized as a valuable tool for generating actionable research and improving educational practices by involving practitioners and researchers in both research and the implementation of research findings. However, creating and maintaining such partnerships is challenging; it requires time and financial resources, and a team with diverse expertise and high commitment. Despite their wide recognition in educational fields, RPPs are under-studied in physics education research and literature in informal physics programs is sparse. In this paper, we present a case study of RPP between a physics education researcher and an informal physics practitioner. We describe the development and maintenance of this partnership and use qualitative and ethnographic methods to investigate practitioner-driven concerns about self-evaluation practices and attendance in the program under study, an informal conference for physics teachers. We found evidence that surveys and ethnographic interviews provided complementary data: surveys allowed the practitioner to learn about their audience's motivations, needs, and perception of the program's value. Ethnographic interviews were particularly useful as a means to elicit actionable ideas for how conference organizers might better support teacher attendance. In addition, participating in the RPP provided the practitioner with skills that they can carry forward into their future assessment work and yielded actionable insights beneficial to both practitioner and audience. Our experience suggests that RPPs in informal physics spaces face many of the same challenges as those conducted in formal education settings, and that best practices documented for formal education RPPs will also be of benefit to them.

D. Izadi, I. Gennuso, and M. F. Sherriffs, You pick my brain and I'll pick yours: a pilot case study of research-practice partnership in an informal physics space, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Sherriffs.

Multiple-choice-multiple-response (MCMR) items allow students to select as many responses as they think are correct to a given question stem. Using MCMR items can provide researchers and instructors with a richer and more complete picture of what students do and do not understand about a particular topic. Interpreting students' MCMR responses is more nuanced than it is for single-response items. Unfortunately, many typical analyses of data from multiple-choice tests assume dichotomously-scored items, which eliminates the possibility of incorporating the rich information from students' response patterns to MCMR items. We present a methodology for using a combination of item response theory models to analyze data from MCMR items. These methods could be applied to inform scoring models that incorporate partial credit for various response patterns.

T. I. Smith, P. Eaton, S. White Brahmia, A. Olsho, C. Zimmerman, and A. Boudreaux, Analyzing Multiple-Choice-Multiple-Response Items Using Item Response Theory, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Smith.

Previous research has shown that students who demonstrate sufficient skills and conceptual understanding to reason productively may perform inconsistently on analogous questions. Such inconsistencies can be explained via dual process theories of reasoning (DPToR). To gain insight into students’ reasoning trajectories, we developed an exploratory sequence of DPToR-aligned metacognitive prompts and administered the sequence immediately after students answered a physics question containing salient distracting features. The metacognitive prompts asked students to: describe their first ideas, reflect on any doubts they had with respect to those ideas, compare their first ideas with their submitted responses, and characterize their reasoning approaches. In this paper, we describe how we use student responses to these prompts along with timing data to investigate students’ reasoning trajectories. Students who self-reported that they revised their thinking before submitting an answer spent significantly longer answering the question than those who did not. In addition, students who retained a correct provisional response reported fewer doubts and the use of a process-first approach, whereas students who retained an incorrect provisional response reported more doubts and the use of an answer-first approach. We anticipate that a more detailed understanding of students’ reasoning trajectories arising from investigations like the one reported here will be an important step in the development of effective, research-based instructional materials that better support student reasoning in physics.

E. Sowles, D. J. Rosen, and M. R. Stetzer, Using metacognitive prompts to explore student reasoning trajectories, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Sowles.

Numerous studies have identified gender inequity in how students divide roles in lab courses. Few studies, however, have probed how these inequities impact women’s experimental physics identity development. In this work, we used closed-response surveys to investigate which lab tasks students view as part of “doing physics” and how these designations varied by gender. In both courses, we found that most students viewed working with the experimental apparatus, taking lab notes, doing data analysis, and thinking about the physics theory behind the experiment as part of doing physics. Only 50% of students, however, viewed managing the group progress as part of doing physics. While men and women’s views did not vary in the first-semester lab course, in the third-semester course women were more likely to view notes and managing as part of doing physics than were men. Given that previous research has indicated that women are more likely to take on managing and note-taking roles than men, our results suggest that women may be receiving less recognition as physicists from their peers, which may hinder their experimental physics identity development.

E. M. Stump and N. G. Holmes, Student views of what counts as doing physics in the lab, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Stump.

Research has shown that students in inquiry-based physics labs often expect their experiment to verify a known theory or model, contrary to the goals of the lab. It is important, therefore, to identify ways for instructors to shift students' expectations or epistemic frames to those in line with scientific inquiry. In this paper, we analyze video recordings of one inquiry-based lab session in which the instructor intentionally encourages students to falsify, or disprove, the claim under investigation. We find that students operationalize the instructor's prompt by taking up one of two distinct epistemic frames: open outcome and verification. Students in the open outcome frame initially expect to falsify their claim, but form other conclusions in the face of alternative evidence. Students in the verification frame, however, view falsification as verifying that a claim is false and do not consider other possible outcomes even when they find conflicting data. These results suggest that students may interpret instructor prompts for frame shifts in very different ways. We argue that to shift students to epistemic frames in line with scientific inquiry (e.g., the open outcome frame), instructor prompts should explicitly address uncertainty in outcomes (regarding an experimental result as unknown) and epistemic agency (perceiving oneself as a producer of knowledge).

M. Sundstrom, R. Fussell, R. E. Scherr, and N. G. Holmes, Students’ varying responses to instructor prompts for frame shifts in physics labs, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Sundstrom.

Queer theory in STEM education research is often used as a synonym for studying LGBT+ students or queer issues. However, queer theory and queer methods can be applied to discipline-based education research far more broadly. In this paper I introduce a unique perspective on "queering" quantitative and qualitative research methods and highlight some of the ways these methods are already compatible with the goals of physics education research. This will include discussions of deconstructing binaries, empowering participants in the research process, and reimagining study design to attain novel insights about the experiences of physicists.

M. Swirtz and R. S. Barthelemy, Queering methodologies in physics education research, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Swirtz.

While some students successfully navigate normative practices associated with physics instruction, physics educators have argued that many students encounter barriers that lead to undesirable learning outcomes. The reasons for such learning outcomes in physics are multifaceted, with increasing attention being placed on shifting traditional pedagogical practices that limit student participation or promote more factual knowledge over knowledge construction processes. In addition, some active learning practices may also be insufficient for students to leverage personal resources (ideational) and environmental resources (material and relational). By inhibiting epistemic agency, practices that limit the leveraging of such resources have been associated with learning barriers which, we argue, engenders a form of injustice we describe as “Epistemic Injustice”. In this paper, we use the framework of Epistemic Injustice to analyze small group interactions in an introductory physics classroom. Through a process we call “Epistemic Resource Negotiation”, an episode of video-recorded data of student group work in a Modeling Physics course is examined. In our analysis, we focus on instructional practices to identify epistemic resources and how they are negotiated and accessed in ways that inhibit or afford agency. Our work presents an analytical method that may be used to understand how to move toward more equitable pedagogical practices.

J. Taylor, Z. Hazari, I. Rodriguez, G. Potvin, and M. Rodriguez, Studying pedagogical practices in physics through the lens of epistemic (in)justice, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Taylor.

Many of the activities and cognitive processes that physicists use while solving problems are "invisible" to students, which can hinder their acquisition of important expert-like skills. Whereas the detailed calculations performed by researchers are often published in journals and textbooks, other activities such as those undertaken while planning how to approach a problem are rarely discussed in published research. Hence, these activities are especially hidden from students. To better understand how physicists solve problems in their professional research, we leveraged the framework of cognitive task analysis to conduct semi-structured interviews with theoretical physicists (N=11). Here we elucidate the role of planning and preliminary analysis in theorists' work. Theorists described using a variety of activities in order to decide if their project was doable while also generating possible solution paths. These actions included doing cursory calculations, reflecting on previous knowledge, gaining intuition and understanding by studying prior work, and reproducing previous results. We found that theorists typically did not pursue projects unless they had a clear idea of what the outcome of their project would be, or at least knew that they would be able to make progress on the problem. Thus, this preliminary design and analysis phase was highly important for theorists despite being largely hidden from students. We conclude by suggesting potential ways to incorporate our findings into the classroom to give students more numerous opportunities to engage in these expert-like practices.

M. Verostek, M. Griston, J. Botello, and B. M. Zwickl, Making expert cognitive processes visible: planning and preliminary analysis in theoretical physics research, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Verostek.

Research-based assessments have historically been developed based on teaching experience and/or course learning goals or objectives. However, using course learning goals for assessment development has limitations, including that the goals for a course are often broad and difficult or impossible to assess with an individualized, scalable assessment instrument. Thus, we propose articulating assessment objectives (AOs), which are concise and specific statements about concepts and practices that an assessment aims to measure, as a productive strategy for assessment development. While similar in many respects to learning goals, AOs are explicitly designed to aid in assessment development in numerous ways, including by helping researchers organize high-level assessment goals, providing an additional means for establishing content validity, operationalizing the goals of the assessment via targeted assessment items, and serving as a way to communicate the substance of an assessment to instructors and researchers interested in using the assessment in their course or research study. Here, we discuss these affordances of AOs in the development of two recent research-based assessments, and we present two detailed examples of AOs and how we progressed from initial assessment conception to AO articulation to finalized assessment items. We conclude by arguing that the articulation of AOs is a valuable step in the development of research-based assessments.

M. Vignal, K. D. Rainey, B. R. Wilcox, M. D. Caballero, and H. J. Lewandowski, Affordances of Articulating Assessment Objectives in Research-based Assessment Development, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Vignal.

Google Colaboratory, or "Colab" for short, is a multiuser, collaborative environment that allows anyone with access to Google and the internet to write and execute arbitrary python code through their browser. With recent calls to increase use of computation in physics education, Colab has the potential to be a valuable tool to allow students to collaboratively code together---particularly in an online environment. Through this work, we examine how student teams navigated collaboration challenges related to using Colab in an online environment to conduct data analysis for a course-based undergraduate research experience in physics. We analyze students' final written assignment of the course, a "memo to future researchers," through the framework of socially-shared regulation of learning, to understand the challenges, regulations, and perceived goal attainment students discussed relating to their experience programming in teams online with Colab. We found that students struggled with version control issues when simultaneously writing, editing, and saving their work. This led to the need to use socially-shared regulatory strategies, including assigning and rotating roles from week to week and having clear, regular communication. Highlighting these students' experiences and their advice to future researchers can help inform instructional guidance on how to best promote productive teamwork in collaborative coding environments both online and in person.

A. Werth, K. A. Oliver, C. G. West, and H. J. Lewandowski, Engagement in collaboration and teamwork using Google Colaboratory, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Werth.

Recent years have seen a movement within the research-based assessment development community towards item formats that go beyond simple multiple-choice formats. Some have moved towards free-response questions, particularly at the upper-division level; however, free-response items have the constraint that they must be scored by hand. To avoid this limitation, some assessment developers have moved toward formats that maintain the closed-response format, while still providing more nuanced insight into student reasoning. One such format is known as coupled, multiple response (CMR). This format pairs multiple-choice and multiple-response formats to allow students to both commit to an answer in addition to selecting options that correspond with their reasoning. In addition to being machine-scorable, this format allows for more nuanced scoring than simple right or wrong. However, such nuanced scoring presents a potential challenge with respect to utilizing certain testing theories to construct validity arguments for the assessment. In particular, Item Response Theory (IRT) models often assume dichotomously scored items. While polytomous IRT models do exist, each brings with it certain constraints and limitations. Here, we will explore multiple IRT models and scoring schema using data from an existing CMR test, with the goal of providing guidance and insight for possible methods for simultaneously leveraging the affordances of both the CMR format and IRT models in the context of constructing validity arguments for research-based assessments.

B. R. Wilcox, K. D. Rainey, and M. Vignal, Methods for utilizing Item response theory with Coupled, Multiple-Response assessments, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Wilcox.

Science educators agree that computation is a growing necessity for curricula at many levels. One program looking to bring computation into high school classes is ICSAM (Integrating Computation in Science Across Michigan), an NSF-funded program at Michigan State University. ICSAM is a year-round program that brings a community of teachers together to help them equitably add computation into their physics curricula. While in the ICSAM program, data is collected from participating teachers through interviews, surveys, classroom videos, and more. In this paper, we examine a case study of a very active participant who fits the mold of a typical high school physics teacher. We utilize the lenses of critical pedagogical discourses and contextual discourses to explore the decision-making behind the adoption of various resources by this teacher during their time with ICSAM. The ways in which this teacher integrated computation in their classroom, along with the nuanced challenges that they faced, may be able to help inform other teachers, professional development providers, and curriculum development of the nature of implementing computation into high school curricula. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (DRL-1741575) and Michigan State University’s Lappan-Philips Foundation.

J. Willison, J. Christensen, S. Byun, D. Stroupe, and M. D. Caballero, How do you eat an elephant? How problem solving informs computational instruction in high school physics, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Willison.

Studio physics is an interactive teaching method that benefits students’ learning over traditional physics teaching approaches. A hallmark of studio physics is that instructors minimize lecture time and maximize time spent with students working in groups. However, students need to be well-supported in the group discussions to achieve optimal learning outcomes. In this study, we distributed a student survey and conducted instructor interviews to investigate the support(s) students requested so they could actively engage in group work. The student survey data revealed that students wanted instructors to be approachable during group work and to have a mechanism that guarantees equal group contribution. However, there is a mismatch between the support provided by instructors and the detailed support requested by students. Unified and rigorous guidance for instructors is a necessity for students to actively engage in effective and inclusive group work.

X. Wu, M. W. Guthrie, M. M. Peyravi, and E. M. Scanlon, They're not buying what we're selling: comparing student-requested supports with instructional practice during group work, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Wu.

Discipline-based education researchers produce knowledge that aims to help instructors improve student learning and educational outcomes. Yet, the information produced may not even reach the educators it is intended to influence. Prior work has found that instructors often face barriers to implementing practices in peer-reviewed literature. Some of these barriers are related to accessing the knowledge in the first place such as difficulty finding and understanding research and a lack of time to do so. To lower these barriers, we created an online blog, PERbites, that summarizes recent discipline-based education research in short posts that use plain language. Having covered nearly 100 papers to date, we conducted a survey to see if we were addressing the need we had originally set out to address. We posted a 23-item survey on our website and received 24 usable responses. The results suggested that readers do generally agree that we are meeting our original goals. Readers reported that our articles were easier to understand and used more plain language than a typical discipline-based education research (DBER) journal article. At the same time, readers thought that all the important information was still included. Finally, readers said that this approach helped them keep up with DBER studies and read about papers they otherwise would not have. However, most readers did not indicate they changed their teaching and research practice as a result of reading our blog. Our results suggest that alternative methods of sharing research (e.g., non-peer reviewed publications or conference talks) can be an effective method of connecting research with practitioners, and future work should consider how we as a community might build on these efforts to ensure education research can make meaningful changes in the classroom.

N. T. Young, B. L. Lewis, E. Kerr, and P. H. Nair, Using blogs to make peer-reviewed research more accessible, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Young_N.

Physics identity is an essential topic in Physics Education Research, PER. Historically this research has examined how physics identities form for primarily white, male undergraduate students in calculus-based physics classes at Tier I institutions. More recent research has begun to consider the experiences of marginalized populations, such as students of color, women, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Nepantla is a theoretical framework that explicitly explores how individuals navigate opposing identities and realities. Physics students from marginalized groups are navigating multiple, often conflicting identities. Therefore, this paper asks how applying the theoretical framework of Nepantla to PER contributes to the physics identity conversation by providing insight into how individuals in marginalized populations are able to navigate their multiple identities. This paper looks at how Nepantla has been used as a theoretical framework in other areas of STEM-Ed, then applies Nepantla to existing research within PER. The results suggest that the theoretical framework of Nepantla contributes to understanding how Nepantler@s both navigate the system and change the system.

T. G. Young, Nepantla in Physics Education Research, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Young_T.

Physics quantitative literacy (PQL) – applying familiar mathematics in novel ways in the context of physics – is ubiquitous across physics classrooms. The Physics Inventory for Quantitative Literacy, or PIQL, is a recently published reasoning inventory that can be used to assess PQL from calculus-based introductory physics through upper division courses (White Brahmia et. al 2021). There remains a need, however, for assessment of quantitative reasoning at the algebra-based level which includes not only algebra-based college courses but also pre-college physics courses. We present recent work adapting the PIQL to an algebra-based context towards developing the GERQN – the Generalized Equation-based Reasoning inventory for Quantities and Negativity. We report lessons learned from our efforts to adapt items from the calculus-based PIQL to the algebra-based GERQN, and from our experience translating the GERQN into Flemish as part of a larger, on-going research project. We discuss implications for instructors on what kinds of resources may be accessible to algebra-based students and indicative of early, calculus-like reasoning and on language accessibility for native and non-native English speakers alike for developing assessment items, curricular materials, and when speaking with students.

C. Zimmerman, A. McCarty, S. White Brahmia, A. Olsho, M. De Cock, A. Boudreaux, T. I. Smith, and P. Eaton, Assessing physics quantitative literacy in algebra-based physics: lessons learned, 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Zimmerman.

Learning physics in any context, including undergraduate research experiences (UREs), requires learning its concepts and the relational structure between those new concepts with what students already know. We use concept maps, a knowledge elicitation method, for assessing mentees' and mentors' knowledge structures during Research Experience for Undergraduates programs. The study looked at maps from seven mentor-mentee pairs to understand how mentors and mentees use specific knowledge and strategies during the development of their concept maps. A qualitative analysis of the maps showed mentors and mentees differed in their ways of organizing and displaying their knowledge in terms of structure, scale, language, and use of conceptual and procedural knowledge. For instance, mentees used more procedural knowledge. It is perhaps due to their perception of finishing their REU projects and the fact that they may have only limited and superficial knowledge of specific topics. However, mentors' maps were smaller but more significant in using more comprehensive conceptual knowledge and connecting their maps to the broader scientific context.

D. Zohrabi Alaee and B. M. Zwickl, A qualitative analysis of concept maps through the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs., 2022 PERC Proceedings [Grand Rapids, MI, July 13-14, 2022], edited by B. W. Frank, D. L. Jones, and Q. X. Ryan, doi:10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Zohrabi_Alaee.