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Introductory physics students connecting their physics experiences and personal perspectives
written by Clare Bentley, Trà Huynh, and Rox Rox
Physics students often experience a disconnect between their social identities and their learning of physics. To explore this, we analyzed 669 written survey responses from students in calculus-based introductory physics courses, where they were asked how their personal experiences and perspectives shaped their understanding of physics. Using the Critical Physics Identity framework, we categorized the types of experiences students identified as influential. While most students acknowledged that their perspectives affected their learning, they primarily referenced aspects related to Personal Characteristics within the Ideational Resource construct. Only a small portion mentioned perspectives linked to their social identities as in the Positioning in Physics and Perception of Physicists codes, despite having previously provided demographic information. We argue that this pattern reflects a dominant physics learning culture that presents the discipline as neutral and objective, often ignoring the role of broader social structures--particularly in the experiences of marginalized students.
Physics Education Research Conference 2025
Part of the PER Conference series
Washington, DC: August 6-7, 2025
Pages 67-72
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Education - Basic Research
- Cognition
- Societal Issues
- Student Characteristics
= Affect
- Lower Undergraduate
- Reference Material
= Research study
PER-Central Type Intended Users Ratings
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- Researchers
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Format:
application/pdf
Mirror:
https://doi.org/10.1119/perc.2025…
Access Rights:
Free access
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This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the published article's author(s), title, proceedings citation, and DOI.
Rights Holder:
American Association of Physics Teachers
DOI:
10.1119/perc.2025.pr.Bentley
Keyword:
PERC 2025
Record Creator:
Metadata instance created October 20, 2025 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:
October 27, 2025 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update
when Cataloged:
October 28, 2025
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Record Link
AIP Format
C. Bentley, T. Huynh, and R. Rox, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2025, Washington, DC, 2025, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17119&DocID=6047).
AJP/PRST-PER
C. Bentley, T. Huynh, and R. Rox, Introductory physics students connecting their physics experiences and personal perspectives, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2025, Washington, DC, 2025, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17119&DocID=6047>.
APA Format
Bentley, C., Huynh, T., & Rox, R. (2025, August 6-7). Introductory physics students connecting their physics experiences and personal perspectives. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2025, Washington, DC. Retrieved February 11, 2026, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17119&DocID=6047
Chicago Format
Bentley, C, T. Huynh, and R. Rox. "Introductory physics students connecting their physics experiences and personal perspectives." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2025, Washington, DC, August 6-7, 2025. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17119&DocID=6047 (accessed 11 February 2026).
MLA Format
Bentley, Clare, Tra Huynh, and Rox Rox. "Introductory physics students connecting their physics experiences and personal perspectives." Physics Education Research Conference 2025. Washington, DC: 2025. 67-72 of PER Conference. 11 Feb. 2026 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17119&DocID=6047>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{ Author = "Clare Bentley and Tra Huynh and Rox Rox", Title = {Introductory physics students connecting their physics experiences and personal perspectives}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2025}, Pages = {67-72}, Address = {Washington, DC}, Series = {PER Conference}, Month = {August 6-7}, Year = {2025} }
Refer Export Format

%A Clare Bentley %A Tra Huynh %A Rox Rox %T Introductory physics students connecting their physics experiences and personal perspectives %S PER Conference %D August 6-7 2025 %P 67-72 %C Washington, DC %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17119&DocID=6047 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2025 %O August 6-7 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Bentley, Clare %A Huynh, Tra %A Rox, Rox %D August 6-7 2025 %T Introductory physics students connecting their physics experiences and personal perspectives %B Physics Education Research Conference 2025 %C Washington, DC %P 67-72 %S PER Conference %8 August 6-7 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=17119&DocID=6047


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