PERC 2024 Abstract Detail Page
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| Abstract Title: | An exploratory factor analysis of a survey intended to measure undergraduate student attitudes towards computational methods in physics |
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| Abstract Type: | Contributed Poster Presentation |
| Abstract: | Computational methods of problem solving are increasingly emphasized by physics programs across the country, and some have adopted efforts to incorporate computational methods across the curriculum. However, there are no robust tools currently available that were designed to evaluate the effectiveness of these initiatives. This paper presents an exploratory factor analysis of data acquired using a survey developed to evaluate a department-wide computational initiative. The factor analysis supports previously published work establishing the validity and reliability of the survey, particularly a survey section which aims to gauge students' general attitudes toward using computational methods. The exploratory factor analysis conducted suggests a two-factor model, but with significant cross-loading between these factors for three of the survey items. This paper reports and interprets the results of the factor analysis and suggests improvements to the survey based on rephrasing the three cross-loaded items. |
| Session Time: | Poster Session 2 |
| Poster Number: | B29 |
| Contributed Paper Record: | Contributed Paper Information |
| Contributed Paper Download: | Download Contributed Paper |
Author/Organizer Information | |
| Primary Contact: |
Greg Gallagher Department of Physics, Indiana University-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN 46202 Phone: 317-847-2753 |
| Co-Author(s) and Co-Presenter(s) |
Danka Maric, STEM Education and Innovation Research Institute at Indiana University-Indianapolis Gautam Vemuri, Department of Physics at Indiana University-Indianapolis Andrew Gavrin, Department of Physics Indiana University-Indianapolis |
Contributed Poster | |
| Contributed Poster: | Download the Contributed Poster |
