"Beyond Conceptual Understanding: Modeling Student Success in Introductory Physics" by Vashti Sawtelle, University of Maryland

Wright State University Physics Department Seminar
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
1:15pm in 103 Oelman

Beyond Conceptual Understanding: Modeling Student Success in Introductory Physics
By Vashti Sawtelle, University of Maryland

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Policy makers and educators alike have called our attention to the need to understand how to support diverse students in STEM fields. In this presentation I will start by motivating why introductory physics can serve as a model system for investigating how to create inclusive learning environments. I will then discuss two models for characterizing student success within this environment: Remediation and Unlocking Potential. I present data from Florida International University to argue for focusing our attention on more than student conceptual understanding, and then extend the resulting model to the context of Physics for Biologists at the University of Maryland. Finally, I will suggest pathways for future research in developing models of student success in the classroom and creating inclusive learning environments.

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