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Abstract Title: Preliminary efforts to evaluate an initiative introducing computation across the undergraduate physics curriculum
Abstract: We report our preliminary efforts to evaluate a departmental project: the inclusion of computational methods across our undergraduate curriculum. Our overarching goal is for students to consider computational approaches as a "normal" way to solve physics problems, on par with analytical approaches. In this paper, we focus on our efforts to evaluate the development of our students' attitudes and self-efficacy with respect to key computational methods. We describe our efforts to develop and deploy a survey instrument students complete each semester. This allows us to study, e.g., the points in the curriculum at which students gain confidence with particular methods, or adopt more expert-like attitudes regarding computation in general. We investigated the reliability of our instrument using a split-half process and found the Spearman-Brown coefficients for unequal length were r = 0.818, r = 0.895, and r = 0.917 for the three constructs in our survey. We also provide preliminary data from the early use of the survey and outline next steps for the project.
Abstract Type: Contributed Poster Presentation
Session Time: Poster Session 1 Room A
Poster Number: 1A-2
Contributed Paper Record: Contributed Paper Information
Contributed Paper Download: Download Contributed Paper

Author/Organizer Information

Primary Contact: A. Gavrin
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
Indianapolis, IN 46202
Phone: 317-274-6909
Co-Author(s)
and Co-Presenter(s)
Gautam Vemuri, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
Danka Maric, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis