Journal article
Beyond performance metrics: Examining a decrease in students' physics self-efficacy through a social networks lens
Physical review. Physics education research, v 12(2), p020124
01 Aug 2016
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
The Modeling Instruction (MI) approach to introductory physics manifests significant increases in student conceptual understanding and attitudes toward physics. In light of these findings, we investigated changes in student self-efficacy while considering the construct's contribution to the career-decision making process. Students in the Fall 2014 and 2015 MI courses at Florida International University exhibited a decrease on each of the sources of self-efficacy and overall self-efficacy (N = 147) as measured by the Sources of Self-Efficacy in Science Courses-Physics (SOSESC-P) survey. This held true regardless of student gender or ethnic group. Given the highly interactive nature of the MI course and the drops observed on the SOSESC-P, we chose to further explore students' changes in self-efficacy as a function of three centrality measures (i.e., relational positions in the classroom social network): inDegree, outDegree, and PageRank. We collected social network data by periodically asking students to list the names of peers with whom they had meaningful interactions. While controlling for PRE scores on the SOSESC-P, bootstrapped linear regressions revealed post-self-efficacy scores to be predicted by PageRank centrality. When disaggregated by the sources of self-efficacy, PageRank centrality was shown to be directly related to students' sense of mastery experiences. InDegree was associated with verbal persuasion experiences, and outDegree with both verbal persuasion and vicarious learning experiences. We posit that analysis of social networks in active learning classrooms helps to reveal nuances in self-efficacy development.
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Details
- Title
- Beyond performance metrics: Examining a decrease in students' physics self-efficacy through a social networks lens
- Creators
- Remy Dou - Florida International UniversityEric Brewe - Florida International UniversityJustyna P. Zwolak - Florida International UniversityGeoff Potvin - Florida International UniversityEric A. Williams - Florida International UniversityLaird H. Kramer - Florida International University
- Publication Details
- Physical review. Physics education research, v 12(2), p020124
- Publisher
- Amer Physical Soc
- Number of pages
- 14
- Grant note
- 1344247 / Division Of Physics; Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien; National Science Foundation (NSF); NSF - Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences (MPS) PHY 1344247 / National Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF) STEM Transformation Institute at FIU FIU Division of Research
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Physics
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000393397900001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85011422142
- Other Identifier
- 991021877485704721
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- Web of Science research areas
- Education & Educational Research
- Education, Scientific Disciplines