PERC 2015 Abstract Detail Page
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| Abstract Title: | Episodic Memories and the Longitudinal Impact of High School Physics on Female Students’ Physics Identity |
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| Abstract: | Most students will never take more than one course dedicated primarily to physics. In addition, students, particularly female students, enter physics classes with depressed attitudes towards physics compared to the other sciences. Female students are more likely to opt out of a second higher-level physics course. Thus, the broad goal of this work is to better understand how to have the most lasting positive impact on female students' attitudes and motivations towards learning physics after a single physics course in high school. Through longitudinal case studies of six female students using frameworks of episodic memory and physics identity, we explore the most impactful features of students' high school physics experiences. The data is drawn from three years of student interviews, high school physics class observations, and physics teacher interviews. Our results indicate that high arousal and positive valence experiences have the most lasting positive impact on female students' physics identity. |
| Abstract Type: | Contributed Poster Presentation |
Author/Organizer Information | |
| Primary Contact: |
Jianlan Wang Dr. |
| Co-Author(s) and Co-Presenter(s) |
Dr. Zahra Hazari |
