THERELEVANCEOFPHYSICS:ACRITICALLOOKATTHEWAYSINWHICH
STUDENTSFINDMEANINGININTRODUCTORYPHYSICS
By
AbhilashNair
ADISSERTATION
Submittedto
MichiganStateUniversity
inpartialful˝llmentoftherequirements
forthedegreeof
PhysicsDoctorofPhilosophy
2018
ABSTRACT
THERELEVANCEOFPHYSICS:ACRITICALLOOKATTHEWAYSINWHICH
STUDENTSFINDMEANINGININTRODUCTORYPHYSICS
By
AbhilashNair
Therelevanceofphysicsisanactivelineofinquirywithinthephysicseducationresearch(PER)
community.Manystudieshaveshownthatphysicsinstructiontypicallynegativelyimpactsstu-
dents'senseoftherelevanceofphysicstotheirlives.Irrespectiveofstudents'beliefs,physics
iscommunicatedasbeingrelevantthroughpolicyrecommendationsandprogramrequirements.
Untilnow,moste˙ortsinPERtomeasureorinterpretstudents'beliefsaroundrelevancehavebeen
limitedtoattitudinalandepistemologicalsurveysthatprovideanincompletepictureandtendsto
promotede˝citinterpretationsofstudents'abilities.We˝rstchallengenotionsofthe"realworld"
and"everydaylife"thatareubiquitousincurrente˙ortstounderstandrelevance.Thesephraseslack
meaningandweusecasestudiesofstudentstoargueforanexpandedholisticviewofrelevance.
Wethenintroduceaframeworkthataccomplishesviewingrelevanceinanexpandedfashionby
adaptingecologicalsystemstheory.Wetracestudents'experiencestoarguethatthisframework
providesaricherpictureofwhatitmeansforphysicstoberelevanttoastudent.Finally,wepresent
alongitudinalcasestudyofastudentwhoexperiencesaremarkabletransformationinhisviewof
physics.Throughthelensofrelevance,wearticulatetheconnectionshemakesduringhisjourney
throughintroductoryphysics.Theseconnectionsendupbeingcriticalforalastingimpactthat
empowershimtopromotetherelevanceofphysicstoothers.Weargueinthisdissertationthatusing
thisframeworkofrelevance,physicseducatorscanstarttodesignclassroomsthatfacilitatemore
positivea˙ectiveandattitudinalexperiencesforstudents.Throughrelevance,physicsclassrooms
canbecomeinclusiveandengagingenvironmentsforstudentstoforgelastingconnectionstoa
discipline.
IdedicatethistothememoryofmycatColawhopassedlastyear.
Shewasmybestfriendandroommateforoveradecade.Colaaccompaniedmethroughevery
majorstruggleandaccomplishmentandI'msorryshewasn'tabletoseemegetthis˝naldegree.
Shewouldhavebeenunimpressed.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Iwanttothankmydissertationcommitteefortheirsupportindevelopingthiswork.Iwanttothank
PERL@MSUandANSERresearchgroupsforgivingmethespacetosharetheseideas,forthe
criticalfeedbackthathelpedmakemyworkstronger,andforgivingmeasenseofcommunityand
belonging.
IwanttothankmyadvisorVashtiSawtellewithoutwhomthisworkwouldnothavebeen
completedorevenstarted.Sheprovidedmewithuncompromisingadvisingandhelpedshapemy
nascentideasintoafull-˛edgedresearchprogram.AnyonewhoknowsVashtiknowsthatshecares
forherpeople.Iconsidermyselffortunatetobeoneofthem.
IwanttothankPaulIrvingforbeingmysourceofrigorandholdingmetohighstandards,
underthatpressureIwasabletoproducesomeofmybestwork.IwanttothankPaulandLeanne
forbeingmy˝rstsetoffriendsatPERLthatIcouldhaveadrinkwith,Iwillneverforgetthemany
nightsattheRivorPT's.Youmademefeelpartofthegroup,andasLeannewouldsay,Ithink
youbothare
lovely
.
Iwanttothankmystudents,youwerethehighlightofmydissertationprocess.Theexperiences
yousharedandthestoriesyoutoldarethecoreofmydissertation.Iwillalwaysbere˛ecting
backonyoursuccessesandaccomplishmentswithasmile,Iamproudofeverysingleoneofyou.
Neverletphysicsoranyotherdisciplineintimidateyou,justrememberthatyoubelongandkeep
persisting.
IthankmyfellowgraduatestudentsthatwerewithmethroughmytimeatPERL.Alanna,Tall
Paul,Kelsey,May,Mike,Laura,Brean,andNickougavemeasenseofcommunity.Iwant
tothankAshleighforbeingafriendduringdarkdaysandcontinuingtoreachoutsothatIdidn't
disappear.IwanttothankAlannaforbeingakindandunderstandingfriend,andasInearedthe
endofmydissertationacompatriotwhotrulyunderstoodthegrind.
IwanttothankAngie,youwereoneofthe˝rstpeopleIhadlunchwithatPERL,andfromthat
dayon,youwereanamazingsourceofsupport.YoutoldmemyideasweregoodwhenIdoubted
iv
myself.YoutoldmetokeeppursuinganideawhenIthoughtnoonewouldbeinterestedinit.
AnyonewhohasgonethroughthephysicsPhDprogramsince2015knowshowimportantKim
CrosslanhasbeentotheirsuccessandyetI'm˝ndingthatIcannotexpressfullyhowmuchKim
meanstome.Kimhasrepeatedlyandconsistentlyshownmepatience,love,andcompassion.She
haslookedaftermeasifIwereherownfamily,andforthatIwillbeforevergrateful.Iwentto
KimwheneverIneededhelp;shewastrulyalife-lineandacon˝dant.Kimalwaysmadetime
formewhetherIneededtoventorcry.Sheismuchmorethanasta˙-memberofthephysics
departmentme,sheisfamily.Doingworkthatmadeherproudwasoneofmymostcherished
achievementshereatMSU.
Iwanttothankmybestfriend,partnerincrime,andwifeRachel.YouarethereasonIever
appliedtoMSU.Youhavegivenmeunwaveringsupporttopursuemypassionsandyouinspireme
everyday.Youarebeautifulinsideandout,andIamluckytohavegottentoknowyouduringthat
blizzardinChicago.Youaremyeverything.
Finally,Iwanttothanktheprofessorsthatdoubtedmyability,denigratedmyidentity,or
otherwisetoldmeIdidn'thavetheaptitudeforphysics,research,orsciencesincerelycould
nothavedonethiswithoutyou.Iusedmemoriesofyourwordsandactionsasfuelthroughoutmy
journey.Ikeptthesepoisonousmemoriesaliveinsideme,andasIcompletemy˝naldegree,Ican
˝nallyletgoofthesememoriesandyouwillbeforgotten.
v
TABLEOFCONTENTS
LISTOFTABLES
.......................................
x
LISTOFFIGURES
.......................................
xi
CHAPTER1INTRODUCTION
...............................
1
1.1Structureofthedissertation..............................2
1.2Evolutionofideasthroughthedissertation......................4
CHAPTER2BACKGROUND
................................
5
2.1Notionofrelevance..................................5
2.2Attitudinal&beliefsurveysinPER..........................5
2.3Thetheoreticalorganizationofrelevance.......................6
2.4Adaptingecologicalsystemstheory..........................7
CHAPTER3METHODOLOGY
...............................
9
3.1Coursecontext:BLiSSPhysics............................9
3.2Studydesignconsiderations..............................10
3.2.1Casestudies..................................10
3.2.2Embeddingwithinalargerdesign-basedresearche˙ort...........11
3.2.3Researcherroles................................12
3.3Participantrecruitment&selection..........................12
3.4Datacollection&analysismethods..........................14
3.5Validity........................................17
3.5.1Researcheridentity..............................17
3.5.2Issuesofpower&in˛uence.........................18
3.5.3Validityofclaimsfromcasestudies.....................18
3.6Limitations......................................19
CHAPTER4RELEVANCEINTHEREALWORLD&EVERYDAYLIFE
........
20
4.1Usingdisciplinaryperspectivestore˝neconceptionsofthe"realworld"......20
4.1.1Introduction..................................20
4.1.2TheoreticalFramework............................20
4.1.3Methods....................................22
4.1.4"Beverly"...................................22
4.1.5"Maria"....................................24
4.1.6"Miles"....................................27
4.1.7DiscussionandConclusion..........................29
4.2Anuncommoncaseofrelevancethrougheverydayexperiences...........30
4.2.1Introduction..................................30
4.2.2TheoreticalFramework............................31
4.2.3Methods....................................32
4.2.4Sam......................................33
vi
4.2.5ClassroomactivitiesintersectingwithSam'slivedexperiences.......33
4.2.6Socialactivities&peerssupportSamtoseetheworldthroughthelens
ofphysics...................................35
4.2.7Discussion&Conclusion...........................38
4.2.8ImplicationsforFutureWork.........................39
CHAPTER5OPERATIONALIZINGRELEVANCEINPHYSICSEDUCATION:US-
INGASYSTEMSVIEWTOEXPANDOURCONCEPTIONOFMAK-
INGPHYSICSRELEVANT
..........................
40
5.1Introduction......................................40
5.1.1Whatweknowaboutrelevance........................41
5.1.2Howphysicseducationresearchhasprobedrelevance............42
5.1.2.1MPEX-RealityLink........................43
5.1.2.2CLASS-PersonalInterest&RealWorldConnection.......43
5.1.2.3VASS-PersonalRelevance....................44
5.1.2.4EBAPS-Real-lifeApplicability..................44
5.1.3De˝cit-basedinterpretationsofstudentbeliefsaroundrelevance......45
5.1.4Anincompletepictureofrelevance......................48
5.2TheoreticalFramework................................49
5.2.1Positioningrelevanceasatheoreticalconstructamongstattitudes&beliefs49
5.2.2Adaptingecologicalsystemstheory.....................51
5.2.2.1Structure&OrganizationofEcologicalSystems.........52
5.2.3Relevancethroughtransformationofparticipation..............55
5.3Methodology.....................................55
5.3.1Studio&IPLSclassroomsarerichcontextstostudyrelevance.......55
5.3.2DataCollection................................56
5.3.3AnalysisMethods...............................58
5.4"Maria"........................................59
5.4.1DescribingMariawithecologicalsystemstheory..............60
5.4.1.1Maria'smicrosystem........................61
5.4.1.2Maria'smesosystem........................61
5.4.1.3Maria'sexosystem.........................61
5.4.1.4Maria'smacrosystem........................62
5.4.2InteractionsbetweenphysicsandmicrobiologyinMaria'smesosystem...63
5.4.2.1Maria'sevolvingsenseofrelevance................64
5.5"Nicole"........................................67
5.5.1Nicole'sperspectiveontherelevanceofphysics...............68
5.5.1.1Relevancebetweencomputationalmodeling&physics......68
5.5.1.2MesosystemInteractionsBetweenPhysics&Biochemistry....71
5.5.1.3MesosystemInteractionsBetweenPhysics&EukaryoticCell
Biology...............................72
5.5.2Situativeperspectiveoftheco-constructionofrelevance..........73
5.5.2.1Relevancebetweencomputationalmodelingandphysics.....74
5.5.2.2Relevancebetweenbiochemistryandphysics...........77
5.6Discussion.......................................80
vii
5.6.1Relevanceisco-constructedbystudentsandtheirenvironments.......81
5.6.2Ecologicalsystemstheoryasamotivationforholisticreforms.......82
5.6.3Theimportanceofprovidingspaceforstudentstobringthewholeof
theirdisciplinaryselvesin..........................83
5.7Implications......................................84
5.7.1Revisitingourtoolstomeasurerelevance..................84
5.7.2Expandingthegoalsofdesigningcoursesforrelevance...........85
5.8Acknowledgements..................................85
CHAPTER6TRULYNOTAFRAIDOFPHYSICSANYMORE:TRANSFORMATION
FROMFEARINGPHYSICSTOAMPLIFYINGITSRELEVANCE
....
87
6.1Introduction......................................87
6.1.1Thenegativeperceptionofphysics......................87
6.1.2Physicsforthelifesciencesasanexemplarcontext.............87
6.1.3IntroducingMiles...............................89
6.2Methodology.....................................89
6.2.1Coursecontext................................90
6.2.1.1Explicitfocusona˙ect.......................90
6.2.1.2Mixedinstructionalteam......................90
6.2.1.3Authenticbiologicalcontext....................91
6.2.1.4Studentsasdisciplinaryexperts..................91
6.2.1.5Modelingbiologicalcomplexitythroughcomputation......91
6.2.2Datacollection................................92
6.2.3Analysismethods...............................93
6.2.4TheoreticalFramework............................94
6.2.4.1Relevance..............................94
6.2.4.2EcologicalSystemsTheory....................94
6.3Act1:Fearfulreverenceofphysics..........................95
6.3.1Miles'sinitialmesosystem..........................98
6.4ActII:Physicsasfrustrating&asensemakingtool.................100
6.4.1Familiarfrustrationswithphysics.......................100
6.4.2PhysicscanserveMiles'sneedtovisualize..................103
6.4.3Physicsasaspacetobringinoutsideknowledge...............106
6.4.4PhysicsservesMiles'svaluesfordeepunderstanding............107
6.4.5GrowthofconnectionsinMiles'smesosystem................112
6.5ActIII:Milesasanampli˝eroftherelevanceofphysics...............113
6.5.1Reinforcingconnectionsofstudents.....................114
6.5.2Milesispositionedasanexpertintheclassroom..............115
6.5.3Increasedcon˝denceandclarityofconnections...............116
6.5.4Powerfulimpactsofagrowingsenseofrelevance..............119
6.5.5Re˛ectingontheevolutionofMiles'smesosystem..............120
6.6Discussion.......................................120
6.7Implications......................................121
6.7.1Framingphysicsasfundamentalisdetrimentaltopromotingrelevance...122
6.7.2Positioningstudentsasdisciplinaryexpertsisapowerfulpedagogicalshift.122
viii
6.7.3Discomfortofteachingwithouthavingalltheanswers...........123
6.8Acknowledgements..................................124
CHAPTER7DISCUSSION
.................................
125
7.1Currentunderstandingofrelevance..........................125
7.1.1Ourchoiceofsettings.............................125
7.1.2Ourchoiceofsystems.............................126
7.1.3Revisitingearlycaseswithourcurrentview.................126
7.2ThisworkrelativetothewaysPERhasreportedonrelevance............127
CHAPTER8IMPLICATIONS
................................
131
APPENDICES
.........................................
134
APPENDIXAREAL-TIMEVISUALIZATIONOFEQUIPOTENTIALLINES
USINGTHEIOLAB
.........................
135
APPENDIXBCOURSEQUESTIONNAIRE
....................
139
APPENDIXCELASTICCOLLISIONIN1-DIMENSION
.............
149
APPENDIXDMODELINGCHEMICALREACTIONS-HANDOUT
.......
151
APPENDIXEMODELINGCHEMICALREACTIONS-MINIMALLYWORK-
INGPROGRAM
...........................
153
APPENDIXF3DCOLLISION:KEEPINGPARTICLESINABOX-HANDOUT158
APPENDIXG3DCOLLISION:KEEPINGPARTICLESINABOX-MINI-
MALLYWORKINGPROGRAM
...................
160
APPENDIXH3DDIFFUSION:TRACKINGPROTEINS-HANDOUT
......
163
APPENDIXI3DDIFFUSION:TRACKINGPROTEINS-MINIMALLYWORK-
INGPROGRAM
...........................
165
APPENDIXJINSANEINTHEMEMBRANEPART1:OIL&WATER
.....
170
APPENDIXKINSANEINTHEMEMBRANEPART2:LIPIDBILAYERS
....
173
APPENDIXLTRANSCRIPT:MARIAINTERVIEW1
...............
176
APPENDIXMTRANSCRIPT:MARIAINTERVIEW2
...............
184
APPENDIXNTRANSCRIPT:MARIAINTERVIEW3
...............
213
APPENDIXOTRANSCRIPT:MARIAINTERVIEW4
...............
237
APPENDIXPTRANSCRIPT:MILESINTERVIEW1
...............
259
APPENDIXQTRANSCRIPT:MILESINTERVIEW2
...............
268
APPENDIXRTRANSCRIPT:MILESINTERVIEW3
...............
309
APPENDIXSTRANSCRIPT:MILESINTERVIEW4
...............
348
APPENDIXTTRANSCRIPT:NICOLEINTERVIEW1
..............
382
APPENDIXUTRANSCRIPT:NICOLEINTERVIEW2
..............
408
APPENDIXVTRANSCRIPT:NICOLEINTERVIEW3
..............
428
APPENDIXWTRANSCRIPT:SAMINTERVIEW1
................
432
APPENDIXXTRANSCRIPT:SAMINTERVIEW2
................
449
BIBLIOGRAPHY
........................................
469
ix
LISTOFTABLES
Table3.1:Pseudonyms,majors,andpreviousphysicsexperiencesforselectedcasestudents.13
x
LISTOFFIGURES
Figure3.1:TwoselectedexamplesofMAXQDAMAXMapsshowinghowthecourse
questionnairewascodedtosupportparticipantselection.Codesareconnected
tothecorrespondingopen-responsefromthequestionnaire.Allratingsare
self-reportedusingeithera5or10-pointscale...................15
Figure3.2:Thedatacollectiontime-linefortheproject.DuringYear2,somecase
studentsthatcompletedtheFallsemesterofBLiSSPhysicswereenrolledina
di˙erentphysicscourseintheSpringsemester.20interviewsinYear1were
conductedbyothermembersoftheresearchteamandIcompletedtherestof
thedatacollection.Thisallowedmetohaveauniqueanddeepunderstanding
ofthecoursecontextanditsstudents........................16
Figure5.1:Arepresentationofrelevanceconsistingofmultipleattitudesandbeliefs.This
isnotintendedtobeanexhaustivelistofallbeliefsandattitudesthathelpform
asenseofrelevancebutservestogiveanexampleofsuchanorganization.
Multiplebeliefs(inferredbybeliefstatements)areorganizedintoattitudes.
Multipleattitudesconstituteasenseofrelevance.Beliefstatementsare
usedtoinferbeliefsinthisstructureastheyarethemostreadilyaccessibleto
researchersmeasuringstudents'beliefs.Thisorganizationofrelevancealigns
with(1)thestructureofprevioussurveymeasuresofrelevanceinPERand
(2)Rokeach'stheoreticalorganizationofbeliefs..................50
Figure5.2:AvisualrepresentationofBronfenbrenner's[22]organizationofecologi-
calsystemstheoryasasetofconcentricsystemsencompassinganindivid-
ualvingoutwardfromthecenterarethemeso-,exo-,and
macrosystems....................................53
Figure5.3:Thetime-lineofdatacollectionforthecasestudiespresentedinthispaper,
NicoleandMaria.BothstudentstooktheBLiSSPhysicscourseintheFall
semesterandadi˙erentsecondsemesterphysicscourseintheSpring.In
Year1ofthisstudy,in-classvideowasrecordedoffocalgroupsworking
throughaunitondi˙usion.InYear2,focalgroupswererecordedthroughout
theentiresemester.This˝gurerepresentsasubsetofamuchlargerresearch
studythatfollowedover25studentsacrossthe2years..............57
Figure5.4:Maria'smicrosystemandmesosystem.WhilethewholeofMaria'sexperi-
encescanneverbecapturedinanydiagram,this˝gurerepresentsareasof
Maria'slifethatweconsiderimportanttoexploringtherelevanceofphysics
toMaria.......................................62
xi
Figure6.1:ArepresentationofconnectionswithinMiles'smesosystemashestartshis
˝rstsemesterofphysics.Thesettingsrepresentedincludethecourseshe's
enrolledinaswellashisextracurricularactivities.AdvancedBiochemistry
andOrganicChemistryLabaretwocoursesthatarewellconnectedtoother
settings;Milesworksasatutorinthesetopicsaswellasconductingresearch
thatutilizesbothdisciplinaryareas.Incontrast,physicsexistsasalargely
mysteriousentity(representedwithadottedoutline)withwhichMileshas
littleexperienceotherthanknowingthatphysicsisimportantandthatithas
areputationforbeingdi˚cultandstressful....................99
Figure6.2:ArepresentationofconnectionswithinMiles'smesosystemashe˝nishes
twosemestersofphysics.Whencomparedtohismesosystemintheprevious
section(Fig.6.1),physicshasmanymoreconnectionstoothersettingsMiles
engagesinincludinghisjobasanMCATtutorandasatutorattheuniversity
formultiplelifesciencecourses.Milesnowpointstophysicsasprovidinga
newviewontheworldaroundhimaswellashelpinghimconstructdeeper
explanationsofconceptsinlifesciencecourses..................113
xii
CHAPTER1
INTRODUCTION
Itracetheoriginsofthequestionstackledinthisdissertationtoamemoryofmytimestudent
teachingahighschoolhonorsphysicscourse.Theclasswasworkingonavectoradditionexercise
presentedwiththecontextofgivingdirectionstotravelbetweentwolocationsonamap.Astudent
wasrefusingtodothein-classactivity.WhenIapproachedher,shestatedthattherewasn'ta
pointindoingthisactivityandaskedmewhenshe'deverneedthisinformation.Webothlaughed.
Shewasaverycapablestudentunwillingtospendtimedoinganactivityshebelievedtohave
littlereturnonherinvestmentoftimeande˙ort.Shewasalsoahighschoolstudentinterested
inpushingtheboundariesofmytemporaryauthorityinherclassroom.Iwasanervousstudent
teacherwithextensiveexperienceonwhatitmeanttodophysicsandfeltcon˝dentinmyabilityto
convinceheroftherelevanceofphysics.Iproceededtoo˙erupalitanyofreasonswhythisphysics
activitymayberelevanttoherlifeorherfuturecareerandeachreasonwasmetwithconvincing
counter-argumentsfromthisyoungstudent.Afterfailingtoconvinceher,Ihadexhaustedmyown
willpowerand,unbeknownsttoher,Iwasstartingtoagreewithher.Resigned,Iasked,"Well,can
youworkonitanyway,asafavortome?""Okay"shesaidsimplywithasmileandgotstarted.
Idonotincludethisstoryasarepresentationofgoodteachingpracticeorclassroomman-
agement.Instead,Iusethisstorytohighlightseveralinsightsthatwillberevisitedthroughout
thisdissertation.First,thereisfarfromuniversalagreementaboutthenotionthatphysicsisrele-
vanttoone'slife.Second,studentshavelegitimatereasonsfortheirhavingcertainbeliefsabout
physics.Students'beliefsareneverade˝citthatneedstobe˝xedbutrathercanbere˛ectiveof
theirexperiencessofar.Third,designingtowardbuildingrelationshipsintheclassroomcanbea
powerfulmediatorforengagement.Inthisspeci˝ccase,therapportIhadbuiltwiththisstudent
wasimportanttoher˝nallystartingwork.
Shortlyaftermystudentteachingsemesterwasover,Istartedmyworktoexploretherelevance
ofphysicsattheintroductorylevel.Physicsisrepresentedasrelevanttoundergraduatestudentsin
1
severalways:programrequirementsformanySTEMdegrees,throughinclusionintheMCAT,and
throughnationalpolicyrecommendationsfortheintegrationofknowledgeandpracticesacrossthe
disciplines
Physicseducationhasplacedsigni˝cantemphasisonreforminginstructionforimprovedstudent
understandingandforimprovedstudentattitudesandbeliefsSuccessinthesetwoareasof
focusarestrikinglydi˙erent.PER'sbodyofliteraturere˛ectsalargelyuniversalacceptancethat
research-backedinstructionalstrategiescananddoimprovestudentunderstanding.Incontrast,
thereisnosuchuniversalacceptanceofwaystopromotestudentattitudesandbeliefstoward
physics.Infact,itisthestatus-quoofPERthatstudentswillleavethephysicsclassroombelieving
thatphysicsislessconnectedtotheirlivesthanwhentheyentered[8].
Theoverwhelmingmajorityofthosethatenrollinintroductoryphysicscoursesarenotphysics
majors.Studentsmajoringinthelifesciencescompriseoneofthelargestportionsoftheenrollment
inintroductoryphysicsatmostlargeinstitutions[11].Itisimportantforthesustainabilityofthese
physicsdepartmentsthatmanydegreeprogramscontinuetoincludephysicsasarequisitecourse
anddeemphysicsknowledgetoberelevanttotheirstudents.Thisputstheimportanceoffocusing
ontherelevanceofphysicsintoperspective.Itisnotsimplyanabstractintellectualpursuitbutrather
criticaltothelivelihoodofphysicsprogramsthatrelyonalargenon-majorstudentenrollment.
1.1Structureofthedissertation
Thisdissertationiscenteredaroundfourqualitativeresearchstudiesthatexploretherelevance
ofphysicsinasteppedmanner.
WestartinChapter4withthewaysinwhichrelevanceismeasuredinPERthroughcommonly
usedpre-to-postattitudinalandbeliefsurveys.Wecritiqueandexpandontheareasofstudents'lives
thesesurveysintendtomeasure,focusingontwoareasregularlyreportedasshowingadeterioration
instudents'beliefsafterinstruction.Wethenoperationalizeamoreexpansiveframeworkfor
relevanceinChapter5.Finally,weapplythisframeworktocharacterizeadramatictransformation
inastudent'sviewofphysicsinChapter6.
2
Chapter4consistsoftwopublishedpapersexaminingissueswithhowrelevanceismeasured
andinterpretedincommonlyusedsurveysinPER.The˝rstisapublishedstudyweconducted
tocritiquethenarrowconceptionofthe"RealWorld"asusedbythesesurveys[12].Wesuggest
thatthisphrasehaslittleconcreteuniversalmeaningamongststudents,andthatitmostlyrefersto
anabstractedsenseofthe"naturalworld."Students'realworldsduringtheirtimeinintroductory
physicscanincludedisciplinaryexperiencesthatpushonthisde˝nition.Thesecondhalfofthe
chapterisapapercurrentlyin-pressofcasestudyofastudent,Sam,reportingtherelevanceof
physicsthrougheverydayexperiences[13].Thisisanunder-reportedformofrelevanceinthe
PERliterature.Itinfactiscommonto˝ndexamplesofstudentslaughingattheimplicationthat
physicsmayberelevanttotheireverydaylives[12,14].Wedescribethesettings,roles,and
relationshipsthathelpedSamforgetheseconnections,suggestingthatallowingstudentstobring
thoseexperiencesintotheclassroomcanbeawaytofosterthesemomentsofrelevancethrough
everydaylife.
WhileChapter4outlineslimitationsandchallengestoPER'scurrentviewofrelevance,we
operationalizeamoreexpansiveframeworkofrelevanceinChapter5.Thischapterconsistsof
apaperoutliningaframeworkforoperationalizingrelevance[15].Weadaptecologicalsystems
theoryandtheorganizationalstructuresofattitudesandbeliefstoproposeanewframeworkof
relevancewhichcapturesamorecompleteandricherrepresentationofrelevance.
Chapter6consistsofalongitudinalcasestudyofastudentwhoinitiallyentersthephysics
classroomwithfearandanxiety.Weuseourframeworkofrelevancetoexplorehistransformation
fromfearingphysicstopromotingtherelevanceofphysicstoothersoverthecourseofthree
semesters.
InChapter7wedescribetheconclusionsfromthethreepreviouschaptersasstep-wiseexplo-
rationsoftherelevanceofphysics.WeoutlinedtheneedforanewapproachtorelevanceinPER
(Chapter4),operationalizedanewframeworkofrelevance(Chapter5),andappliedthatframework
topointtomechanismsofatransformationinastudent(Chapter6).
3
1.2Evolutionofideasthroughthedissertation
ThestudiesthatformChapters4,5,and6werewrittenacrossanearlythree-yearspan.Theideas
presentedunderstandablyevolvewithtime,thissectionisaimedathelpingthereaderunderstand
howideashavechanged.
Chapter4.1marksmy˝rstpublishedexplorationofrelevanceinphysicseducation.During
thattime,themodelofrelevancewasbuiltuponwhathadpreviouslybeenstudiedinPERusing
attitudinalandepistemologicalsurveys.Aconsequenceofthisisthatrelevanceiscon˝nedinto
di˙erentcategorieswhichrepresentdi˙erentmanifestationsofrelevanceinstudents'lives.
Chapter4.2continuestodescriberelevancecon˝nedtospeci˝careassuchasEverydayLife.
Itpushesonthecommonnarrativethatstudentsinphysicswillrarelyreportthinkingofordoing
physicsintheireverydaylives.Byusingacasestudy,wedescribethesigni˝cantsupportsrequired
inastudent'slifetoargueforanexpansionofthegoalsofanintroductoryclassroomtoincludethe
inclusionandvalidationofoutsideexperiences.Previousworkonintroductoryphysicsconnecting
toeverydayexperienceslimitedtheattentiontothedomainofthephysicsclassroomandfocusedon
howinstructioncanbereformedtoa˙ectstudents'views.Iexpandmyviewofrelevancethrough
everydayexperiencestoincludeareasofstudents'livesoutsideoftheclassroomsuchaspeerand
socialgroups.
Chapter5marksadramaticexpansioninthemodelofrelevanceused.Ishiftawayfrom
pre-determinedbinsofareasofstudents'livesthatwehaveseendescribedinPERsurveys.I,
instead,movedtowardsmappingareasofstudents'liveswherephysicsmayberelevant.Iadapt
representationsfromecologicalsystemstheorytodescriberelevanceasmanifestedbyconnections
acrossdi˙erentsettingsinstudents'lives.
Chapter6continueswiththesameframeworkasthepreviouschapterandappliesittoexplain
howasigni˝canttransformationmayhaveoccurred.Iuserelevanceasalensforunderstanding
howastudentcanshifttheirviewsofphysicsfromoncefearingittoultimatelyembracingit.This
chaptermarksthedeparturefromusingconcentriccirclestorepresentthenestedsystemstoamore
detailedmapofthesettingsinastudent'slifeandtheconnectionsbetweenthem.
4
CHAPTER2
BACKGROUND
Thischapterprovidesasummaryofthebackgroundcontexttothestudiespresentedinthisdisser-
tation.Whiletheseareaswillbedescribedinmoredetailintherelevantchapters,itisinstructive
tohaveanoverviewofthecontextwithinwhichthisworkexists.
2.1Notionofrelevance
Oneofthechallengesofstudyingaconstructsuchasrelevanceisthatthereisnotaclearuniform
de˝nition.Scholarsofrelevancehavenotedthatalthoughthespeci˝cde˝nitionofrelevancemay
shiftto˝ttheneedsofspeci˝capplications,themainqualityofrelevanceisthatitrepresentsa
relationshipbetweenaparticipantandthesubjectinquestion[16,17].Inourcase,relevanceexists
betweenastudentandphysics.
Whilethespeci˝cde˝nitionofrelevancemaydi˙eracrosscontexts,weseemuchmoreuniform
agreementinhowrelevancehasbeencommunicatedinscienceeducation.Relevancehasbeenused
toshapepolicyrecommendationsinthiscountryfordecadesaroundpreparingstudentsforcareers,
helpingstudentsunderstandscienceanduseitintheirlives,andtopromotestudentsbecoming
scienti˝callyliterateandproductivecitizensinsociety[18].
Throughoutthisworkournotionofrelevancewillbefocusedontherelationshipbetween
thestudentandphysics.Wewillarguethatyoucanobserveormeasurethissenseofrelevance
throughconnectionsacrossthesettingsthatstudentsexperiencedirectly.Thesesettingscaninclude
di˙erentclassrooms,familyorpeergroups,oranyotherenvironmentinwhichtheyreportreaching
forideasorpracticesfromphysics.
2.2Attitudinal&beliefsurveysinPER
Physicshaslookedatseveraldi˙erentareasofrelevancethroughattitudinalandbeliefsurvey
measuresthataregiventostudentspre-and-postinstruction.Shiftsinstudentresponsesare
5
thenreportedaspositiveifresponsesbecomemoreexpert-likeafterinstructionandnegativeif
theybecomelessexpert-like.WefocusourattentionontheColoradoLearningAttitudesabout
ScienceSurvey(CLASS),MarylandPhysicsExpectationsSurvey(MPEX),EpistemologicalBeliefs
AssessmentforPhysicalScience(EBAPS),andViewsAboutScienceSurvey(VASS)[4,5,19,
20].
ThesefoursurveymeasuresmakeuptheprimarywaysPERhasevaluatedthee˙ectiveness
ofspeci˝ccurriculaandpedagogytopromoteapositive(expert-like)shiftinstudents'responses.
Withinthesemeasuresofattitudes,thefocusofresearchonrelevancehasprimarilyfocused
on:physicsbeingofuseinstudents'futurecareers,physicsbeingconnectedtotheworldin
whichstudentslive,studentsreportingphysicsenteringtheireverydaylives,andstudentsreporting
apersonalinterestinlearningordoingphysics.Chapter4criticallyexamineshowPERhas
traditionallyexploredrelevancethroughthesefocusareas.
ThesurveysaretypicallystructuredasindividualLikert-stylestatementsthatstudentsendorse
withtheirlevelofagreement.Theseindividualquestionsarethengroupedusingclustering
techniquestoarriveatclustersoftopicsthesurveyisintendedtoprobe.Someoftheseclustersdo
notrelatetorelevancebuteachsurveyhasatleastoneclusterofquestionsdedicatedtoprobing
therelevanceofphysics.AswewilldiscussinmoredepthinChapter5,thereareissueswiththe
interpretationoftheresultsfromtheseclustersthatsuggestthatPER'scurrentmeasureofrelevance
isnotcompleteandoftenreliesonde˝cit-framing.
2.3Thetheoreticalorganizationofrelevance
ThedesignofPERsurveysbeliesanorganizationalstructuretoitsmeasurement.Individual
questionsaskstudentstoendorsebeliefstatements,thesearethenorganizedtoformahigherorder
grouping(attitudes).Thus,eachclustercanbethoughtofasmeasuringanattitude.Thisagrees
withanorganizationalstructureforbeliefsandattitudesthatRokeachoriginallyproposedin1968
[21].Weorganizerelevanceasahigherorderstructureontopofattitudes,suchthattherelevance
ofphysicsiscomposedofoneormoreattitudestowardphysics.Eachattitudecomposedofoneor
6
morebeliefsaboutphysics.DetailsofthisorganizationwillbediscussedinChapter5.
2.4Adaptingecologicalsystemstheory
EcologicalsystemstheorywasintroducedbyUrieBronfenbrennerin1979todescribehuman
developmentasaconcentricorganizationofsystems[22].Astudent'slifecanberepresentedinthis
frameworkasanecologyofsystems,thesystemsontheperipherybeingmoredistantininteraction
whiletheinnersystemsaredirectlyexperiencedbythestudent.Weuseecologicalsystemstheory
tohelpmapconnectionsbetweenthevarioussettingsinastudent'slife.
Themeaningof"settings"isintentionallybroad.Settingscanincludeavarietyofenvironments
dependingonthescaleoftheresearchquestion.Ifonewereinterestedindynamicsbetweenhome
lifeandacademiclife,youcanimaginethatonecanrepresentthewholeofacademiclifeasone
setting.Ifinstead,youareinterestedinexploringconnectionsbetweencoursework,eachcoursecan
representasetting.Thegrain-sizeofinquirycanberepresentedinthedescriptionofthesettings.
Connectionsbetweenphysicsandotheraspectsofastudent'slifewillbeplaceswherea
senseofrelevancecanbepromotedorhindereddependingonthenatureoftheconnection.To
dothiswork,wefocusourattentionprimarilyonthetwoinnermostsystems:themicrosystem
andthemesosystem.Themicrosystemencirclestheindividualandrepresentsthesettings,roles,
andrelationshipsapersondirectlyexperiences.Themesosystemrepresentedconnectionsacross
settingswithinthemicrosystem.InChapter5weshowthattherelevanceofphysicstoastudent's
lifeisdirectlyattributableandcharacterizedbytheconnectionspresentinthemesosystem.
Weareadaptingthesystemsviewrepresentationfromatheoreticalviewonhumandevelopment
thatisnearly40yearsoldasofthiswriting.SinceUrieBronfenbrennerpresentedthisworkin1979,
muchworkhasbeendonetopushourunderstandingofhumandevelopmentandwedonotbringin
thewholeofBronfenbrenner'stheoryintoourwork.Nevertheless,ecologicalsystemsarethemost
directrepresentationofourideasasweworkedtounderstandourstudents.Intheirinterviews,our
studentsweredescribingthemanyrolesandcontextstheyworkincourses,extra-curricularclubs
andorganizations,research,andservice.Ecologicalsystemstheoryisusefultovisualizethemany
7
settingsstudentsexistwithinoutsideofthephysicsclassroomandgivesusthelanguagetodescribe
connectionsbetweenthesesettings.
8
CHAPTER3
METHODOLOGY
3.1Coursecontext:BLiSSPhysics
Thisworkissituatedinatwo-semestersequenceofintroductoryphysicscourseforthelife-
sciencesthatistaughtinastudio-format.ThecourseisnamedBriggsLifeScienceStudio(BLiSS)
Physics.Ithasbeenreformedtoleverageconnectionstobiologyandchemistryinthelearning
ofphysics.Studiophysicsisaphrasecoinedin1993atRensselaerPolytechnicInstitutetorefer
toareformedclassroomdesign[23].Sincethenstudiophysicshasbeenadoptedatnumerous
institutions,eachwithaslightlydi˙erentimplementation.Someexamplesinclude:Modeling
InstructionatFloridaInternationalUniversity[24];StudioPhysicsatColoradoSchoolofMines
[25];SCALE-UPatNorthCarolinaStateUniversity[26];andTEALatMassachusettsInstitute
ofTechnology[27].Broadlytherearesomefeaturesthatarecommontomostimplementations:
(1)lectureandlaboratoryactivitiesarecombinedintooneclassperiodwithlesstimedevoted
topure-lectureformatinstruction,(2)studentsworkinsmallgroupswithahighleveloffaculty-
studentinteraction,and(3)theclassroomutilizestechnologytofacilitategroupworkandtoprovide
studentshands-onactivities.
Myresearchprojectstartsinthevery˝rstiterationofthisreformedcoursedesign,andthe
˝ndingsfrommyworkheavilyin˛uencedfutureiterationsandredesigne˙orts.BLiSSPhysicsis
taughtinLymanBriggsCollege(LBC),whichisoneofmultipleresidentialcollegesoncampusthat
focusonaspeci˝cdiscipline.LBCfocusesonsciencewithaheavyemphasisoncross-disciplinary
knowledgeintegration.TherearenoadditionalrequirementstobeacceptedtoLBCbeyondMSU's
overalladmissioncriteria;studentscanelecttochoosetobeplacedwithinLBCforaresidential
collegeexperienceastheypursueasciencedegree.Studentsarerequiredtotakebiology,chemistry,
andphysicscourses.Additionally,studentsarerequiredtotakeHistory,Philosophy,andSociology
ofScience(HPS)courses,whichaskstudentstointegratetheirknowledgeofsciencewithina
9
largercontext.IntheBLiSSclassroom,moststudentsaremajoringinthelifescienceswithalarge
proportionintendingtopursuehealthprofessions.AtMSU,LBCistypicallyconsideredamongst
studentstobeamorerigorousdegreepathandisoftenanalogizedtobeinglikeanhonorscollege.
StudentsaregenerallyverymotivatedtoachievehighgradesandoftenarrivewithAdvanced
Placement(AP)orInternationalBaccalaureate(IB)credit.Wecanexpectstudentsenteringthe
˝rstsemesterofphysicstohavecompletedoneormoresemestersofbiologyandchemistry,in
additiontoanyresearchexperiencestudentshave.
3.2Studydesignconsiderations
Theworkinthisdissertationisgatheredinthecontextofalargerdesign-basedresearchproject
thatspannedtwoyearsofBLiSSPhysics.Acrossthetwoyearstheprimarydatastreamwasin
theformofsemi-structuredinterviewswithstudentslongitudinally-spacedalongtheirexperiences
intheclassroom.Additionally,focalgroupsthatincludedinterviewedcasestudentswerevideo
recordedwhiletheyworkedthroughactivitiesinclass.
3.2.1Casestudies
Thisstudyutilizesaqualitativecasestudymethodologybecauseitisespeciallyequippedto
explorestudents'evolvingconceptionsoftherelevanceofphysics.Everycasestudypresented
inthisdissertationconsistsofmultipledatastreamsincludingmultipleinterviewsspacedacross
students'experiences.Withineachcasestudyweprobetheevolvingattitudesandbeliefsstudents
havearoundtherelevanceofphysics.
Casestudiesareespeciallysuitedforourexplorationofrelevancebecausetheyallowforan
in-depthunderstandingofstudents'experiences[28].Casestudiesallowustosituatestudents'
experienceswithinthecontextofthephysicsclassroom.Anindividualcaseallowsustoseethe
impactsoftheclassroomexperiencesinevolvingastudent'ssenseofrelevance.Multiplecases
withinthesamecoursecontextallowsustobroadenourclaimsandremarkonthedesignand
implementationofactivitiestopromoterelevance.
10
InthisdissertationIwillfocusonselectcasesfromalargercollectionofdata.Thereadermay
inferthatmyintentionistopresentarepresentativesampleofalargerdata-setisnottrue.
Casestudieswerechosenasthestructureofmyworkonrelevancebecausetheyareespecially
well-suitedtodevelopingatheoryandilluminatinghowrelevanceisperceivedandexperiencedby
thesecasestudents.Ourgoalintheendisnottoarguethattheexperiencespresentedinthiswork
arerepresentativeoftheentirepopulationofourdata-set.Instead,welooktointentionallyselect
andsamplecasestudentstoexpoundonthevarietyanddiversityofwaysstudentsexperiencethe
relevanceofphysics[29].
Physicseducationresearchislackingathoroughunderstandingoftherelevanceofphysics
anditsimplicationsfordesigningreformedclassroomenvironments.Casestudieshelpdevelopan
expansiveandthoroughunderstandingofrelevancesothatinthefuturewecanattempttoundertake
thetaskofarguingforgeneralizability.
3.2.2Embeddingwithinalargerdesign-basedresearche˙ort
Theworkpresentedinthisdissertationdoesnotstandalone;itexistswithinalargerdesign-based
researchprojectthataimstounderstandstudentexperiencesthroughthereformedBLiSSPhysics
classroomthroughavarietyoflensesincludingself-e˚cacy,mindset,andrelevance[30].
Design-basedresearch(DBR)isaresearchmethodologythatadvocatesfortheremovalof
thebarrierthattypicallyseparateclassroomdesignfromresearchthatisconductedwithinthe
classroom.Weareinterestedinstudyingstudentexperienceswithinthecontextofthecourse
andDBRprovidesaframeworkinwhichwecanstudystudentexperiencesinconcertwithdesign
e˙orts.Theresearchanddesignbranchesofourprojectinformandlearnfromeachother.
Oneoftheimplicationsofthenatureofdesign-basedresearchisthattheresearchandthe
curriculumdesigndirectlyandreciprocallyimpacteachotherinreal-time.Theyliveandbreathe
togetherandcannotbeconsideredindependentofoneanother.Inthepursuitofprovidingstudents
withthebestpossibleexperience,changestoinstructionaredirectlyshapedbytheemergent
research˝ndings.OneproductofthisinteractionbetweenresearchandcurriculuminBLiSSisa
11
newlabactivityexploringthesecondsemestertopicofequipotentiallines[31].Thefeaturesof
thislabbecameasigni˝canttouchstoneforstudentsandhelpedshapeourideasofaccessibility
andfamiliaritybeingimportantinconveyingthatphysicscanbeexploredoutsideofaspecialized
labsetting.
3.2.3Researcherroles
MyrolesintheBLiSSclassroomre˛ectedtheholistictreatmentofaclassroomdesignandthe
researchinvolved.Iwasembeddedinthecourseasaresearcher,curriculumdeveloper,and
instructor.WeensuredthatIdidnotresearchstudentswithwhomIplayedaninstructorrole.I
wasdeeplyembeddedintheclassroomandobservednearlyeveryclassperiodoverthetwoyears
ofthisproject.Myrolewhennotaninstructorwastypicallyasapassiveobserverand,attimes,
participantobserver.
Studentsgenerallyregardedmeasa˝xtureintheclassroomwhocanhelpthemifnoother
instructionalteammemberwasavailable.Iintentionallyminimizedmyavailabilityasanextra
helperintheclassroomtofocusonobservingratherthaninteracting.Oneoftheconsistentthemes
inmyroleintheclassroomisthatinsteadofpresentingmyselfasanalternativeknowledgesource,
Ifocusedonbeingacuriousobserver.Icelebratedwithstudentsduringmomentsoftriumphand
commiseratedwiththemduringmomentsoffrustration.Thisbecameaninvaluablefactorinmy
successfosteringtrustingrelationshipswithstudentsininterviewsande-mailcorrespondences.
Studentssawmeassomeonewhowascheeringthemonandgenuinelyinterestedintheirsuccess.
StudentswouldremarkininterviewsorreachoutaftertheirtimeasastudentinBLiSSwith
momentstheywantedtosharewithmeofencounteringphysicsoutsideoftheclassroom.
3.3Participantrecruitment&selection
Casestudentselectionwasinformedbyaquestionnairegiventostudentsearlyinthecourse
thataskedthemtodescribetheirpreviousexperiencesinsciencecoursesaswellastheirbeliefs
aboutlearningphysics.Independentofthequestionnaire,studentswereaskedtovolunteerto
12
PseudonymMajorPreviousPhysicsExperience
Alisa
Neuroscience
IBPhysics
Anne
Microbiology
None
Aurora
Physiology
HSPhysics
Benjamin
Zoology,MarineBiologyconcentration
HSPhysics
Beverly
HumanBiology
HSPhysics
Cody
HumanBiology
HSPhysics
Deanna
Chemistry
HSPhysics
Forest
PlantBiology&Biochemistry
HSHonorsPhysicalScience
Hana
HumanBiology
HSPhysics
Isabella
Biochemistry&MolecularBiology
HSHonorsPhysics
Kathryn
Biochemistry
HSPhysics(1semester)
Kelly
BiomedicalLabSciences&HumanBiology
HSPhysics
Kirk
Astrophysics
APPhysics
Leslie
Zoology
8thGradeTrebuchet
Lian
HumanBiology&Biochemistry
HSPhysics
Maria
Microbiology
HSPhysics(2Trimesters)
Melanie
Neuroscience
IBPhysics
Miles
Biochemistry
None
Nicole
Genetics
None
Priya
Genomics&MolecularGenetics
APPhysics
Radhika
Physiology
HSPhysics
Randy
Physiology
HSPhysics
Sam
NutritionalScience&Kinesiology
APPhysics
Sidney
Fisheries&Wildlife
HSPhysics
Wade
Microbiology
HSHonorsPhysics
Table3.1:Pseudonyms,majors,andpreviousphysicsexperiencesforselectedcasestudents.
participateinthestudy.Potentialcasestudentswereidenti˝edbycross-matchingvolunteersfor
thestudywiththeirresponsestothequestionnaire.Weselectedstudentswhoexpressedastrong
disciplinaryidentity,statedhighlevelsofanxietytowardphysics,orstudentswhowereoptimistic
thatphysicscouldberelevanttothem.Emailsweresenttopotentialcasestudentsandparticipation
wasincentivizedwitha$10Amazongiftcardforeveryinterviewastudentparticipatedin.
Inthisdissertation,eachstudyemployedpurposefulselectionofparticipantstohelpdevelop
aframeworkforunderstandingtherelevanceofphysics[29].Caseswerenotselectedtoforma
representativesampleofthestudentsinthecourse.Apartfrompracticallimitationsofscheduling
con˛ictsandstudentresponserate,themainmotivationbehindparticipantselectionwastoseek
13
outdiversityinexperiencestohelpcreateanexpansiveframeworkfortherelevanceofphysics.
Table3.1describesanoverviewofsomeofthecasestudentpseudonyms,disciplinarymajors,and
previousexperienceswithphysics.InFigure3.1weshowaselectionofgraphscreatedwiththe
MAXQDAMAXMaps[32]featurewhichshowthedi˙erentcodesusedforparticipantselection
andtheaccompanyingquestionnaireresponses.
3.4Datacollection&analysismethods
Dataforthisprojectwascollectedacrossmultiplestreamsincludingquestionnaires,semi-
structuredinterviews,in-classvideorecording,˝eldnotes,brieffacultyre˛ectioninterviews,and
e-mailcorrespondenceswithcasestudents.Figure3.2outlinesthedatacollectiontime-lineforthe
2yearsofdatacollected.
Duringtheinitialphaseofthisprojecttaskanalysiswascompletedonthecommonlyused
attitudinalandbeliefsurveys.Codeswerecreatedtosignifythedi˙erentareasofstudents'lives
thesesurveysprobed.Thesecategoriesbecametheinitialcodesweusedinanalyzingstudent
interviews.
Thevideo-recordeddata(in-classvideoandinterviews)weretranscribedbymeusingInqScribe
ora3rdpartytranscriptionservice.InadditiontocodingforthecategoriesfoundinthePERsurveys,
Iutilizedopen-codingtoidentifythemesthatemergeacrosscasestudentsaswellasforaspeci˝c
casestudentastheyprogressthroughthesemester[33].
Astheprojectevolvedourconceptionofrelevancebroadened,asdiscussedinChapters4and5.
Interviewswerecodedforthesettingsinvolvedinstudents'liveswithexplicitfocusonconnections
betweenphysicsandothersettingsinastudent'slife.Momentsdescribedininterviewswere
corroboratedwithin-classfootagewheneverpossible.
14
(a)Leslieisopentomakingconnectionstophysics,reports4/5ontheneedingcomputationforherfuture
career,reports8/10onanxiety,andhaslittlepreviousphysicsexperience.
(b)Foreststatesheisveryunprepared,reports10/10onanxiety,reports3/10oncapability,andhaslittle
previousphysicsexperience.
Figure3.1:TwoselectedexamplesofMAXQDAMAXMapsshowinghowthecoursequestionnaire
wascodedtosupportparticipantselection.Codesareconnectedtothecorrespondingopen-response
fromthequestionnaire.Allratingsareself-reportedusingeithera5or10-pointscale.
15
Figure3.2:Thedatacollectiontime-linefortheproject.DuringYear2,somecasestudentsthatcompletedtheFallsemesterofBLiSS
Physicswereenrolledinadi˙erentphysicscourseintheSpringsemester.20interviewsinYear1wereconductedbyothermembersof
theresearchteamandIcompletedtherestofthedatacollection.Thisallowedmetohaveauniqueanddeepunderstandingofthecourse
contextanditsstudents.
16
3.5Validity
3.5.1Researcheridentity
Itisimportanttore˛ectonresearcheridentitywhendoingdeepqualitativeresearchasitcanhelp
readersassesstheinteractionsandrelationshipsbetweentheresearcher,thestudents,andthecourse
environment.IimmigratedtothesuburbsofChicago,IllinoisfromthesouthernIndianstateof
Keralain1992.Thespeci˝cityoftheregionofIndiamayseemtothereadertobeoverlyspeci˝c
butitisimportanttomethatIamseenasaSouthIndian.InAmerica,thereisoftenamonolithic
notionofIndianidentityinmediaandcuisinethatneglectstoacknowledgethevarietyanddiversity
inacountryaspopulousasIndia.IgainedmyUnitedStatescitizenshipseveralyearslater.I
identifyascomingfromIndiandescentandbeinganAmericancitizen,thoughmylifeexperiences
haveshownmethatmycitizenshipisquali˝edbymyskincolor.
Inhighschool,physicswasmyfavoriteclassandIcompletedhonorsphysicsaswellasAP
PhysicsC(APcoursenameshavesincebeenrenamed).Afterhighschool,Iwentintoacombined
BA/MDmedicalprogramthatIdidnotenjoy.IwouldreturntophysicsandcompletemyBachelor's
andMaster'sdegreesinChicago.Duringthattime,Iconductedresearchinhighenergynuclear
physics.IthencompletedaMaster'sinEducationinSecondarySciencespecializinginteaching
physicsandreceivedmyteachinglicenseinIllinois.MytimestudentteachingintheEnglewood
neighborhoodofChicagohelpedmeunderstandthatinstitutionalstructureswillinherentlypromote
racismandmisogynyifthereisn'tarelentlesse˙orttostemthetide.
IstillhadthedesiretoproduceresearchandjoinedthePhysicsPhDprogramatMichiganState
University.DuringmytimeinMichigan,itwasmadecleartomethatmyappearanceasabrown
manmademestandout.ThiswassurprisingsinceIblendedinasoneofthemanyshadesina
crowdinChicago.Icamewithamissiontoquestionthepresumedtruththatphysicsisrelevant.
Throughoutmyworkyouwill˝ndideasinspiredbytheworksofscholarsinthe˝eldsofrace,
equity,orgenderstudiesbutImustbeclearthatIamnotascholarofrace,equity,orgender.I
amaphysicistbytrade,andIamheretoquestionthenotionsthatkeepahigh-qualityeducationin
17
physicsoutofthegraspsofallbutaselectfew.
3.5.2Issuesofpower&in˛uence
WhileIheldmanyrolesintheclassroom,Ionlyconductedresearchwithstudentsinthesections
whereIwasnotassignedwithaninstructionalrole.ThestudentswithinthesectionswhereIhad
aninstructorrolewereinterviewedbyothersontheresearchteam.
Thereisclearlyanopportunityforapowerdi˙erentialbetweenmeandthestudentsinthis
study.Tomitigatethisconcern,IhaveexplicitlyremindedthecasestudentsthatIhavenoin˛uence
overtheirgradesandthatthedatawillnotbeaccessibletotheinstructorsuntilafterthestudentsare
nolongerintheirclassroomandwhentheinstructorsnolongerhavein˛uenceovertheirgrades.
3.5.3Validityofclaimsfromcasestudies
Whenreadersarepresentedwithapaperthatisacasestudyofoneortwostudents,acommon
concernisthevalidityofclaimsmadefromonestudent'sexperiences.Outofthe40totalstudents
thatwereinterviewedascasestudentsforthisproject,28wereinterviewedbymeandmanywere
interviewedmultipletimes.IarguethatIhaveextensiveknowledgeofstudents'experiencesinthis
coursethroughmyexperiencesofnumerousinterviews,observationand˝eldnotes,in-classvideo
recordingofnearlyeveryclassperiod,andco-developmentofactivitiesinthiscourse.Whileat
timesmyunitofanalysisisonestudent'sexperiencesexploredovertime,careistakentosituate
anyclaimswithinthecontextofthislargerproject.Therearetimeswhentheexperiencesofone
studentexistinstarkcontrasttotherestoftheresearchsamplepopulation.Forthesesituations
wetakecaretoexplicitlydescribeclaimsincomparisontotheclassasawhole.Forexample,
inChapter4weseetheexperiencesofcasestudentSamnotingthatherviewsofphysicsbeing
relevantinhereverydayexperiencesstandsincontrasttotheviewsofothers[13].
Throughoutthisstudy,analyticmemoswerecreatedtoarticulatelow-levelclaimsandtiethese
claimsdirectlytodata.Higherinferencelevelclaimsmadefromthedatawerediscussedin
18
aresearchteamofphysicseducationresearchersthatincludesgraduatestudents,undergraduate
researchers,post-doctoralresearchers,andfaculty.
3.6Limitations
BLiSSPhysicsissituatedinLymanBriggsCollege(LBC)atMichiganStateUniversity.LBC
isoneofmultipleresidentialcollegesatMSUthatspecializeinaspeci˝cdiscipline,inthis
casescience.LBCemphasizesandpromotestheimportanceofcross-disciplinaryconnections
instudents'sciencepreparation.Wemustbeawarethattheclaimsofrelevanceinthisworkare
limitedbythediversityinstudentexperiencesrepresentedintheBLiSSclassroom.Someofthe
commoncharacteristicsofourstudentpopulationinBLiSSphysicsincludeahighlevelofscience
preparation,highlevelsofinvolvementinundergraduateresearchorextra-curriculargroups,anda
relativelyhighproportionofstudentsintendingtopursuemedicalcareers.
AsIhavebeentheprincipaldatacollectorandinterviewerwithinthisproject,itisquitepossible
thatthisstudyislimitedbyanybiasespresentinmydecision-makingprocess.Decisionsonwhoto
observein-classaswellasdecisionsaroundthefollow-upquestionsduringinterviewscanimpact
andlimitwhatdataispresentforanalysis.
MSUisapredominantlyWhiteinstitutionwithWhitestudentsconstitutingapproximately76%
ofundergraduateenrollmentasofFall2017[34].WithinourBLiSSPhysicsclassroom,during
2016-2018Whitestudentswereapproximately80%ofthestudentenrollment.Anyclaimsmadein
thisdissertationmustbeinterpretedwiththeunderstandingthattheyaremadefromafairlyracially
homogeneouspopulation.
19
CHAPTER4
RELEVANCEINTHEREALWORLD&EVERYDAYLIFE
4.1Usingdisciplinaryperspectivestore˝neconceptionsofthe"realworld"
4.1.1Introduction
Ithasbeenstated,inPER,thatstudentsoftendemonstrateanunfavorableshiftinattitudinal
measuresingeneralandthatstudentsleavethephysicsclassroomstatingthatphysicsisless
connectedtotheworldthanwhentheystartedthecourse[4,19].Itemsthatassesstheconnection
ofphysicstostudents'livesappearacrossseveralattitudinalandepistemologicalmeasuressuchas
theViewsAboutScienceSurvey(VASS),EpistemologicalBeliefsAssessmentforPhysicalSciences
(EBAPS),ColoradoLearningAttitudesaboutScienceSurvey(CLASS),andtheMarylandPhysics
ExpectationsSurvey(MPEX)[4,5,19,20].Students'unfavorableresponsestoitemsonthese
measuresareofteninterpretedasstudentsnotperceivingtherelevanceofphysicstothereal-world,
toeverydaylife,personalinterests,orfuturecareers[4,19,20].Thispaperaimstocomplicatethis
oft-stated˝ndingbyexploringthetypesofconnectionsstudentsmakebetweenphysicsandtheir
livesoutsidethephysicsclassroom.
4.1.2TheoreticalFramework
WepositthattheclustersanditemsintheVASS,EBAPS,CLASS,andMPEXthatassesshow
connectedphysicsistostudents'livesarepartofabroaderquestionof"howrelevantisphysics?"
Relevanceasaconstructhasbeendi˚culttode˝ne[16,17].Oneofthechallengeswithde˝ning
relevanceisthevarietyofcolloquialmeanings-suchassigni˝cance,importance,applicability,and
more[17].Newtonexploresrelevanceinthecontextofteachingsciencetoprimaryandsecondary
students,speci˝callythechallengesteachersfacewhenrespondingtocallsformorerelevantscience
teaching[17].Booksteinapproachesrelevanceinthecontextofinformationsciencesandattempts
20
tooperationalizerelevanceforthepurposesofinformationretrieval[16].Buildingontheirwork,
thispaperoperationalizesrelevanceinphysicseducationtohavethefollowingcharacteristics:
1:
Itisarelationbetweenthestudentandphysics
2:
Itaddressessomeneed,aspiration,orexpectation
Toevaluatetherelevanceofphysicswecanlooktoseehowphysicsissituatedinthelarger
contextofstudents'lives.Withanoperationalde˝nitionofrelevancetoworkwith,weturntoPER
measurestoexplorewhichareasofstudents'livesarebeingprobedforconnectionstophysics.We
identifythefollowingclustersaspertainingtorelevance:
class:
:PersonalInterest&Real-WorldConnection
mpex:
:RealityLink
ebaps:
:Real-lifeApplicability
vass:
:PersonalRelevance
1
Intheseclusterswesee2broadtypesofitems,thosethatprobe(1)theconnectionbetween
physicstolifeoutsidethephysicsclassroomand(2)students'a˙ect,motivation,andinterestin
physics.Inthispaper,wenarrowourfocustoconnectionsbetweenphysicsandlifeoutsidethe
physicsclassroom.Adamsetal.havereportedthedistinctionbetween"whetherstudentsthinkthat
physicsdescribestherealworldandwhethertheycareorthinkaboutthephysicstheyexperiencein
everydaylife[19]."Wearguethatforourlife-sciencestudentswithrichdisciplinaryexperiences,
thisdistinctionintotwocategoriesmaybeinsu˚cienttocapturethediversewaysinwhichstudents
connectphysicstotheirlives.Wewillexplorehowourlife-sciencestudentsarticulatephysics
connectionstotheirworldandshowthecomplicatingnuancesinhowtheseconnectionsmanifest
instudents'lives.
1
PresentinversionP204butremovedinP05.07,weincludeitbecauseitaddsvaluableinsight
intohowquestionsaroundrelevancearebeingaskedinPER
21
4.1.3Methods
Thisworkissituatedinthe˝rstsemesterofanintroductoryphysicsforthelife-sciencescourse
thatistaughtinthestudioformat.Wesolicitedvolunteersforinterviewsandcross-matchedusing
asurveytoidentifystudentswhowerefeelingfearful,hadastrongdisciplinaryidentity,were
feelingskepticalofthecoursebeingmeaningfultothem,orwereoptimisticthecoursecouldbe
relevant.Thispaperrepresentsworkfromacasestudyof3students,togethertheydemonstrate
avarietyofwaysinwhichstudentsmayconnectphysicstotheirlives.Wedrawfromtwosemi-
structuredinterviewswitheachofthesestudents.Theinterviewsincludeditemsintendedtoprobe
therelevanceofphysicstostudents'lives.The˝rstinterviewtookplaceintheearlyweeksofthe
course,andthesecondinterviewtookplacenearthemidpointofthesemester.
4.1.4"Beverly"
Beverlyisahumanbiologymajoronapre-medicaltrackwhoalsohasvolunteeredhertimeata
clinicandtheRedCrosscluboncampus.Atthetimeofthestudy,Beverlyhashadphysicsinhigh
school,whichwasanegativeexperienceforher.
beverly:
Itookit[physics]senioryearofhighschoolandIhatedit.Myteacherwasawful...I
didn'treallylearnanythingfromhim[Int1]
Intheearlyweeksofthecourse,Beverlydoesn'tbelievephysicsisgoingtoberelevanttoher
intendedfutureasaphysician.
beverly:
Idon'tneedphysics.It'snotreallyakeyaspectinmyfutureorIdon'tbelieveit
willbe...Iviewitasmoreofarequirement,Ijusthavetogothroughit...Italkedtolike
variousphysiciansI'veshadowed...they'relike'Idon'treallyusethatmuchphysics'
[Int1]
Despiteherbeliefthatphysicswillnotplayaroleinherintendedfuture,thedesignofthecourse
wassuchthatthereweremultipleplacesinherlifewherephysicscouldhavebeenmeaningful;
22
thecourseexplicitlyleveragesstudents'expertiseofbiologyandchemistryastheylearnphysics
[35].Forexample,Beverlyhadvolunteeredinawoundclinic;inclass,studentsstudythemotion
ofbacteriaandneutrophilsinthecontextofwoundhealing.Thestudentswereaskedtousevideo
trackingsoftwaretomeasurethespeedsofE.coli,neutrophils,andtissuehealingtodetermineif
antibioticsneededtobeprescribed.Beverlydidn't˝ndthisactivitytobeanauthenticapplication
ofhowphysicianswouldmakedecisionsaroundprescribingantibiotics.
beverly:
Nottoomuch...Iactuallyshadowedaninfectiousdiseasedoctoracoupletimes,
andbythetimehispatientsgottohimtheyneededtheantibiotics,itwasn'tjusta
matterofiftheywouldneedthem...[Int1]
Beverlyalsorecallsconversationswithherfamilyaroundthedangersofherdrivingasmall
carandtheimplicationsofacollision;inclass,studentsmodeledacollisionbetweenacarandan
SUV.Beverlystatesthatit'sclearwhichcardoesbetteranddoesn't˝ndtheunpackingofphysics
lawstoberelevanttoherfuture.
beverly:
Mostofuscould˝gureoutifit'sanSUVvs.asmallcarinacollision,mostof
uscouldprettymuchguesswhichvehiclewoulddoworseinthatsituation...thebigger
objecttendstofairalittlebetter[Int1]
InthesecondinterviewBeverlyrevisitsthecarcrash,andstatesthatshecanbetterexplainwhat
happensincollisionsbutdoesn'tlabelitasthinkingofphysicsconcepts.Thisisconsistentwith
Beverly'spreviousstatementsthatshe˝ndsphysicsreasoningincarcollisionstobeintuitive.
interviewer:
Doyouthinkactivitieslikethisone[investigatingcollisionslab]haveequipped
youtoanswerquestionsoutsideofclass?
beverly:
...itwasactuallyweirdmycousinwasjustinacarcrashaweekago...Icould
likepairthatwiththisknowledgeandbelikeOKsonothingtooawfulcouldhave
happened,shehadairbagswhichwe'velookedintoalittlebit[inclass].LikeIfeltlike
alittlemoresecureinthatknowledge
23
interviewer:
Youfoundyourselfthinkingofphysicsconceptswhenthathappenedor?
beverly:
Slightly...IguessI'vealwaysthoughtaboutthem,Ijustdidn'tde˝nethemor
labelthemasphysics.[Int2]
Beverlyrecognizesthatphysicscanbeappliedtorealworldsituationsbutstatesthatshewon't
needthedetailedphysicscontentknowledge.Beverly'sunfavorableresponsesconnectingphysics
totherealworldcouldbeinterpretedasBeverlybelievingthat"ideaslearnedinphysicshavelittle
relationtoexperiencesoutsidetheclassroom"[4].WecontendthatBeverly'sresponsesaremore
nuancedthanthisinterpretationallows.Oneissueisthedi˙erencebetweenBeverlyrecognizing
thatphysicscanbeusedintherealworldandherbelievingthatshedoesn'tneedtobringinphysics
inthoseexperiences.Beverly'sstatementsareaboutthepracticalnecessityofusingphysicsin
thesereal-worldscenarios,andnotare˛ectionofhowmuchshevaluesthinkingaboutphysics.
Thesestatementsre˛ectasophisticationthat'sgroundedinhermedicalexperienceaswellasher
senseforwhenphysicsis
needed
.AlthoughBeverlyconnectsphysicstorealworldevents,she
insiststhatthisissomethingshehasalwaysdoneanddoesn'tlabelitasphysics.Thisisconsistent
withearlierstatementsthatshedoesn'tthinkofphysicsineverydaylife.
interviewer:
Doyouthinkofphysicsoutsidetheclassroom?
beverly:
...Idon'treallydo.IfIthrowsomething,Idon'treallythinkaboutit[Int1]
ThenotionthatBeverlydoesn'ttypicallythinkofphysicsoutsidethephysicsclassroomisnot
surprisingconsideringherpreviousexperiencesandherstatementsthatshedoesn't
need
physics.
4.1.5"Maria"
Mariaisamicrobiologymajorwithaminorinepidemiologywhoidenti˝esstronglyasamicro-
biologist.Shehasleadershippositionsinmultiplebiologyrelatedorganizationsandworksina
microbiologyresearchlab.Mariarecallsherhighschoolphysicsexperienceasbeingdisconnected
fromherinterests.
24
maria:
ThelasttimeI'vehadphysicswassophomoreyearofhighschool...Ijustdon'tthink
theydidaverygoodjobofconnectingitbacktoeveryone'sinterests...itwasjust
theoreticalpurephysics.so,notmything...[Int1]
Mariaisoptimisticthatthiscoursemaybemorerelevant.
maria:
Ithinkinthiscourseitmaybealittlemore[relevant],'causeofthe[biology]
connections,otherwiseIwouldprobablysayno[
laughs
][Int1]
ForMaria,thewoundhealingactivitywasmeaningfulandthetypeofconnectionshewas
hopefulfor.
maria:
Ikindofknewlike...itwashopefullygoingtobelikethis...I'mamicrobiology
major,IknowphysicsisimportantforwhatIwanttodobutlikephysicslikeIwas
taughtinhighschool...it'stooconceptual,tootheoreticalbutthis[woundhealing
activity]wasyouknowlikehere'swhereyouwouldapplyit,likewhatconceptstouse
speci˝callyinmicrobiology.[Int1]
Whenaskedifsheis˝ndingphysicsinanyofherothercourses,Mariareadilyseesareasinher
courseswherephysicsmayplayarole.
maria:
Mypastepi[epidemiology]coursewasreallyfocusedonlike...osteoarthritis...I
cande˝nitelyseehowyouwouldbelikefocusedonlikethephysicsofitall,likewhat
causesthefractures,whatcanwedotopreventthemandthingslikethat.Notsofar
inlikeprokaryoticphysiobutI'mfeelingoncewegetto˛agellaandpillaeandthings
thataremoving,maybealittlemore.[Int1]
Thisconnectiontoherprokaryoticphysiologycourseendsupforeshadowingastrong,mean-
ingfulconnectiontophysicsforMariamidwaythroughthesemester.
interviewer:
Soinmicrobio,ifyouhave˛agellalikethat,wouldphysicshelpyouanswer
that?
25
maria:
Ohforsure.[
laughs
]...youhavethechemistryinteractionsthatgetyouthemove-
ment,theyhappeninsidethecell,andthenthephysicscanexplainthosechemistry
interactions[Int2]
Whenaskedhowsherealizedphysicscanexplainwhy,Mariaexplainsthatitdidn'thappen
untilshehadthetoolstomaketheconnectionbetweenmicrobiologyandphysics.
maria:
...sureyoucanseesomethingandbelike'physicsprobablyexplainsthat'butIdon't
knowphysics,sowhywouldIthinkaboutitthatwayifIdon'thavethattool?...taking
thiscourse,themicrobiocoursealongsidephysicswherethingslikeworkandtorque
andforcearecomingupina˝eldthatIknowabout,ithelpsyousee.[Int2]
ThismomentissopowerfulforMariathatshesuggeststhesetypesofinvestigationsisthe
physicsshewouldimagineherselfdoing.
maria:
ThephysicsI'dbeinterestedindoingissomethinglikethis[parameciumactiv-
ity]...it'stoolateinmycareer,myparentswouldkillmeifIswitchedmymajor...I'm
interestedinhowit[physics]relatestothemacroscopicbiologicalworld.Iknowother
peopledootherthingsbutthisiswherethephysicsIlike.[Int2]
Maria'sreal-worldconnectionsareshapedbyherdisciplinaryidentityasamicrobiologist.
Whenphysicscanconnecttotheworldsheidenti˝eswith,weseeMariaarticulateconnections
linkingphysicscontentknowledgewithbiology.Whenaskedifshethinksofphysicsoutsideof
theclassroom,Mariaresponds
maria:
...notsomuch[Int1]
Similarly,Mariastatesshedoesn'ttalkaboutphysicswithfriendsorfamily.
interviewer:
Doyoutalktoyourfamilyorfriendsaboutphysics?
maria:
No[shakeshead]otherthanmyfriendsthatareintheclassIdon'tknowwho.[Int
1]
26
Maria'sconnectionstophysicsaredi˙erentinnaturetoBeverly's.Beverly'sconnectionsinvolve
herprojectingforwardtoherintendedfuturecareerasaphysicianandthepracticesofaphysician,
informedbyobservingandtalkingwithphysicians.Maria,ontheotherhand,makesconnections
acrossthedisciplines,informedbyherstrongidenti˝cationasamicrobiologist.Overall,wesee
theintersectionofphysicsandbiologyaligningwithMaria'sinterests.
4.1.6"Miles"
Milesisa˝rst-generationcollegestudentmajoringinbiochemistrywithaminorinbioethicswho
hasnevertakenaphysicscourse.Heenjoysbiologyandconductsresearchinabiochemistrylab.
Milesisfearfulofphysicsandrecallshorrorstories.
miles:
I'mmostnervousaboutphysicstobecompletelyhonest,I'venevertakenphysics
before,never...youhearhorrorstoriesaboutphysics[Int1]
FromhisexperienceasatutorforthebiologyandchemistryportionsoftheMCAT,hehasseen
negativeexperiencesothershavehadwithphysics
miles:
Thatwaskindoflikethe˝rsttimeIsawphysicslikerightupclose...tutorswere
pullingtheirhairout,thesekidsjustlookedterribleafterthephysicsparts...[Int1]
ThiswasMiles's˝rsttimelearningphysicsandhewasnotcertainhowphysics˝tintothelarger
worldbutherepeatedlystatesthat
"ithastobephysics"
underlyingmanyofthephenomenaofthe
world.Milesusesthecontextofwatermoleculesmovingawayfromeachothertoexplainhowhe
seesbiology,chemistry,andphysicsasbeingrelated
miles:
There'sobviouslydrivingforcesbehinditlikeIsaidIneverreallytookphysicssoI
didn'tknow...ithastobephysics,ithastobe.Ithinkphysicsisadrivingforcebehind
everything,ithastobe.[Int1]
Whenaskedifheseesphysicsconceptsinothercourses,Milespointstotopicsinhischemistry
course.
27
miles:
YeahI'veseenglimpses,andIjust,ithastobephysics,likeithastobephysics.In
mymindithastobephysicsbutIjustdon'tknowlikehowexactlyyet.[Int1]
Mileslookstomakeconnectionsbetweenphysicsandhisothercoursework.Whenaskedifhe
stillhasopenquestionsaboutdi˙usion,heisinterestedinknowingwhydi˙usionoccurs.
miles:
ImeanIguesslikewhyit[di˙usion]happens.ImeanIknowwhy,Icansaybecause
ofentropybecauseyoudiscretely,it'sfavorabletoincreasedisorder.ButIguessI
don'tknowwhyexactlythat'sathing,andIfeellikethat'swhyphysicscomesinto
playbecausethat'sthedrivingforcebehindallthismovement,Ithink?[Int1]
Earlyinthecourse,Mileswasuncertainwherephysics˝tintothelargerpicturebutwascertain
physicshadaroletoplay.Aftertheunitofdi˙usion,inInterview2,heis˝ndingphysicsas
connectingtobiologicalprocesses.
interviewer:
Doyouthinktheideaofdi˙usionconnectstobiologicalmolecules?
miles:
Ohyeah,forsureyeahyeah...Ithinkthat'srelevantinanytypeoflikephysiologyor
biochemistry...things˛oataroundinsolutionforareason,thingsarekeptatdi˙erent
concentrationsforareason...[Int2]
Miles'sconnectionstotherealworldaremoregeneralthanMaria'sspeci˝cdisciplinarycon-
nectionstobiologyanddi˙erentfromBeverly'sconnectionstocarcrashesandmedicalcare.He
believesthatphysicsisimportantandexpressesasensethatphysicsisthedisciplineunderlying
mostphenomena.SimilartowhatweseewithBeverlyandMaria,Milesdoesnotthinkofphysics
outsidetheclassroomanddoesnottalkwithfriendsorfamilyaboutphysics.Thisisnotsurprising
asthisishis˝rstphysicscourse;heisstillforminghisconceptionofwhatphysics
is
.
interviewer:
Doyouthinkofphysicsoutsideoftheclassroom?
miles:
No,literallynever...
interviewer:
Doyou[talkto]familyorfriendsaboutphysics?
28
miles:
Notonce.
interviewer:
Orevenabouttheconceptsyoulearnedinclassrecently?
miles:
No,[
laughs
]no.[Int1]
4.1.7DiscussionandConclusion
InthispaperweexploredhowPERsurveyshavealignedwithanoperationalizedconstructof
relevanceinphysicseducation,especiallyinthewaystheyprobetherelationbetweenphysicsand
students'lives.Beverly,Maria,andMilesdonotcommonlythinkofphysicsoutsidetheclassroom
ortalkaboutphysicsintheireverydaylife.Ourlargerdatasetsuggeststhatthinkingofortalking
aboutphysicsineverydaylifeisrareforlife-sciencestudents.Wedon't˝ndthisresultsurprising,
theexpectationthatnon-physicsmajorstudentsshouldperceiveconnectionstophysicsintheir
everydaylifeisoptimistic.However,ourstudentshavearichsetofdisciplinaryexperiences.The
separationoftheirconnectionstotherealworldintoonlytwocategories[19]isinsu˚cientto
capturethediversewaysstudentsconnectphysicstotheirworld.
Beverly,Maria,andMilesconnecttotherealworldbutindi˙erent,nuancedways.Beverly
understandstherolephysics
can
playbutgenerally˝ndsbringinginofphysicstobe(1)inauthentic
basedonhermedicalexperienceand(2)unnecessarytounderstandeventslikecarcollisionsor
throwingofaball.Mariamakesspeci˝ccross-disciplinaryconnectionsbetweenphysicsand
biology.She˝ndstheseconnectionsengaginganddiscoversanewinterestshewasnotaware
of.Milesattributestheunderlyingmechanismformostthingstophysics.Asheexperiences
morephysics,hebelieveshewillbeabletomorestronglyarticulatewhyphysicsisrelevanttohis
disciplinaryinterestsinbiologyandchemistry.
Inthispaper,ourgoalistocomplicatetheinterpretationofunfavorableshiftsinattitudinaland
epistemologicalmeasures.Wearguethatstudentsdoseetherelevanceofphysicsintheirlives
butmakesophisticatedjudgmentsontherolethatphysicsplays.Ourcasesprovideevidencethat
thinkingofphysicsineverydaylifemanifestsdi˙erentlyinstudentexperiencesandthatstudents
29
oftenmaketheseconnectionswithoutvaluingthem,whichaddsacomplexitytointerpretingresults
fromthesemeasures.
Therelevanceofphysicstoastudent'slifecantakeonmanyforms,andthecollectionofPER
measuresprobessomeofthoseways.Theclusternamesareoftendescriptivelabelsputonaset
ofitemsthathavebeenfoundtoaligntogetherbyvalidatingthesurvey.Suggestingthatasetof
studentsrespondunfavorablyinconnectingphysicstotherealworldisasigni˝cantandmeaningful
statement.Ourcasestudiesdemonstratethatthespacearoundstudents'connectionstothereal
worldiscomplexandthatmeasuresoftheseconnectionsshouldbenuancedorexpandediftheyare
tore˛ectstudents'richdisciplinaryexperiences.Thisbecomesespeciallyimportantwhenteaching
aphysicsforthelife-sciencescourseinwhichweactivelyworktomakephysicsrelevanttolife
outsidethephysicsclassroom.
4.2Anuncommoncaseofrelevancethrougheverydayexperiences
4.2.1Introduction
Physicseducationresearch(PER)hasprobedfortherelevanceofphysicsinstudents'everyday
lives.Attitudinalandepistemologicalsurveyshaveaskedstudentsiftheythinkoforusephysicsin
theirdailylives.Wehavepreviouslydocumentedhowitisuncommonthatourlifesciencestudents
describeusingorevenseeingphysicsintheirdailylife[12].Thisresultwasunsurprisingandaligns
withpreviousscholarshipofstudentsmajoringindisciplinesoutsideofphysics;wehavepreviously
arguedthatitisoptimisticforscholarstoexpectstudentswithdisciplinaryhomesoutsideofphysics
toseetheirexperiencesthroughalensofphysics.ThePERcommunitycommonlyusesattitudinal
andepistemologicalsurveys[4,5,19,20]foravarietyofreasonsincludingtheevaluationofcourses
aswellasthemeasurementofstudents'beliefsaroundtherelevanceofphysics.Forexample,the
ColoradoLearningAttitudesaboutScienceSurvey(CLASS)containstwoclustersofitemsthat
proberelevance:
Real-WorldConnection
and
PersonalInterest
[19].Themajorityoftheitemsin
thesetwoclustersfocusonhowstudentsthinkoforuseideasinphysicsoutsideofthephysics
classroomwithmanyaskingaboutstudents'everydaylives.
30
Inourintroductoryphysicsforlifesciences(IPLS)coursewehavefoundthatstudentsrarely
reportbringingphysicsideasintotheireverydayexperiences.Ourcasestudentshavecommonly
laughedwhenweaskiftheythinkof,use,ortalkaboutphysicsintheirdailylife.Thisresultisnot
surprisingwhenplacedinthecontextofpreviousscholarshiponstudents'beliefsaroundphysics.
Elliott[14]reportssimilarstoriesofstudentslaughingatthethoughtofbringingphysicsideas
outsideoftheclassroom.Manyphysicseducationresearchstudiesonsurveymeasuresreporta
deteriorationinstudents'beliefsaroundphysicsasaresultofinstruction[4,19].Nair,Irving,and
Sawtelle[12]havepreviouslyarguedthatitmaybeoptimisticforphysicsinstructorstoexpector
hopeforlifesciencestudentstoseetheireverydayexperiencesthroughthelensofphysics.
Thedatapresentedhereispartofalargerdesign-basedresearche˙orttooperationalizethe
constructofrelevanceforstudyinPER[12]aswellastoarticulatedesignconjecturesofaclassroom
thatattendstostudents'identity,a˙ect,andbeliefs[36].Inthispaperwechallengeourownprevious
claimthatitmaybeoptimisticforinstructorstoexpectlifesciencestudentstoreporttherelevance
ofphysicstotheireverydaylives[12]andpresentacontrastingcaseofalifesciencestudent(Sam,
apseudonym)whoreportsphysicsimpactinghereverydayexperiences.Thegoalsofthispaper
areto(1)articulatetheimportantaspectsofSamconnectingphysicstohereverydaylifeand(2)
discusstheimplicationsofSam'sstoryindesigningmorerelevantphysicsclassroomexperiences
forlifesciencestudents.
4.2.2TheoreticalFramework
Relevanceisatermthatiscommonlyusedincallsforreformingphysicsinstruction[2,18,37]and
inreportsontheimpactofinstructiononstudentbeliefsaboutphysics[7,9,38].Weoperationalize
relevanceasaconstructbasedonhowsurveysinPERhavedescribedandmeasuredareasof
relevance[4,5,19,20]andtheoreticaldescriptionsofrelevanceasarelationbetweenthestudent
andphysics[16,17].Wede˝nerelevanceas
theopeningofaconduitbetweentwosettingsor
experiences,throughwhichmeaningfulknowledgeorskillscanbeexchanged
.
Inaclassroom,relevancecanbeobservedinmomentswherestudentsbringinexperiences
31
fromoutsidetheclassroominmeaningfulways.Reciprocally,itcanalsobeseenasstudents
bringingclassroomexperiencesoutoftheclassroomintotherealworld,futurecareers,oreveryday
life.Beliefsofrelevancecanbeelicitedthroughsurveysorinterviewsandconstituteonlypart
ofthecompletepicture.Anotherimportantpartofrelevanceissituatedinandfacilitatedbythe
interactionsbetweenstudentsandtheirenvironments.Forthepurposesofthispaper,welimitour
attentiontothewaysinwhichstudentsseetherelevanceofphysicsthrougheverydayexperiences.
4.2.3Methods
Thisstudyissituatedinthe˝rstsemesterofanIPLScoursethatistaughtinthestudioformat.The
courseadaptsavailableIPLScurriculaanddesignsnewmaterialswiththeaimofmakingphysics
relevanttolifesciencestudents.Thiscoursealsoadaptsdiscursivestructuresandparticipation
frameworksfromModelingInstructionforintroductoryuniversityphysics[39,40].Theclassroom
structures,norms,andparticipatoryrolesweredesignedtopositionstudentsasexperts,leveraging
theirextensivedisciplinaryexperiencesinbiologyandchemistryastheylearnphysics[36].The
course'sdesignencouragesstudentstoengageinthepracticeofphysicsthroughargumentationand
white-boardmeetings[40]inordertoarriveataclassroomconsensus.
AuthorNairwasembeddedintheclassroomnearlyeverydayofinstructiontomanagedata
collectionandcapture˝eldnotes.Healsosupportedthedesignandimplementationofthecourse
materialsbothasaresearcherandpreviousinstructorinthecourse.Thispaperfocusesonanalysisof
theexperiencesofonestudentbutisinformedbythe22othercasestudentsinterviewedthroughout
thisproject,withsomestudentsbeinginterviewedmultipletimesthroughouttheirtimeinthe
classroom.Toidentifystudentsforthislargerdataset,wesolicitedvolunteersforinterviews
andin-classvideoobservation.Volunteerswerecross-matchedwithresultsfromacoursesurvey
toidentifyvolunteerswhohadastrongdisciplinaryidentity,werefearfuloranxiousofphysics,
wereskepticalofthevalueofthecourse,orwereoptimisticthatthecoursecouldberelevant.
Includingparticipantsthatreportedastrongdisciplinaryidentityoutsideofphysicswasimportant
inexploringhowphysicsmayberelevanttostudentswhowillneverbecomephysicists.
32
Wepresentdatafromthreeinterviewswithonestudent,Sam.Eachinterviewwasvideo-
recordedandfollowedasemi-structuredprotocolthatincludeditemstoprobetherelevanceof
physicstostudents'lives.The˝rstinterviewtookplaceinthe˝rstmonthofFallsemester.The
secondinterviewwasconductedamonthbeforetheendoftheFallsemester,andthethirdinterview
tookplaceinthemiddleoftheSpringsemester,afterSamhadmovedontoasecondsemesterphysics
coursewithdi˙erentdesigngoals.
4.2.4Sam
Samisastudentdualmajoringinnutritionalsciencesandkinesiology.Hermotherisaphysician
andherfatherisaphysicaltherapist.AtthetimeofthisstudySamisconsideringarangeofcareer
pathsincludingneurology,orthopedicmedicine,andpsychiatry.Samisinterestedin˝tnessandis
anavidweightlifterworkingtowardsherpersonaltrainingcerti˝cation.Inherinitialcoursesurvey
Samreportsthatherpersonaltraininglessonsareabout"howthebodyfunctionsasaseriesof
machines,sophysicsispartofthehumanbodyandnotjustsimplemachines."Shehaspreviously
takenAPPhysicsandinthe˝rstinterviewdescribesherselfasconsistentlyreceiving"straightA's"
inhighschool.Incollegesheis˝ndingtheclassesmoredi˚cultandhergradeshavedropped.
IntheinitialsurveySamreportsascaleofmaximumanxiety(10/10)aboutthe
physicscourse,lowlevelofpreparation(3/10),andlowsenseofcapability(4/10).Wenotethis
heretopointoutthatSamisnotintrinsicallyinterestedinphysicsfromthestartbutinthefollowing
sections,wewilldescribemomentsinwhichSamdescribesphysicsbeingrelevanttohereveryday
experiences.Consistentwithourde˝nitionofrelevance,weframetheseexamplesasintersections
ofphysicsandthedi˙erentsettings,roles,andrelationshipsinSam'slife.
4.2.5ClassroomactivitiesintersectingwithSam'slivedexperiences
EarlyintheFallsemester,studentsworkthroughanactivityonwoundhealinginwhichtheyare
taskedwithanalyzingthemotionofdi˙erentcellsmovinginvideoscapturedfromamicroscope.
Studentsareaskedtocomparethespeedsofthebacteria,neutrophils,andtissuehealingtoconclude
33
whetherantibioticswouldberequired[41].Samfoundthisactivityinterestingandrelatedittoher
ownexperiencewithawound.
sam:
Thewoundhealing,thatwasveryinteresting.Itwasactuallyreallycooltoseethe
videoofthewoundclosing.Ihadthisseverecutonmyarm,soIgottowatchover
timehowthewoundhealedandhowit'sstillhealingrightnow...sowatchingthaton
videowasreallycooltome.Toseehowthebodycanreformitselfandproducescar
tissuewhenit'sbeencompletelysliced.[Int1]
Samconnectsthewoundhealingactivitytoherownexperienceswithacutandwatchingitheal
overtime.Neartheendofthe˝rstinterviewthe˝rstauthorasksSam"Haveyouhadanymoments
thatyou'reproudofinclass?"
sam:
Yeah.Thewoundhealing.Ikeepgoingbacktothat.Beingabletotrackthatcertain
point;Ifoundverysatisfying.Iwasveryproudofmyselftobeableto˝ndtherateat
whichthatwoundhealed.AndifIcoulddothatonarealpersonthatwouldbereally
cool.Tellthisperson,ohyouneedantibioticsbecausethiswoundisnothealingfast
enoughbecausethistravelsfaster.[Int1]
ThisactivitybecomesacentralexperienceforSamthatsherecountsineveryinterview,even
wellafter˝nishingtheFallsemester.Inthesecondinterview,Samstatesthatthisactivitywasher
favoriteandthatitwas"
supereye-openinginhowmanydi˙erentwaysyoucantestwhetherornot
apatientneedssomething
.[Int2]"Inthethirdinterview,Samdescribes"
itwasjustreallycoolto
seewhatactuallyhappenedinmyarm
."[Int2]Samalsoreportsthatshetalkedtopeopleallthe
timeaboutthewoundhealingactivitytellingthem"
it'sjustlikewhathappensineverydaywounds
!
[Int3]"Shethenjokinglytellsusthatpeopletellhershe'scrazyfortalkingabouttheactivity.
Inthissection,wehaveseenthewoundhealingactivityimpactSam'ssenseoftherelevanceof
physics;theactivityalignedwithherinterests,gaveheranewperspectiveonherownexperience
withwounds,andledtoconversationsaboutphysicsinherdailylife.Inadditiontothisclassroom
34
activity,Samreportsseeingconnectionstophysicsinhereverydayexperiencesinthegymand
discussionswithherfriends.Inthenextsection,wewilldescribeSammakingrelevantconnections
withsupportfromherpeernetwork.
4.2.6Socialactivities&peerssupportSamtoseetheworldthroughthelensofphysics
Our˝rstsignthatSam'speershadanimpactonhermakingconnectionstophysicsinherdailylife
isinInterview1.Samstates"Ilikehow...thisclassrelateseverythingtowhatthisworldis."We
thenaskhertosaymorewordsaroundthis.
sam:
Youcanapplyphysicstoprettymucheverything.
interviewer:
Whendidyoustartthinkingthatphysicscanbeappliedtoeverything?
sam:
Ihavesomefriendswhoareengineersandthey'reprettymuchintophysicsIguess.
WhenIhearthemtalkabout,howthisworksinthisway,thatmakesmethink.Ihave
afriendwho'sanengineerrightnoworwho'sschoolinginengineeringrightnow.He
justgotintoweightlifting,I'mhelpinghimout.He'slike'I˝nditreallyinteresting
howthebodyisabunchofleversandpulleys.'I'veneverthoughtofitthatway,andin
mycourseforpersonaltraining,there'sawholechapterabouthowthebodyisabunch
ofmachines.[Int1]
Sam'sengineeringfriendhasanimpactonhowSamthinksabouttherelevanceofphysicsto
themechanicsofthehumanbody.Laterintheinterview,weask,"Doyouever˝ndyourselfsitting
andthinkingaboutitlikeoutsideoftheclassroomsetting?"
sam:
Uh-huh(inagreement).Igotothegymwithmyengineeringfriendalotanddoinga
seteitherofuswatchingeachotherorjustwatchingmyself,Iseehowthatworks.You
couldalsousephysicstodeterminehowtoworkamusclebetter.Becauseifyouwere
toorabicepscurlforinsifyouweretogoallthewaydownyouwouldget
mostofthemuscleandbringitallthewayup.Whereasgoingdownto90degreesis
notgoingtoworktheentiremuscle...
35
interviewer:
Isee.Isyourfriendalsointothinkingabouttheleversandstu˙?Orisit
somethingthatyoubringin?
sam:
Yeahheis.Yeahheistheonewhobroughttheideaintomyhead.He'sreallyinto
physics.Helovesphysicsandsohe'll˝ndanywaytorelateback.[Int1]
Thisengineeringfriendplaysanimportantroleinpromotingconversationsaroundphysicsin
socialsettings.WeinterviewedSamagainneartheendoftheFallsemesterandasked,"When
you'reoutintherealworld,doyouever˝ndyourselfthinkingaboutthephysicsyoulearnedin
physicsclass?"
sam:
Yes,actuallytoday,Iwasthinking;Iwasonmywaybikingtomy8amclass...I
wasonmyhighestgear,andIwaslike,what'stheforceI'mexertingonthispeddle?
...becauseit'snottheforceonthepeddle,it'sliketheforceinmymuscles.Andhow
domymusclesgetenergytoproducethatamountofforce?Well,whenit'sinthefood
thatIeat,andthenwheredoesthatenergycomefrom?It'sjustcycles.Sosometimes
itpopsintomyhead,yeah.
interviewer:
Awesome.Werethereanyotherexamplesthatcometomind?
sam:
Withmyengineerfriend,hebringsitupalot....weweretalkingabouthowthe
wheels-to-wheelslaw,whereyou'resupposedtobebikingwiththetra˚c....wehad
thisdebate,andhe'slike,"Well,you'remoresafeifbothmomentumsaregoingthe
samedirection,asopposedtoahead-oncollision."AndthenIbroughtupthepoint
whereyouhavetimetoreactwhenyou'regoingtheoppositeway,whereas,iftheyjust
comeupandclip,youdon'thavetimetoreactbecauseyoudon'tevenseethem.Sohe
broughtupabunchofphysics...wejusthadthelargedebateandbroughtphysicsinto
it.[Int2]
Thisdebateoverthecorrectrationaleforthedirectionofbicyclesontheroadismemorable
forSamasshebringsitbackupinthethirdinterview.Shereiteratesbothherandherfriend's
argumentsandmentionsthattheymaystilljokinglybringupthisdebate.Wethenask,"doyou
36
haveothermomentswhereyouarekindofintheworld,observingthingsandphysicscomesto
mind?"
sam:
Yeah!Ifyouseeaniciclefall,dependingonhowhighitis,itcouldtotallykillsomeone.
[
laughs
]Iwasliketalkingaboutthatwithafriendlike2daysago.
interviewer:
Really?Takemeintothatconversation.
sam:
Wewerewalking,becauseIliveinanapartmentnow,andwewerewalkingbythe
complexes.Therearethesegianticicleshangingfromtheguttersandshewaslike
"Wow!Thosecouldkillyou."IwaslikewellIguessitdependsonhowfartheyfall
becauseifthey'rerightaboveyouthenthere'snotmuchgravitytocarryitdown.And
she'slikewellIguesssobuttheheighttheyaretheyprobablycouldkillyoubecause
they'rehuge!Andthatjustbringsinthemassandaccelerationbecauseyouhavethe
accelerationduetogravityandyouhavethemassoftheicicle.Yeah,sothat'swhere
thatconversationwent.
interviewer:
Whydoyouthinkyou'renoticingthesethings?Whatwouldyoucreditthat
to?
sam:
Um...Iactuallywouldcreditittomyfriend,he'sanengineer...becausehesees
physicsineverydaylifemorethanIdo.Andsowhenhe'llbringitup,it'llmakethe
wheelsinmyheadturn.AndnowthatIunderstandtheseconceptsgivenmyprofessors,
Icanapplythattodi˙erentthingsthatIsee.SoIguessIcreditittoeverybody.Now
thatIhavetheknowledgeandsomeoneishelpingmeapplyittomakemymindstart
goingo˙somewhereelsewhereitnormallywouldn't.[Int3]
Samcreditsherseeingphysicsinherdailylifetoboththeknowledgeshe'sgainedfromlearning
physicsandherengineeringfriendinhelpingherapplythoseconceptstotheworld.Shethenmakes
connectionstophysicsunpromptedtoreasonthroughwhatvariablesareimportantinconsidering
thelethalityoffallingicicles.
37
4.2.7Discussion&Conclusion
Connectingphysicstoeverydaylifeisamajorcomponentofattitudinalandepistemological
measuresinPERthatservetoevaluatecoursedesignsandtheirimpactsonstudentbeliefsaround
physics.PreviousstudiesinPERandourown˝ndingshavereportedthatitislikelystudents
willleaveaphysicscoursebelievingphysicsandtherealworldaremoredisconnectedthanwhen
theyenteredthecourse.Thiscommonlyfoundresulthasbeenreportedasanegativeshiftor
deteriorationofstudents'beliefsaroundphysics.
WepresentedacontrastingcaseofSam,astudentwhoreportsthinkingaboutphysicsinher
dailylifeandseeingrelevantphysicsassheexperiencestheworldaroundher.Wedescribehow
herviewsweresupportedandfacilitatedbyconversationswithanengineeringmajorandherhobby
ofweightlifting.Wealsodescribedhowhercourseactivitiespromptedhertore˛ectonherown
everydayexperiences.Incurricularreformstomakephysicsrelevanttothelifesciences,therehave
beene˙ortstomakephysicsactivitiesrelevanttostudentinterestsbyframingthemincontexts
thatstudentsmay˝ndinteresting[9,35]orrelatedtotheirfuturecareers[38].Sam'sexperiences
showusthatthisisonlypartofthesolution.Samwascertainlyinterestedinthewoundhealing
activitybutanimportantparttoher˝ndingthatactivityrelevantwasherownlivedexperiencesof
watchingherownwoundhealandherdesiretounderstandhowitworked.
Sam'sexperiencessuggestthatfuturereformsinmakingphysicsinstructionmorerelevant
shouldfocusondesigningactivitiesandspacestoallowforstudentstobringtheirrichlivedexpe-
riencesintotheclassroom.RelevanceforSamislargelydevelopedoutsideoftheclassroom,and
classroomreforme˙ortssettingouttoa˙ectrelevancewillbestrengthenediftheycanincorporate
students'outsideoftheclassexperiences.Herstoriesalsoimplythatstudentsarecapableof
makingconnectionstophysicsifthereissu˚cientsupportandintersectionbetweentheirinterests,
coursework,andsupportsystems.ItistheinteractionofSam'sclassroomactivities,herinterests,
andhersocialsupportsystemsthatfacilitatetheco-constructionofthenotionthatphysicsisrelevant
toSam'severydaylife.
38
4.2.8ImplicationsforFutureWork
Wehavepreviouslyarguedthattheuseofthephrase"realworld"isabstractandexcludesmanyof
thedisciplinaryexperienceslifesciencestudentsmayhave.Wedescribedhowthesedisciplinary
experienceswereimportantinmakingrelevantrealworldconnectionstophysics[12].Students'
beliefsaroundtheroleofphysicsinthe"realworld"andtheireverydaylifehaveconstitutedthebulk
ofthecommonlyuseditemsdesignedtoprobestudents'perceptionsoftherelevanceofphysics[4,
5,19,20].Researchintobothareasofrelevancethroughnarrativesofstudentexperienceshave
highlightedtheimportanceofclassroomstructures,norms,andcultureinhelpingfacilitateand
amplifystudents'senseofrelevance.Infuturework,wesetouttoarticulatedesignprinciplesthat
willguidethecreationofmorerelevantphysicsclassroomsandpushforholisticclassroomreform
e˙ortsbeyondapplyingaveneerofrelevanceinproblemstatements.
39
CHAPTER5
OPERATIONALIZINGRELEVANCEINPHYSICSEDUCATION:USINGASYSTEMS
VIEWTOEXPANDOURCONCEPTIONOFMAKINGPHYSICSRELEVANT
5.1Introduction
Nationalpolicyrecommendationsfortheintegrationofknowledgeacrossthedisciplinescon-
tinuetopositionphysicsconceptsandreasoningskillsasbeingimportantandusefultodegrees
inSTEMorcareersinthehealthsciences[1,3].Manyundergraduatestudentspursuingadegree
inSTEMwillberequiredtocompleteanintroductoryphysicscourse[42]butresearchinPhysics
EducationResearch(PER)suggeststhatstudentsdonotsharethebeliefthatphysicsisrelevantto
them[4,6,19,20,
Inatypicallargephysicsdepartment,non-physicsmajorsconstituteoneofthelargestproportion
ofstudentsinanintroductoryphysicsclassroom(algebra-basedandcalculus-basedcombined)[11].
Itisimportanttothesuccessofthesestudents,whodonotplanonpursuingphysicsasacareer,
thattheybuildconnectionsfromphysicstotheirlives[4,49].
Ourpurposeinthispaperistwo-fold˝rsttoreviewthewaysinwhichscholarsinPERhave
attemptedtoprobestudents'senseofrelevanceandshowhowthepictureofrelevancegenerated
bysuchmeasurementsisincomplete.Oursecondgoalistooperationalizeaconstructofrelevance
thatexploresthesystemsthatcomprisestudents'livesanduseittoanalyzestudentexperiences
inanintroductoryphysicsforthelifesciencescourse.Wepresenttheexperiencesfromtwo
casestudiesthathighlightthea˙ordancesofthisapproachincapturingaricher,moreexpansive
pictureofstudents'senseoftherelevanceofphysics.Duringthiswork,wecriticallyexaminethe
implicationsofhavinganincompletepictureofstudents'abilitiestoconnectphysicstotheirlives
inperpetuatingde˝cit-interpretationsoftheabilitiesoflifesciencemajors.
40
5.1.1Whatweknowaboutrelevance
Eveninthemidstofcallsforinstructorstomaketheircurriculamorerelevanttostudents,there
ismuchdisagreementacrossthedisciplinesonthede˝nitionofrelevance[16,17,50].Newton
(1988)notedthat"thenotionofrelevanceinscienceeducationseemsfraughtwithinconsistency,
obscurity,andambiguity."Booksteindescribedthisissueveryconciselyvanceisoneof
themostcentralconceptsofinformationretrieval;however,attemptstoprovideitwithade˝nition
havebeenfrustratingandconfusing"[16].Scholarsofrelevanceagreethatthesenseofrelevance
weareexploringisarelationshipbetweentheparticipantandthesubjectinquestion[16,17].In
ordertostudythissenseofrelevanceinourphysicsclassroom,wefocusonstudents'experiences
thatcontributetodevelopmentofmeaningfulrelationshipsbetweenclassroomelementsandtheir
lives.
Relevanceisachallengingconstructtoexploreduetothedi˙eringmeaningsintheliterature.
Relevancehasbeenusedasasynonymforstudentinterest,perceivedmeaningfulness,perceived
utility,relatingtoreal-life,oracombinationofalltheabove.Stuckeyetal.(2013)tracethe
di˙eringnotionsofrelevanceinscienceeducationthroughouthistoryand˝ndthatthereisan
evolvingfocusofpolicyrecommendationsonhowscience
should
impactareasofstudents'lives.
Theauthorsidentifythreepossiblepurposesformakingscienceeducationrelevant[18]:(1)
preparingstudentsforpotentialcareersinscienceandengineering;(2)helpinglearnersunderstand
scienti˝cphenomenaandcopingwithchallengesinlife;and(3)supportingstudentsbecoming
e˙ectivefuturecitizensinsociety.
Althoughthespeci˝cmeaningofrelevancemaybedi˚culttopinpointintheliterature,we
havedecadesofpolicyandcurriculumrecommendationsfromscienceeducatorsoutlininghow
relevantinstructionshouldorcouldimpactstudents'lives.Ourgoalhereistoshedlighton
howstudentexperiencescaninformthewaysinwhichaphysicsclassroomcanberelevant.In
ordertooperationalizerelevanceasaconstruct,wedrawupontheworkalreadydoneinthePER
communityaroundprobinganddescribingrelevance.Westartbyfocusingonareasofstudents'
livesthatsurveysinPERhaveprobed,highlightitslimitations,andarticulateamoreexpansive
41
viewofrelevancethatwillthenserveasaresearchlenswecanapplytostudents'experiences.
5.1.2Howphysicseducationresearchhasprobedrelevance
Students'beliefsaroundtherelevanceofphysicshasbeenafocusofmanyattitudinalandepiste-
mologicalsurveysusedinphysicseducationresearch[4,5,19,20].Inthissection,wefocuson
theColoradoLearningAttitudesaboutScienceSurvey(CLASS),theMarylandPhysicsExpecta-
tionsSurvey(MPEX),theViewsAboutScienceSurvey(VASS),andtheEpistemologicalBeliefs
AssessmentforPhysicsScience(EBAPS)toshowhowtheyhaveprobedrelevance.Wearguethat
theimageofrelevancegeneratedfromtheitemsonthesesurveysisincomplete.
Startingwiththesesurveymeasuresandexpandingtoincludescholarshiparoundrelevant
physicsinstruction,wearriveatareasofstudents'livesbeingexploredandthedesirableoutcomes
afterinstruction:
‹
FutureCareer:Studentsreportingthatthephysicstheyhavelearnedwillbeofuseintheir
plannedfuturecareer[4,38,51]
‹
RealWorld
1
:Studentsreportingthatphysicsisconnectedtotheworldinwhichtheylive.
[4,5,19,20]
‹
EverydayLife:Studentsreportingthinkingof,talkingabout,orusingphysicsintheirdaily
life[4,5,19,20]
‹
PersonalInterest:Students'reportingthattheyenjoydoingphysicsorthatitprovidesasense
ofsatisfaction[4,5,19,20]
Beyondthesesurveymeasures,therehavebeenrecente˙ortstoexpandwhatareasofstudents'
livescontributetotheirconnectionwithphysics,speci˝callylookingatdisciplinaryinterests.
Crouch,Geller,andcolleagueshaveinvestigatedstudentattitudes,interests,andperformancein
1
Wehavearguedthatthiscategorycanbeproblematicininterpretingstudents'negativere-
sponses[12]
42
physicsactivitiesframedexpansivelywithbiologicalcontexts[9,10].Inthenextsectionswe
exploreeachofthesesurveysinmoredetail.
5.1.2.1MPEX-RealityLink
TheRealityLinkclusteroftheMPEXisdescribedasprobingwhetherstudentsbelievethatideas
learnedinphysicsarerelevantandusefulinawidevarietyofrealcontexts,ratherthanhavinglittle
ornorelationtooutsideexperiences[4].TheauthorsoftheMPEXdirectlystatethatinterpretations
ofthisclusterareabouttherelevanceandutilityofphysics.
InRedishandcolleagues'largestudyusingtheMPEX,spanningsixinstitutions(N=1,528
students),theyreportthatstudentsenteredwithstrongfavorableresponsesintheRealityLink
cluster.Bytheend,however,"everygroupshowedadeteriorationonthismeasureasaresult
ofinstruction,andsomeoftheshiftsweresubstantial[4]."Thisisnotuncommon,adeclinein
favorableresponsesoranincreaseinunfavorableresponsesontheRealityLinkclusterhasbeen
reportedbystudiesacrossavarietyofcurricula,pedagogies,andstudentcompositions[43,
TheRealityLinkclusterwasintendedtoprobewhetherstudentsbelievethatideasinphysicsare
relevantandusefultoawidevarietyofrealcontextsratherthanhavinglittleornorelationto
outsideexperiences.Theimplicationbeingthatstudentswithanegativeshiftinthisclusterdonot
believeideaslearnedintheirphysicscoursearerelevanttorealcontextsortheirexperiences.
5.1.2.2CLASS-PersonalInterest&RealWorldConnection
TheCLASShastwoclustersthatappeartoprobetherelevanceofphysics,RealWorldConnection
andPersonalInterest.Theseclustersaredescribedasprobingwhetherstudents˝ndthephysics
ideastheylearntobeinterestingorconnectedtotherealworld.[19]
TheauthorsoftheCLASShavereportedthatthetypicalresultforboththePersonalInterest
andRealWorldConnectionclustersisanegativeshiftinfavorableresponses[19].Negativeresults
onthesetwoclusterswerereproducedinseveralotherstudiesaswell
43
Therehavebeensomepositiveresultsreportedonthiscluster;Zhangandcolleaguesconducted
astudyof441studentsandcomparedCLASSresultsacrosstraditionallecturemethodsandPeer
Instruction.TheyreporttraditionalmethodsresultinginnegativeshiftsinbothclustersandPeer
Instructionsectionsproducinggenerallypositiveinbothclusters[57].Breweandcolleagues
initiallyreportedpositiveshiftsinbothclustersinasmallstudyoftwosemesters(N=22andN=23)
ofphysicstaughtusingModelingInstructionandreproducedpositiveshiftswithalargersample
of221students[6,7].Anotherstudyof44studentsutilizingModelingInstructionbydelaGarza
andcolleaguesreportedanullshiftinthePersonalInterestclusterbutapositiveoneintheReal
WorldConnectioncluster[58].FromthesestudiesweseethatthetypicalresultfortheCLASS
acrossmanyclassroomcontextsisnegative,withsomeexamplesofpositiveresults.
5.1.2.3VASS-PersonalRelevance
TheVASShashadapersonalrelevancecluster
2
consistingof˝veitemsthatwereintendedto
probeifphysicswasrelevanttoeveryone'sliferatherthantheexclusiveconcernofscientistsand
ifstudyingphysicswasanenjoyableexperience[20].
ThedesignersoftheVASSstatethat"traditionalphysicsinstructionhasnosigni˝cante˙ecton
studentviewsaboutscience"andthat"onmostVASSitems,studentstendtoshiftalittlemoretoward
folk[consideredoppositeofexpert]viewsthanexpertviews,afterinstruction."Unfortunatelywe
couldnot˝ndstudiesthatreportedshiftsfrompre-topost-instructionwithinthePersonalRelevance
cluster.
5.1.2.4EBAPS-Real-lifeApplicability
TheEBAPScontainsaclustercalledReal-lifeApplicability,whichprobeswhetherstudentsbelieve
thatthewaysofthinkinginaphysicsclassisrestrictedtotheclassroomorifitisapplicableinreal
life.Inotherwords,dostudents˝ndthewaysofthinkinginaphysicsclasstobe
relevant
outside
theclassroom?
2
PersonalRelevanceappearsinVASSversionP204andisabsentinP05.07
44
InstudiesofhighschoolphysicsstudentsinCalifornia(N=27)andVirginia(N=55)Elby
(2001)reportsanullshiftinthisclusterintheCaliforniastudy,andapositiveshiftintheVirginia
study[49].Here˛ectsthatthe"failureinCaliforniacausedmetousemorereal-lifeexamples
andtomakeothermodi˝cationswhenItaughtinVirginia."Inalargerstudy(N=255)Marxand
colleaguescreatedamodi˝edclusterofitemsfromboththeEBAPSandtheMPEXprobingthe
relationshipbetweenclassroomscienceandtherealworld.Inboththetraditionalcourseaswell
asthe"learning-centered"courseusingresearch-backedpractices,they˝ndanegativeshiftinthis
cluster.Theauthorsre˛ectonthis˝nding,"ourLearning-centeredcourseimplicitlyaddresses
issuesrelatedtoseveraloftheclustersby...havingstudentsexperiencesimple,explainable,real-
worldphenomenaintheclassroom(Reality).Nevertheless,itfailstoimprovestudents'attitudes
[48]."
Clustersinthesefoursurveysinphysicseducationclaimtoprobestudentbeliefsoftherelevance
ofphysics.Itistheresultsfromthesesurveysalongwithotherscholarshiparoundhowstudents
interprettheroleofphysics,thathaveformedphysicseducation'sunderstandingofthequestion:
Dostudentsbelievephysicsisrelevanttothem?Whenexploringtheresultstothisquestion,we
˝ndthatnegativeshiftsinbeliefsaroundtherelevanceofphysicsaretypicalbutthatpositiveshifts
arepossible.Itremainsunclearhowtousetheseresultstoinformchangestophysicscoursesto
directlyimpactstudents'beliefsaroundtherelevanceofphysics.Inthenextsection,wewillre˛ect
onsomeoftheinterpretationsscholarshavemadeaboutstudents'unfavorablebeliefsaroundthe
relevanceofphysics.
5.1.3De˝cit-basedinterpretationsofstudentbeliefsaroundrelevance
Oneofthechallengesofprobingstudentbeliefsaroundrelevanceisthattheendorsementsofbelief
statementsareoftenplacedonaspectrumbetweennovice-likeandexpert-like.Unsurprisingly,
expertsinphysicsbelievethatphysics
is
relevant.Thegapbetweenstudents'novice-likebeliefs
andexperts'beliefscansometimestoleadtotheproblematicinterpretationthatstudentswith
unfavorableresponseshavenotcommittedthemselvestomakingconnectionsorhavefailedtosee
45
therelevanceofphysics.Forexample,Kortemeyerreportedinhisstudyofpre-medicalstudents
that"theresultsoftheMPEXindicatethatoverthecourseofthesemester,theperceivedrelevance
ofphysicsdecreases.[43,page3]"Re˛ectingonthis˝nding,henotes"contrarytothestudent
responsesintheMPEXRealityLinkCluster,physicssimplyisrelevantforaphysician.[43,page
3]"
Thenotionthatstudentsaresomehowlackingtheabilityorunwillingtoseetherelevance
ofphysicsisre˛ectedinscholarshipthatsuggestinstructorsshouldpersuade,demand,orforce
studentstomakeconnections."Inordertorealizeinstructionallysigni˝cantgainsinepistemology,
itseemswemustcarefullycraftmaterialsdemandingstudentstoovertlyandcriticallyevaluate
howtheylearnscienceandthenatureofscienceitself.[48,page4]"Bennett,Roberts,andCreagh
(2016)reportedthesuccessinestablishingrelevanceinafoundationalphysicscoursethrougha
2-hourworkshopfocusedonself-re˛ectionandgroupworkdesignedtopositionstudents'learning
inrelationtotheirfuturelivesandcareers.Theyrecommendinstructors"ensurethatstudents
perceivethematerialtheyareaskedtolearnasauthenticandofrelevancetotheirfuturelivesand
careers.[38]"
Wearguethattheserecommendationsshouldbemodi˝edtomovethefocusawayfrom˝xing
thestudentandtowarddesigningclassroomstoinviteandsupportstudentsinbringing-intheir
experiences,therebyincorporatingthestudentsintowhatitmeanstolearnphysics.Ourviewisin
linewithandsupportedbyastudybyGrayandcolleagues(2008)thatfoundthatstudentsreporting
novice-likebeliefsontheCLASSare"quiteawareofwhatphysicistsbelieveaboutphysicsand
learningphysics;theyjustdonotbelievethattheseideasarevalid,relevant,orusefulforthemselves.
[59]"Theyrecommendthatinstructorsshouldconcentrateonstrategies"thatgowellbeyondtelling
studentsabouthowexpertsviewphysicsandfocusonmakingadoptionofexpertlikeviewstruly
usefulandrelevantforstudents.[59]"
Lifesciencestudentstakingaphysicscoursemayonlyberequiredtotakeoneortwosemesters
ofphysicsdependingontheirmajor.Ifphysicseducationcontinuestopositionstudentbeliefsona
spectrumofexpert-likeandnovice-like,oronadegreeof"sophistication",weriskunderestimating
46
therelevantconnectionslifesciencemajorsmake.Adamsandcolleagueshavefoundthat"students'
incoming[CLASSPersonalInterestcluster]scoresincreasewithlevelofphysicscourse.Thus,
studentswhomakelargercommitmentstostudyingphysicstendtobethosewhoidentifyphysics
asbeingmorerelevanttotheirownlives[19]"Wehopetocomplicatethispicturebyproviding
examplesoflifesciencemajorswithouta"largercommitment"tostudyingphysicsbeyondthe
introductorysequencewhoarticulaterelevantconnectionstophysics.
Wearguethatinsistingthatphysics,asitistaught,
is
relevantisboundtocreatetension
withstudentsduetomixedmessagingtheymayreceiveontherelevanceofphysics.Beverly
(pseudonym),whoismajoringinhumanbiologywiththeintentionofattendingmedicalschool,
statesthatphysiciansshehasshadowedhavetoldhertheydonot˝ndphysicsrelevanttowhatthey
do.
beverly:
ItalkedtolikevariousphysiciansI'veshadowedandaskedthemlikewhatdoyou
actuallyuse...they'relike..."Idon'treallyusethatmuchphysics"

Int1
]
Beverly'sbeliefthatphysicsisacourseshejusthastogetthroughseemsinagreementwiththe
beliefsofmedicalstudents,graduates,andphysicianswhostatethatphysicswasirrelevanttotheir
successTherehavealsobeenstudiesreportingthatphysicshasnostrongcorrelationwith
successinmedicine[63,64].Wewillshowhow,insteadofchallengingstudents'beliefsabout
therelevanceofphysicstotheirfuturecareers,wecanstarttoincorporatetheirrichdisciplinary
experiencestomakephysicsmorerelevant.
Failureinastudent'sabilitytoseephysicsconnectingtoone'sworldorlifeappearstobe
damningindictmentoftheabilitiesofstudentstoengageinthoughtfulre˛ectionabouttheir
coursework.Wedon'tbelievetheauthorsofeveryarticlereportingnegativeresultsonclusters
fromthesesurveysmeantosuggestthis.Webelievetheissueliesinthelimitedpictureofrelevance
andwhatitmeansto
measure
astudent'ssenseofrelevance.Wesuggestthatperhapsthemeasure
ofrelevanceprovidedbysuchattitudinalandbeliefsurveysisincomplete,especiallywithregardto
47
howdisciplinaryexperiencesoutsideofphysicsimpactthatsenseofrelevance.Wepresentanalysis
inthispaperthatpushesagainstde˝citinterpretationsandinsteadarguesthatifstudents'ideasare
broughtintotheclassroom,studentscananddomakerelevantconnections.
5.1.4Anincompletepictureofrelevance
Wearguethatresultsfromclustersprobingrelevancearenotsu˚cienttoformacompleteanswer
tothequestion:Dostudentsbelievephysicsisrelevanttothem?Themajorityoftheworkon
relevanceinPER[4,5,19,20,38]hasbeencenteredonthelocalcontextofthephysicsclassroom,
howphysicsmayimpactstudents'futurecareers,orhowstudentsrelatephysicstotheirworld
(thegeneralized"realworld"ortheireverydaylives).Theseareasofintersectionbetweenthe
physicsclassroomandastudent'slifefailtocapturesomecriticalwaysinwhichstudentsinform
theirattitudestowardphysics.Studentsoftenarriveattheintroductoryphysicsclassroomwith
attitudesandbeliefsinformedbyexperiencesoutsideofthephysicsclassroom,conversationswith
friendsandfamily,andthedisciplinaryperspectivestheymayhold.Weargueforexpandingour
notionofwhatcontributestoastudent'sperceptionoftherelevanceofphysicstoincludethese
additionalexperiences.Thestudentsinthisarticlearealllifesciencemajors;theyhavearich
setofdisciplinaryexperiencesoutsideofphysicsthatmayinformandimpacttheirrelationship
withphysics[36].Throughtheirexperiences,wewillshowthatexpandingourprobestoinclude
disciplinaryexperiencesoutsideofphysicscapturesaricherimageofhowphysicscanberelevant.
Tosupportthisexpansionofwhatcontributestorelevance,weadaptecologicalsystemstheory
[22]torepresentstudentsasexistinginoverlappingsystemsthatallcontributetotheirperception
oftherelevanceofphysics.Thisapproachenablesustobuildaconstructofrelevancethatgoes
beyondtreatingastudent'ssenseofrelevanceascontained
within
thestudent,itallowsustoask
questionsabouttheintersectionofthemanyexperiencesinastudent'slifethathavecontributedto
theirviewoftherelevanceofphysics.
48
5.2TheoreticalFramework
Inthissection,werevisitthemessinessofrelevanceasaconstructandattempttogiveitmore
structureandde˝nition.Inconstructingatheoryofrelevanceforphysicseducationresearch,we
remindourselvesofthepurposeofthisentireenterprise.Weareinterestedin˝ndingoutifwe,
asinstructorsandresearchers,canimpactstudents'beliefsaroundphysics.Withthisinmind,we
setouttoanswerthefollowingquestions.Forwhatpurposeswillstudentsretrievetheinformation
theyhavelearnedinphysicsoutsideoftheclassroomorviceversa?Willstudents˝ndmeaningor
valueinphysicsbeyonditspurposeintheclassroom?Dostudentsconstructproductiveconnections
betweenphysicsandotherscienti˝cdisciplines?
5.2.1Positioningrelevanceasatheoreticalconstructamongstattitudes&beliefs
"Doyou
believe
physicsisrelevanttoyou?"Howwecolloquiallyproberelevanceinconversations
invokesbeliefsystems,asdoesthelanguageusedinsurveymeasuresinPER[4,5,19,20].Beliefs,
then,serveasastartingtheoreticalfoundationforustobuilduponinoperationalizingrelevance.
Pajaresprovidesathoroughviewofbeliefs,tracingitsdevelopmentasaunitofanalysisandthe
challengesinarrivingataconsensusforthemeaningofabelief.Hearticulatesasetof˝ndings,
inferences,andgeneralizationsresearchershavecon˝dentlyreportedaboutbeliefs.Drawingfrom
Pajares's16fundamentalassumptionsaboutbeliefshsupportedwithabodyof
andfromthedecadesoffocusonimprovingphysicsinstructionwecanmoveforwardreasonably
con˝dentthat(1)Students'beliefsaboutphysicsexistandmayimpactmanyaspectsofstudents'
livesand(2)students'beliefsaboutphysicsarethefocusofmanye˙ortstoimprovephysics
instruction.
Inordertostartbuildingastructuretoorganizerelevance,weadaptRokeach'sorganizationof
beliefsandattitudes[21].Rokeachdescribesanattitudeasasetofbeliefsfocusedonoraligned
towardsanobjectorsituation[21].Wearguethatastudent'ssenseoftherelevanceofphysicsis
notinformedbyasinglebeliefbutthatastudentusesmanybeliefs,formedandshapedbymany
49
Figure5.1:Arepresentationofrelevanceconsistingofmultipleattitudesandbeliefs.Thisisnot
intendedtobeanexhaustivelistofallbeliefsandattitudesthathelpformasenseofrelevancebut
servestogiveanexampleofsuchanorganization.Multiplebeliefs(inferredbybeliefstatements)
areorganizedintoattitudes.Multipleattitudesconstituteasenseofrelevance.Beliefstatementsare
usedtoinferbeliefsinthisstructureastheyarethemostreadilyaccessibletoresearchersmeasuring
students'beliefs.Thisorganizationofrelevancealignswith(1)thestructureofprevioussurvey
measuresofrelevanceinPERand(2)Rokeach'stheoreticalorganizationofbeliefs.
experiences,toevaluatehowrelevantphysicsistothem.Similarly,wecontendthatastudentcan
havemultipleattitudesthatformasenseofrelevance.Astudentmayhaveanattitudearound
"physicsbeingrelevanttotheirfuturecareer"aswellasanattitudefocusedon"physicsbeing
irrelevanttotheireverydaylife"andtheseinconcert,alongwithnumerousotherattitudes,can
in˛uenceastudent'ssenseoftherelevanceofphysics.
Thisorganizationalstructure(Fig5.1)vanceconsistingofoneormoreattitudes,which
themselvesconsistofoneormorebeliefswellwithcommonlyusedsurveymeasuresin
PER[4,5,19,20].Inthesesurveys,studentsareaskedtoendorseindividualbeliefstatements
50
bychoosinglevelsofagreementona˝ve-pointLikertscaleortosituatetheirviewpointbetween
twoopposingbeliefstatementsona˝ve-pointscale.Theseindividualitemsrepresentingbelief
statementsarethengroupedusingquantitativemethodstoarriveatsetsofitemsorclustersthat
probesimilarideas.ThisapproachtothedesignofthesurveysalignswithRokeach'sorganizational
structure:individualquestionitemsaskstudentstoendorsebeliefstatements,andasetofthese
beliefstatementsaregroupedtogethertocharacterizeabroaderattitudetowardphysics.
5.2.2Adaptingecologicalsystemstheory
Astudent'slifehasmanylayers,theyparticipateinamultitudeofsettingsandweexpecttheir
senseoftherelevanceofphysicswillbeimpactedbythesenumerouscontextsandinteractions.
Ecologicalsystemstheory(1)preservestherichnessandcomplexityofstudents'lives,(2)serves
asamapforscholarsstudyingrelevancetolocaterelevantintersectionsofcontexts,and(3)provide
utilitytophysicsinstructorsastheyattempttomakeinstructionmorerelevanttotheirstudents.
Ecologicalsystemstheorywasoriginallydevelopedtocharacterizedi˙erentlayersofsystemsthat
a˙ecthumandevelopment.Bronfenbrenner(1979)describestheecologyofhumandevelopment
asthestudyofhowapersonandthedynamicsettingstheyexperiencemutuallyaccommodateand
adapttoeachotherunderthein˛uenceofrelationsbetweensettingsandlargercontextsthesettings
areembeddedwithin[22].
Therearethreeunderlyingfeaturesofthisframeworkthatwillbeimportantinourconstructof
relevance:(1)Thepersonisconsideredadynamicentitywithagencytoimpacttheirenvironment;
(2)Theinteractionbetweenapersonandtheirsettingsisreciprocalbynature,eachhavingthe
abilitytoimpacttheother;(3)Theenvironmentthatisin˛uencingthepersonisnotlimitedtoa
singlesettingbutexpandedtoincludeconnectionsbetweensettingsandexternalin˛uences.We
adaptthe˝rsttwofeaturestomeanthataphysicsclassroomdoesnotsimplyimpartknowledgeon
itsstudentsbutisshapedbythestudentsandtheexperiencestheybringin.Weadaptthethird
featuretostatethatastudent'ssenseofrelevanceofphysicsisnotsolelyin˛uencedbytheirphysics
classroom.
51
Inadaptingthesefeaturesofecologicalsystemstheory,webringalongasituativeviewof
theSpeci˝cally,wewillconsiderhowthestructuresandculturalvaluesof
aphysicsclassroomcaninformrelevancethroughinteractionswithothersettingsinastudent's
life.Thissituativeperspectiveonwhatcontributestoastudent'ssenseofrelevancewillhave
implicationsforourviewoftheabilityofcommonlyusedattitudinalandbeliefsurveystoprobe
thewholeofrelevance.Particularly,itemsprobingstudents'beliefsaroundconnectionsbetween
di˙erentdisciplinarycoursesaremissing.Wewillshowhowtheseconnectionscanbeanimportant
contributiontoastudent'ssenseoftherelevanceofphysics.
Anadditionala˙ordanceofthissituativeperspectiveonrelevanceisthatitgivesusthepowerto
describetheenactmentofphysicsclassroomwithmorerichness.Thisviewpositionstheclassroom
asanactoronthestageratherthanapassiveenvironmentthestudentexperiences.Thesituative
perspectivenecessitatesthatweacknowledgethatthedesignandimplementationofaclassroom
isimbuedwithculturalvaluesthroughitsstructuresandnotsimplyacollectionofcurriculaand
pedagogy.Theclassroom'stoolsandmaterials,discursivepractices,participatorystructures,and
taskstructures[68]allconveyculturalvalues.Webelievethatviewingtheclassroomasoneactor
amongmanyinastudents'ecosystemcanhelpinarticulatingthestructureswithintheclassroom
andrelationshipsacrossclassroomsthatpromoterelevance.
5.2.2.1Structure&OrganizationofEcologicalSystems
Bronfenbrenner[22]organizedecologicalsystemstheoryasasetofconcentricsystemsencompass-
inganindividualasshowninFig5.2.Eachsystemrepresentslayersofcontextsandinteractions
whichmayinformthedevelopmentoftheindividual.Inthedescriptionsthatfollow,wewilladapt
ecologicalsystemstheoryfromitsoriginalpurpose,whichwastoexplorehumandevelopment,to
describestudentsinaphysicsclassroom.
Thecharacteristicsandidentitiesoftheindividualincludingbutnotlimitedtoage,sex,race,or
healtharepositionedinthecenter.The˝rstlayerencompassingtheindividualisthemicrosystem,
whichisde˝nedas"apatternofactivities,roles,andinterpersonalrelationsexperiencedbythe
52
Figure5.2:AvisualrepresentationofBronfenbrenner's[22]organizationofecologicalsystems
theoryasasetofconcentricsystemsencompassinganindividualvingoutwardfromthe
centerarethemeso-,exo-,andmacrosystems.
developingpersoninagivensetting...[22]"Wecanimaginethissystembeingoccupiedwith
settingsastudentactivelyparticipatesinincludingtheircoursework,researchgroups,jobs,social
settingswithpeersandfamily,andmore.Inadditiontothesettings,themicrosystemalsoincludes
therolesthestudentsplayinthesesettingsandtheinterpersonalrelationswithinthesesettings.
Themesosystem"comprisestheinterrelationsamongtwoormoresettingsinwhichthedevel-
opingpersonactivelyparticipates...[22]"Themesosytemcanhelpusdescribetheinterrelations
betweensettingsinthemicrosystem.Forexample,aphysicscourseandabiologycoursemay
interactwitheachotherthroughthecultureenactedineachcoursewhichcanincorporatethepeda-
gogy,curricula,orparticipationstructures.Acommoninteractionweencounterinthemesosystem
isthatourstudentsenterourcoursehavingheardhorrorstoriesofphysicsexperiencesfromtheir
53
peers,family,orfromthebroadermessagingthatphysicsisdi˚cultandnotdirectlyapplicable
tothefuturecareersoflifesciencestudents.Inthispaperwewillfocusonelementsofstudents'
mesosystemsandshowhowtheycanbepowerfulmediatorsofastudent'ssenseofrelevance.
Theexosystemincludesthesettingsthatthestudentdoesnotactivelyparticipateinbutnonethe-
lessimpactorareimpactedbythesettingsinwhichthestudentactivelyparticipates.Examplesof
elementsintheexosystemincludethephysicsexperiencesoffamilyorfriends,theemploymentof
astudent'sprimarycaregiver,orthepoliciesthatimpactastudent'seducation.Thislevelofthe
student'secosystemcanalsoholdfuturecareerquali˝cations,medicalschooladmissionscriteria,
andevenmassmedia.Alloftheseinteractionsinformnotonlyastudent'sparticipationinthe
physicsclassroombutalsoin˛uencethedesignandimplementationoftheclassroomitself.
Themacrosystemcontainsculturalandsocietalnormsthatexistconsistentlywithinanysetof
lower-ordersystemsmeso-,orexo-canincludebeliefsystemsandideologiesthat
governthelower-ordersystems.Wecanimaginethecontributionsofthecultureandsocietyto
astudent'sperceptionoftherelevanceofphysics.Ifwenarrowourfocustotheculturewithin
speci˝cscienti˝cdisciplines,theremayemergeasetofnorms,attitudes,ideologies,orexpectations
thatgovernparticipationinavarietyofsettingsofastudent'smicrosystem.Themacrosystemhas
importantimplicationsforourstudyofrelevance.Allofthestudentsdescribedherehavea
disciplinarymajoroutsideofphysics;thecultureofastudent'shomedisciplinecaninformtheir
participationinandattitudestowardphysics.[69,70]
Bronfenbrennerwouldlateraddalayerbeyondthemacrosystemcalledthechronosystemwhich
includeseventsandtransitionsinone'sownlifeaswellastheenvironmentaroundthem.Inthis
studyweexcludethechronosystemfromconsiderationaswedonothavesu˚cientlongitudinal
datafromstudent'sentirelivestocommentonthesigni˝canceofmajorlifeeventsandtransitions
beyondtheirtimeinourphysicsclassroom.
Eachofthesesystemswillplayaroleinstudents'livesbutforthepurposesofthispaperwe
willfocusourattentiononthemicrosystemandmesosystem.Webelievethesetwolayersrepresent
richspacestoexploretherelevanceofphysicsandarethemostreadilyaccessibleinthedesignof
54
thisstudy.
5.2.3Relevancethroughtransformationofparticipation
Aconsequenceofusingasituativeapproachtorelevanceisthatthesettingsandthestructures
thatcomprisethemareembodiedwithvaluesandtheyareintertwinedwiththeco-construction
ofrelevancewiththestudent.Rogo˙andcolleagues(1995)describedthisintheirworkon
de˝ningdevelopmentasatransformationofparticipation."Individuals'e˙ortsandsociocultural
institutionsandpracticesareconstitutedbyandconstituteeachotherandthuscannotbede˝ned
independentlyofeachotherorstudiedinisolation[66]."Thisdirectlyinformshowweinterpret
students'experiencespresentedinthispaper.Ourstudents'statementsaround˝ndingphysicsto
berelevantareoftenintertwinedparticipatoryactsthatreciprocallyimpactandareimpactedbythe
classroomstructures.Theclassroomstructuresandthestudent,inconcert,shifttheirparticipation
fromexperiencinganactivityinphysicstotransformingtheactivitywiththeircontributions.
5.3Methodology
5.3.1Studio&IPLSclassroomsarerichcontextstostudyrelevance
Thecontextforthisworkisanintroductoryphysicsforthelifesciencesclassroominaresiden-
tialcollegewithinMichiganStateUniversitycalledBriggsLifeScienceStudioPhysics(BLiSS
Physics).Thisphysicscoursehasbeenrecentlyreformedtoleverageconnectionstobiologyinthe
learningofphysics.Aspreviouslymentionedinthedescriptionofthemesosystem,onewaywe
expectstudentsto˝ndrelevanceinphysicsisthroughcross-disciplinaryconnections.Classrooms
thatpromotebuildingofconnectionsacrossdisciplinesarearichcontexttoexploreaconstruct
suchasrelevance.Astudentwhoismajoringinthelifesciencesmayalreadyhaveastrongsense
ofrelevanceoftheirownareasofstudythatmaynotextendintothephysicsclassroom.Acon-
textthatemphasizesconnectionsbetweenphysicsandthestudents'homedisciplinesprovidesthe
opportunitytoobservestudentsexperiencingandre˛ectingontheseconnections.Thesemoments
arecharacterizedbythenatureoftheclassroomactivityandastudent'sparticipationimpacting
55
oneanother.
BLiSSPhysicsadaptscurriculum,discursivestructures,andparticipationframeworksfrom
ModelingInstructionforintroductoryuniversityphysics[39,40].Inadditiontobreakingthe
traditionaldistinctionoflectureandlaboratory,ourimplementationofthestudioformatinthis
courseemphasizesstudent-ledinvestigationsasanentrypointintoeveryunit.Studentgroups
designandimplementinvestigationstoarriveatempiricalrulessupportedbyevidencethatgovern
aphenomena.Theentireclassroomthenutilizeswhite-boardmeetingsandargumentationtoarrive
ataclassroomconsensus[40,71].Computationalactivitiesareusedthroughoutthecourseto
supportstudentsgainingcompetencyinusingvPythontomodelandvisualizephenomenathat
cannotbedoneusingtraditionalclosedformanalyticmethods.Intheseactivities,studentsare
presentedwithminimallyworkingcodethatrunswithouterrorsbutislackingthecorrectphysics.
Studentsthenareaskedtousetheirphysicsconceptstowriteorcorrectthefewlinesofcodesothat
thephysicsusedinthesimulationiscorrect.Studentsareneveraskedtowritepythoncodefrom
scratch,ratherthefocusisonstudentsdevelopinganunderstandingoffoundationalprogramming
structures(constants,loops,conditionallogicstatements,etc.)andtogaincompetencyinmodifying
existingcodetosuittheirneeds.
Inintroductoryphysicsclassroomsweoftenpositionstudentsasbeingnovicewithoutconsid-
erationtotheextensiverichdisciplinarycontentknowledgetheypossessoutsideofthediscipline
ofphysics.Toaddressthis,BLiSSPhysicsintentionallypositionsstudentsasbeingexpertintheir
homedisciplinesandhasspacedesignedtoallowstudentsto
bringin
theirexpertise[36].When
studentsengageinbringingindisciplinarycontentknowledgeorlifeexperienceintothephysics
classroom,itpresentsasigni˝cantopportunitytoforgeconnectionsbetweenstudents'livesand
physics.
5.3.2DataCollection
Thedatapresentedinthisarticlearepartofalargerdesign-basedresearch[30]endeavorin(1)
developinganditeratingonanintroductoryphysicsforthelifesciencescourseand(2)articulating
56
Figure5.3:Thetime-lineofdatacollectionforthecasestudiespresentedinthispaper,Nicoleand
Maria.BothstudentstooktheBLiSSPhysicscourseintheFallsemesterandadi˙erentsecond
semesterphysicscourseintheSpring.InYear1ofthisstudy,in-classvideowasrecordedoffocal
groupsworkingthroughaunitondi˙usion.InYear2,focalgroupswererecordedthroughoutthe
entiresemester.This˝gurerepresentsasubsetofamuchlargerresearchstudythatfollowedover
25studentsacrossthe2years.
designconjectures[68]inestablishingaclassroomenvironmentthatattendstostudenta˙ect,
positionsstudentsasdisciplinaryexpertsinthelifesciences,andpromotestherelevanceofphysics.
design-basedresearchisasituatedapproachtostudyingclassrooms;theembeddednatureofthis
methodologyisre˛ectedintheanalysiswhichcoordinatesacrossmultiplestreamsofdataacross
twoyearsofiterationinthecourse.
Potentialcasestudentswereidenti˝edfromacoursesurveygiveninthe˝rstweekofclass
thatasksstudentstore˛ectontheirpreviousexperienceswithphysicsaswellastheirdisciplinary
interests.Thesurveyincludedbothopenandclosedresponsesandwerereviewedforthepresence
ofcertainfactorssuchasstudentsexpressingastrongdisciplinaryidentity,highanxietyorfear
leadingintothe˝rstsemesterofphysics,orstudentswhowereopentophysicspotentiallyplaying
aroleintheirfuturecareer.
Independentofthesurvey,studentswereaskedtoconsenttoin-classvideorecordingaswell
asvolunteertoparticipateinresearchinterviews.Studentswhosesurveyresponsesweredeemed
57
interestingbasedonthefactorsdescribedabovewerecross-matchedwithinterviewvolunteers.A
semi-structuredinterviewprotocolwasdevelopedtoprobestudents'beliefsaroundtherelevance
ofphysicsaswellastheirbeliefsaroundthedesignofthecourse.Thecasestudentsthatwere
interviewedwererecordedinclassastheyworkedonactivitiesinsmallgroups.Basedontheinitial
interview,in-classvideo,andavailabilitystudentswereinterviewedmultipletimes.
AuthorNairwasembeddedinthecoursebothasaresearcherandasamemberoftheinstruc-
tionalteam(insectionshewasnotconductinginterviews).Fieldnotesandobservationswereused
tocapturesigni˝cantmomentsintheclassroomaswellasthegenerale˙ectivenessofclassroom
activitiesinachievingtheirlearningoutcomes.Thisdeepinvolvementintheclassroomenviron-
menthelpedformanunderstandingofthecultureoftheclassroomaswellasthediscursiveand
participatorynormspracticedthroughoutthecourse.
The˝rstinterviewtookplaceinthe˝rstfewweeksoftheFallsemester.Thesecondinterview
tookplaceapproximatelyhalfwaythroughthesemesterafteraunitondi˙usion.Thethirdinterview
wasconductedmidwaythroughtheSpringsemester(Fig5.3).Oneofthecasestudents,Maria,
becameanundergraduatelearningassistantinthecourseandwasinterviewedafourthtimemidway
throughtheir˝rstsemesterontheinstructionalteam.
5.3.3AnalysisMethods
Inthispaper,weincludedatafromtwocasestudies.Maria(pseudonym)wasastudentinthe˝rst
yearofthecourse,andNicole(pseudonym)wasastudentinthesecondyearofthecourse.After
articulatingcategoriesofrelevancePERhaspreviouslyexplored(SectionBoftheIntroduction),
weconductedsemi-structuredinterviewstoprobeeachcategoryanddiscovernewcategories.Each
interviewwiththesecasestudentswasvideorecordedandtranscribed.WeusedMAXQDA[32]to
codeeachinterview'stranscriptforevidenceofstudent'sbeliefsaroundtherelevanceofphysics.
Weutilizedanopencodingschemetoexpandandre˝neareasthatcontributedtotherelevanceof
physics.Eachcasestudent'sin-classvideowasanalyzedto˝ndandcorroborateeventsdescribed
ininterviews,theresultingmomentsweretranscribedandanalyzed.Intheclassroom,authorNair
58
waspresentforthevastmajorityofclasssessionsandrecorded˝eldnotesofinterestingmomentsin
whichthecasestudents'sensesofrelevancemayhavebeenimpacted.Basedonhisobservationsin
classauthorNairconductedimpromptuaudio-recordedinterviewswiththeinstructoronmultiple
daystobetterunderstandinstructionalchoicesandtocapturere˛ectionsofmomentsshortlyafter
theyoccurred.MAXQDAwasusedtotriangulatethesedi˙erentstreamsofdataandtorecord
analyticmemosastheprojectprogressed.Thisanalysiswaspresentedanddiscussedatmultiple
researchmeetingstocheckthevalidityofinterpretationsandclaims.
Inthenextfewsections,weoutlinecasestudiesofMariaandNicole:twostudentsmajoringin
thelifescienceswhoreportrelevantconnectionstophysics.Theirrichexperiencesgobeyondwhat
canberevealedbycurrentsurveymeasuresandchallengethede˝citinterpretationsoflifescience
students'abilitytoseetherelevanceofphysics.Informedbytheirexperiences,weargueforan
expandedviewofrelevancethatincludestheconnectionsstudentsmakeacrosscoursestructuresas
wellasrelevanceco-constructedinaclassroomdesignedtosupportrelevantconnections.Maria's
casehighlightstheimportanceofthemesosysteminfosteringrelevancethroughconnections
betweencourses.Maria'sexperienceshaveimplicationsforhowaphysicscoursecanbedesigned
tofosterrelevancebutinpastscholarshiptheseattemptsinvolvelayering-onactivitiesofre˛ection
andmeta-cognitivedevelopment.Insteadoflookingforwayswecanimposerelevanceonstudents,
wetracetheexperiencesofNicoleasanexampleofhowcoursedesignandparticipatorystructures
canimpactastudent'ssenseofrelevanceandhavelastinge˙ectsafterthecourse.
5.4"Maria"
Mariaisamicrobiologymajorwithaminorinepidemiologywhoidenti˝esstronglyasa
microbiologist.Shehasfoundedorheldleadershippositionsinmultiplebiologyandinfectious
diseaserelatedorganizations.Sheworksinawatermicrobiologyresearchlab,tutorsstudents,and
conductscampustours.AtthetimeoftheinterviewMariawasconcurrentlyenrolledinthephysics
courseandaprokaryoticphysiologycourse.Mariahadpreviouslytakenphysicsinhighschooland
recallsthatexperienceasbeingdisconnectedfromherinterests.DuringthisstudyMariawasinher
59
junioryearofherundergraduateeducationandplannedtopursueagraduatedegreeinpublichealth
aftergraduation.Inour˝rstinterview,Mariare˛ectsonherpreviousexperiencewithphysics.
maria:
ThelasttimeI'vehadphysicswassophomoreyearofhighschool...Ijustdon't
thinktheydidaverygoodjobofconnectingitbacktoeveryone'sinterests...itwas
justtheoreticalpurephysics.So,notmything...

Int1
]
Mariastatesthatthetypeofphysicscoursesheexperiencedinhighschoolwasnote˙ectivein
connectingtostudents'interestsingeneralandhasconcludedthatphysicsis"notherthing."When
askedifshebelievesphysicsisrelevanttoher,sheisoptimisticabouttheBLiSSPhysicscourse
andsuggeststhatconnectingtobiologymaybeapathtowardsrelevanceforher.
maria:
Ithinkinthiscourseitmaybealittlemore'causeofthe[biology]connections,
otherwiseIwouldprobablysayno[
laughs
]

Int1
]
InthissectionweexplorethewaysinwhichMariais˝ndingrelevanceinBLiSSPhysics
thatgobeyondwhatattitudinalandbeliefsurveymeasureshavetheabilitytocapture.Weadapt
Bronfenbrenner'secologicalsystemstheorytodescribesomeofthecontextsinMaria'slifethat
haveconnectedtoherphysicscourseandimpactedherviewofphysics.Finallywearguethat
studentslikeMaria,whoarelifesciencemajorscananddo˝ndphysicstoberelevant.Weshift
awayfromde˝cit-framingtolookforwaysinwhichthedesignofthephysicsclassroomandthe
ecologyofherdisciplinaryexperienceshavesupportedampli˝cationofhersenseofrelevance.
5.4.1DescribingMariawithecologicalsystemstheory
IfweweretoimaginetheecosystemthatMaria'slifeexistswithin,theremaybeamultitudeof
elementsthatarenotvisibletoinstructorsorresearchers.Eventhoughweareunabletofully
describeMariaasapersonedoubtanytheoreticalmodelcanfullyencapsulateaperson'slife
60
aremanyelementsandrelationshipsthatweseeplayinganimportantroleinhersenseof
relevance.Wefocusonthoseareasinwhatfollows.
5.4.1.1Maria'smicrosystem
Startingwiththemostcentralsystem,Maria'smicrosystemincludeshercourses,hermicrobiology
majorprogram,herwatermicrobiologyresearchlab,herclubsandorganizations,aswellasher
familyandpeers.Additionally,hermicrosystemincludestherolesshetakesonaswellasthe
interpersonalexperienceswithinthesesettings.ThesearethesettingsinwhichMariaactively
participatesandengagesinactivitiesandweexpectthemtocontributetohersenseofrelevance.
5.4.1.2Maria'smesosystem
Maria'smesosysteminvolvestherelationsbetweenthesettingsinhermicrosystem.Mariawas
enrolledinaprokaryoticphysiologycourserentlywiththe˝rstsemesterofphysics
himpactedhersenseoftherelevanceofphysicsinansweringquestionsinmicrobiology.
Theresearchsheconductsinwatermicrobiologyimpactedhowsheperceivesorparticipatesina
physicsactivityexploringtheresistiveforcesexperiencedbyawater-dwellingparamecium.
5.4.1.3Maria'sexosystem
Expandingfurther,thesettingsinMaria'sexosystemincludehermicrobiologymajor'sundergrad-
uateprogramcommittee,futuregraduateschools,andfuturecareeropportunitieswithinmicrobi-
ology.Italsoincludessettingsthatherfamily,friends,andpeersengagein.Thesearesettings
inwhichMariadoesn'tactivelyparticipateinorimpactbuttheyhaveimplicationsfortheset-
tingswithinhermicrosystem.Forexample,therequirementsinafuturegraduateprogramor
careercanimpactthecoursesthatpopulatehermicrosystem.Maria'sfriendsandfamilymay
havehadexperiencesinclassroomsorworkplacesthatcanimpacthowsheparticipatesinherown
coursework.
61
Figure5.4:Maria'smicrosystemandmesosystem.WhilethewholeofMaria'sexperiencescan
neverbecapturedinanydiagram,this˝gurerepresentsareasofMaria'slifethatweconsider
importanttoexploringtherelevanceofphysicstoMaria.
5.4.1.4Maria'smacrosystem
Lastly,Maria'smacrosystemaccountsfortheculture,beliefs,orideologiespermeatingthroughher
moreinnersystemsmeso-,andexosystemsformaconsistentthreadthroughouther
experiences.Mariareadilypointsoutthatsheidenti˝esasa
micro
biologistandnota
macro
biologist.
Microbiologyasadisciplinaryareaofstudycontainsasetofnormsandexpectationsonthe
appropriatescalesofresearchquestionsaswellaswaysofcommunicatingwithintheircommunity.
Thephysicsclassroomwillattempttosetnormsandexpectationsforwhatitmeanstodophysics
butthesenormsandexpectationsinteractwithandarewovenintoalargernetworkofculture,
beliefs,orideologiesofwhatitmeansto
do
physicsasopposedtobiology.
MappingMaria'sexperiencesontoecologicalsystemstheoryhelpsusseethevalueofthe
62
mesosystem.ThereareafewitemsoncommonlyusedPERsurveysthatprobethemesosystem
toaskaboutpotentialconnectionsbetweenthephysicsclassroomandthestudent'slifeoutsideof
theclassroom.Wecontendthatmovingawayfromanabstractsenseof
lifeoutsideofthephysics
classroom
andmovingtowardidentifyingspeci˝csettingswillhelprevealusefulconnections
instructorsandresearcherscanleverageinbuildingrelevancewithstudents.Inthenextsection
wedivedeeperintoMaria'smesosystemforspeci˝csettings,roles,andinterpersonalrelationships
thathaveimpactedMaria'ssenseoftherelevanceofphysics(Fig5.4).
5.4.2InteractionsbetweenphysicsandmicrobiologyinMaria'smesosystem
Inthe˝rstinterviewwithMaria,shewasafewweeksintothe˝rstsemesterofphysicsandalready
identi˝edpotentialconnectionsbetweenphysicsandherothercourses.Whenaskedifshesaw
biology,chemistry,andphysicsasbeingrelatedshereplied:
maria:
Whyarethingsmovingthatwaywithinthecell?Whycanthecelldothat?Well,it's
physics.actually,wetalkedaboutlateralmotilitywithinthecytoplasmicmembrane
inum...inmicrobio,andI'mprettysuremyprofessor'swordsweresomethinglike
'thethermodynamicsandthephysicsoftheyouknowthecytoplasmicmembraneare
agloriouschapterinmicrobio!'[
laughs
]...anytimeanythingismoving,orevenjust
youknowthethermodynamicthings,thingsyoudon'tthinkabout,it'sphysics.

Int1
]
Whenaskedifsheseesconnectionsbetweenphysicsconceptssheiscurrentlylearningandher
othercourses,shenotesthattheconnectionsaremostlyrelatedtomotionandthattheyarebasicin
nature.
maria:
ThesearealittlemorebasicbutImeanIknowit'sgoingtoapplysomewhere.You
knowyoucan˝ndvelocityofabacterialikewedidactuallyinouractivity[motion
trackingvideoofbacteria]andstu˙likethat,andyouknowhowdi˙erentthingsa˙ect
theirvelocityandstu˙likethat.Butsofarit'sprettybasic...
63

Int1
]
TherearetwofeaturesofMaria'sstatementsthatre˛ectcommonlyespousedbeliefsinour
interviews.(1)Studentsattributethatmanythingsintheworldhappenbecauseofphysics,orthat
physicsunderlieseverything.Thisisinlinewiththedisciplinarycultureofphysicsinwhichit
claimstobefundamentalorfoundationaltootherdisciplines.[72](2)Theconnectionsstudents
aremostreadilyabletomakeearlyinthecoursearearoundmotion.Sincemotionconstitutesthe
˝rstfewunitsofthecourse[40],itisunderstandablethatstudentsattributemotionofobjectsor
creaturestophysics.Maria'searlyconnectionsdonotrevealdeeperconnectionsoccurringbeyond
observingthatphysicssometimespopsupinherothercoursesintheformofmotionorastatement
ofreverenceforthephysicsunderlyingmorecomplexmechanisms.
5.4.2.1Maria'sevolvingsenseofrelevance
Midwaythroughthe˝rstsemesterofphysicsweinterviewedMariaagainandaskifshethinks
biologyandchemistryplayaroleinherphysicsactivities.
maria:
Yeah,Ilaughed.BecausesoI'minprokaryoticphysiology...I'mamicrobiomajor,
thenumberoftimesphysicscomesupisalittle...Yeah.Becauseweweretalking
aboutthemovementof˛agella.Andhowsomepartsareusingthetorqueandwhat
doesthework,anddi˙erentthingslikethat.I'mlike,thisisphysics.Andthenwewere
talkingaboutthestrengthofthecellwallandthedi˙erentcomponents,andwhat's
resistingandtheinsideforces,andwhat'sreallyprovidingtheprotectionintermsof
physics.Sowenevergointodetailsbutthewordsarelike,it'sthere.Youknowit's
physics.
interviewer:
Andthenyou'reseeingthatconnectedhere?
maria:
Yeah,Ithinkwhenwetalkedaboutthedi˙usionlab,thatwehadtalkedaboutthat
previously.Inthatclass,thedi˙usionacrossthecellmembrane,andyouknow,viewing
itassmallerelasticcollisions.
64

Int2
]
Mariaisseeingphysicscomeupinherprokaryoticphysiologyclassenoughtowarranther
laughingaboutitbeingacommonoccurrence.InthisexchangeweseeMariaidentifyingphysics
conceptsthatplayaroleinherprokaryoticphysiologyincludingtopicsofmovementof˛agella,
forcesinsidethecell,aswellasdi˙usionacrossacellmembrane.Laterinthesameinterview,we
askMariaherthoughtsonanactivitycalculatingtheresistiveforcesthataparameciumexperiences
inwater[35].Thisactivityinvolvedmakingassumptionsaboutthedensityoftheparameciumand
Mariasharesastoryofherbringinginhermicrobiologyexpertise.
interviewer:
Howabouttheparameciumone?
maria:
Iliketheparameciumone.
interviewer:
Youlikedit.
maria:
BecauseI'mamicrobiologist.SoIwaslike,thismakessomuchsense.Because
Ithinkactuallyshe[theprofessor],whenyouhadtotakethedensityofit,Ithought
ofitinawaylike,sheactuallyhadmetellittotheclass.Likeshehadn'tthought
ofitthatway.ButIknowasamicrobiologist,theparameciumisgoingtotakeinits
surroundings,likeosmosis.Andacellis99%waterasitis.SoIknewIcouldtakethe
paramecium'sdensityapproximatelyaswater.Whichisnothow,shesawitaslikeoh,
it's˛oatinginthewater,sothedensitieshavetoberelative.ButIwouldneverhave
thoughtofitthatway.

Int2
]
Mariare˛ectsonheridentityasamicrobiologistandthedisciplinaryexpertisethatshebrings
withherintothephysicsclassroom.Sheo˙ersupanalternativereasoningpaththatdi˙ersfrom
theprofessor'sexplanation.Inthecourse,positioningstudentsasexpertsinbiologyisasigni˝cant
designfeatureanditmanifestshereastheprofessorvalidatingherideaandhavinghershareit
withtheentireclass.ThisparticipatoryactofMariabringinginandsuccessfullyincorporatingher
biologycontentknowledgeintoaphysicsactivityisanobservabledisplayofrelevance.
65
TheseinteractionsinMaria'smesosystembetweenherbiologyandphysicscoursesprovetobe
apowerfulin˛uencethatMariaarticulatesneartheendofthesecondinterview.Mariaisaskedto
expandonwhyshebelievesphysicshasthepowertoexplainwhythingshappen.
maria:
I'vealwayskindofthoughtofphysicsasmoreofaconceptual,beingabletoexplain
things.Becauseittakesittosuchasimpleandmathematical,youcanmodelwithit.
Butnotreallyuntiltakingthisclassandgettingthetools.Sure,youcanseesomething
andbelikeoh,yeah,physicsprobablyexplainsthat.ButIdon'tknowphysics,so
whywouldIthinkaboutitthatway.Idon'thavethattool.ButIthinktakingthis
course,themicrobiologycoursealongsidephysics,wherethingslikeworkandtorque
andforcearecomingup,ina˝eldthatIknowabout.Thathelpsyousee...But,Ithink
ifIweretolookatphysics,IthinkI'minterestedinhowitrelatestothemacroscopic
biologicalworld.Iknowotherpeopledootherthingsbutthis[parameciumactivity]
isthephysicsIlike.

Int2
]
IntheexchangeaboveMariastatesthatitwasn'tuntilshewastakingthephysicsclassalongside
prokaryoticphysiologycoursethatshesawhowthetoolsofphysicsconnectwithadisciplineshe
hasexpertisein.Mariaseesconnectionsacrossthetwocourses,andstatesthatthephysicsactivity
onparameciumrepresentsthephysicsshewouldliketodo.Webelievethisisasigni˝cantmarker
ofrelevance.Mariaexpressesinterestinphysicsandsheseesphysicsasatoolthatcanbeusedin
microbiology.
Whenthisphysicscoursewasdesigned,wedidnotimagineorplanforthissynergisticrela-
tionshipwithprokaryoticphysiology.Itisnotfeasibleforaninstructortopredictthatastudent
likeMariawillentertheirclassroomandmakesigni˝cantconnectionstoaspeci˝cdisciplinary
course.WedonotcredittherelevantconnectionsMariabuildstothephysicscurricularmaterials
oractivities,weinsteadpointtodesignedcoursestructuresthatmakespaceforstudentstobring
themselvesintothephysicsclassroom.Mariabringsintothephysicsclassroomherdisciplinary
66
expertiseandheridentityasamicrobiologist.Theconnectionsshemakesarevalidatedbythe
instructorandampli˝edbysharingthemwithherclassmates.Thephysicscoursestructuresand
environmentsarenotchangingMaria,shearrivedinthephysicscourseseekingtomakeconnec-
tionsandtoincorporateknowledgeacrossthedisciplines.Earlyinthecourse,Mariastatesthat
sheseesphysicsplayingaroleinavarietyofbiologicalcontexts.Throughinteractionsbetween
hercourses,weseeanampli˝cationofMaria'ssenseofrelevance.Wearticulatestructuresofthe
classroomthathavesupportedthisampli˝cationinthenextsectionaswetracetheexperiencesof
Nicolewhosesenseofrelevanceisalsoampli˝edthroughinteractionsbetweencourses.
5.5"Nicole"
Nicoleisageneticsmajorwhoisinterestedinacareerindatascienceinhealthinformatics.
Nicolehassubstantialdisciplinaryexperienceinthelifesciences.Sheholdsthreejobsasan
undergraduate:abiologylaboratorylearningassistant,apart-timeresearcherinanentomology
lab,andaresearcherinageneticslabstudyingthee˙ectsofgenemutationsonproteinfunction.She
hasnevertakenphysicsbeforeandhasheardfromherfriendsthatphysicscoursesattheuniversity
weredi˚cultandterrible.NicoledecidedtotakeourBLiSSPhysicscourseafterarecommendation
fromafriendwhopreviouslyworkedasalearningassistantintheclassroom.Inadditiontophysics,
Nicoleisconcurrentlyenrolledinbiochemistryandacomputationalmodelingcourse.Wesplit
ourdiscussionofNicole'sexperiencesintotwosectionsthatfocusonconnectionsacrosssettings
inNicole'smesosystem.The˝rstsectiondescribesNicole'sviewsontherelevanceofphysics
informedbyconnectionsbetweenhercoursework.Werepresenttheseformsofrelevanceinaway
thatalignswithpreviouscognitiveperspectivesusedinphysicseducationresearchviews
ofrelevancerepresentwhattheattitudinalandepistemologicalmeasuresdiscussedearlier[4,5,19,
20]aimtoprobe.ThesecondsectionalsolooksatconnectionspresentinNicole'smesosystembut
pushesbeyondthecognitiveperspectiveintoasituativeperspectivewhereweconsiderclassroom
structures,norms,andvaluesaspowerfulagentsthathelpco-constructandamplifyrelevancewith
Nicole.
67
5.5.1Nicole'sperspectiveontherelevanceofphysics
InthissectionwepresentevidencefromaseriesofinterviewstodescribeNicole'sbeliefsaround
therelevanceofphysics.Wefocusonthemesosystemleveltodescribeherperspectiveofhow
physics,computationalmodeling,andbiochemistrycoursescanberelevanttooneanother.
5.5.1.1Relevancebetweencomputationalmodeling&physics
Our˝rstglimpsethatNicoleisseeingconnectionsbetweenphysicsandhercomputationalmodeling
classisinour˝rstinterviewintheearlyweeksoftheFallsemester.
interviewer:
Haveyouencounteredphysicsinanyofyourothercourses?
nicole:
...inmy[computationalmodeling]classyyesterdaywehadtocome
upwithlike,weendedupcomingupwithourownmodelsfordroppingaballo˙of
BeaumontTower.Andthenaskydiverso...andthenIhavehomeworktodoforthat
classthisweekendaboutabungeejumper.Soyeah!Iamseeingphysicsalotright
now,actually.
interviewer:
So,whatmakesthoseexamplesphysicstoyou?
nicole:
Forme,it'slikewheneverthere'ssomethinginvolvingmotion,likeIimmediately
thinkphysics...Soallthosethingsthatlikewiththat[computationalmodeling]class,
they'reallinvolvingsomesortofmotion,likeactuallythey'reallfallingmotions.But,
thatisphysics,like˝rstthingthatcomestomind.

Int1
]
LaterinthesameinterviewweprobeifNicolebelievesphysicswillbe
helpful
forcompleting
herothercoursesordegree.
nicole:
I'vealreadyseenithelpmewithlikemy[computationalmodeling]classjust
yesterday,actually.Like,itwasnicebecauseIwentfromcodinginphysics'lecture.
AndthenIwenttothat,andweweredoinglikeasimilartypeofthing.Sothatwas
kindofnicetolikeit'snicetohavethoseconnected...
68
interviewer:
Wow.Canyoutellmeaboutsomeoftheseexamplesofliketakeme
intotheperspectiveofylikewhenyouwalkintoclass,andafterdoingphysics
andnowyou'regoingto[thecomputationalmodelingcourse],whendidyourealize
thebasicconnections?
nicole:
Um,weweretryingtolikewritesomecode,andIwaslike,"Well,hey?LikeIdid
thisinphysicstodaywell,I'llbelookingtoseeifthere'sanysimilarities,anythingI
couldtakefromthat."AndtherewasactuallylikeonelittlepointthatIrealizedlike,
"Oh,Ineedtoputthisinmyloop..."

Int1
]
Nicoleisseeingparallelsbetweenthetypesofactivitiesandresourcesusedforbothherphysics
courseandhercomputationalmodelingcourse.Thesimilaritiesbetweenthetypeofactivitiescued
herto
bringin
elementsfromhercompletedphysicssolutionintohercomputationalmodeling
programminghomework.
3
Nearthemiddleofthesemesterwefollow-upwithNicoleinasecond
interviewandweaskhertoelaborateonconnectionsbetweenphysicsandherothercoursesand
againshemakesconnectionstohercomputationalmodelingcourse.
nicole:
Yeah,soIthinkitisimportantformetohavelikeaclasslikephysicsbeableto
connecttootherclassesbecauselikeIsometimeswonderlike,"Oh,whenwillIever
usephysics?"Butlikethis[WoundHealingActivity[35,41]]kindofshowsthat,"Oh,
itisrelevant".LikeitdoesmeansomethingtolikewhatImightbewantingtodointhe
future.Andthat'sanotherthingthatlikewithanotherclassI'mtaking,I'mtakinglike
thatcomputationalmodeling.AndsometimesIcankindofseehowlikephysicswould
˝tintothatwhereatleastlikethoseconceptsyouuseinphysicsthatkindofseemto
beapplicableinthatclass,too.Andwe'vedonealotofstu˙withlikemodelinglike
thespreadofdiseaseandstu˙.Sothat'sbeenreallyinterestingtokindofseehowlike
3
Itshouldbenotedagainthatthesetwocourseswerenotdesignedintentionallytohavethis
alignmentandoverlap;Nicole'sexperienceswerethe˝rstindicationsthatthesetwocourseshad
thepotentialtobesynergisticinpromotinghersenseofrelevance.
69
eventhoughit'snotdirectlyphysics,it'slikeconceptsthatwe'veusedinphysicsare
alsobeingusedthere.
interviewer:
Gotcha.Doyouhaveanyspeci˝cexamplesofwhenyoumadethoseconnec-
tionswiththecomputationalmodelingclass?
nicole:
Whenwetalkedaboutinclassyesterday,liketheLennard-Jonespotential,likewe
ranamodellikeincludinglikethatspeci˝cequation.
interviewer:
Really?
nicole:
Yeah.Soitwasmodelinglike-itwasalotliketheonewedidin[physics]class
whereweweremodelinglikethecollisions.Itwassimilartothat.Andthenlikehe
usedtheLennard-Jonespotential...Iwassittinginphysicsyesterday,andIliketurned
tomy(inaudible),like,"Oh,hey,likewemodeledthis.Ilikehavethisequationonmy
computerrightnowthatweused".SoIthoughtthatwascool.

Int2
]
Nicoledescribesamomentwheresheisinherphysicscourseandrealizingthatshehas
completedworkfromcomputationalmodelingthatisrelevanttothephysicsactivityshe'sworking
on.ThisisanalogoustothemomentNicoledescribesinthe˝rstinterview,whereshehasa
relevantprogrammingactivityfromphysicsshecanusetocompletehercomputationalmodeling
work.Physicsandcomputationalmodelingaretwosettingsthathaveareciprocalconnection
thatstrengthensNicole'sbeliefthattheconceptsinphysicsareusefultocomputationalmodeling,
andviceversa.Physicsconnectingtocomputationalmodelinghasadeeperimplicationinthat
computationalmodelingisacriticalskillforNicole'splannedfuturecareerindatascience.Inthe
aboveexcerptweseethisconnectionbetweencoursesasentangledwithNicole'spositedbeliefthat
physicsmayberelevantforwhatshewantstodointhefuture.Inthenextsection,wecontinueto
describerelevancewithinacognitiveperspectiveaswedescribewhatcanbeconsideredanideal
manifestationrelevance,connectionsacrosstwodisparatedisciplines:PhysicsandBiochemistry.
70
5.5.1.2MesosystemInteractionsBetweenPhysics&Biochemistry
Oneofthelearningobjectivesforthe˝rstsemesterofBLiSSPhysicsistocoverphenomenastudents
mayhaveseenintheirBiologyandChemistrycoursesandtounpackthephysicsinteractions
underlyingthem.WeseeNicolestatethatshemaynotusephysicspracticesdirectlyinaanother
coursebutthatphysicsexplainswhylargerprocessesoccur.WeseeNicoleapplythisidea
speci˝callytoin-classactivitiesinherBiochemistrycoursewhenweaskhertore˛ectonan
activityexploringtheforceandenergyrequiredtounfoldaproteinusingopticaltweezers[35].
nicole:
IthoughtthisonewasprettyinterestingbecauseI'mtakingBiochemrightnow.So
likewetalkalotaboutlikeproteinunfoldingandstu˙andliketheconsequencesithas.
Solikebasicallyeverylectureorso,she'lltalkaboutlikewhathappenswithcertain
likemutationsingenesandstu˙.Andalotofithastodowithlikemessingwiththe
proteinstructure.SoIthoughtthatwaskindofinterestingbecauseitappliedbackto
BiochemandkindofgavelikeanadditionallayertowhatIhadalreadylearnedinthat
classastowhystu˙likethatwashappening.Sothatwasinteresting.
interviewer:
Sodidknowingthatlikephysicsisinvolvedinthoseprocesseshelpkindof...
nicole:
ItdidactuallykindofhelplikebecauselikeIunderstoodthechemicalbackground
ofit.Butlikeseeinganactuallikemoreofaphysicalreasonforitratherthanjust,"Oh,
likethisaminoacidisinthewrongplace."Likeitkindoflikehelpedlikeconnect;like
bridgethatgapbetweenlike,"Oh,thisisinthewrongplace.Becauseit'sinthewrong
place,thisishappening"

Int2
]
Nicolestatesthatphysicsprovidesalayerofunderstandingtothetopicsshecoversinher
Biochemistryclassand˝ndstheseconnectionstohelpherbridgethegapbetweendescribinga
processandunderstandingwhyitoccurs.Sherevisitsthisidealaterinthesameinterviewwhen
weaskherifsheseescoursesconnectingtowhatshewantstodointhefuture.
71
nicole:
Yeah,actually.Allthreeofthem[Biochemistry,ComputationalModeling,&
Physics],IcouldseebeingapplicabletolikewhatIwanttodointhefuture...with
Biochem,likeIcankindofseehowlikeIwanttokindofgoinlikeagenetics-based
typeofinformaticsthingandlikeworkonlikebridgingthatgapbetweenlikegenetics
andthecliniciansandhowtohelpthem.SolikeBiochemhashelpedwiththatbecause
it'slikeshownmelikedi˙erenttypesofmutationsanddiseasesandstu˙andlikewhy
they'recaused.AndthenthephysicskindofgoeswiththatbecauselikeBiochem
showswhyit'scaused,andphysicsshowswhytheBiochemkindofhappens.Soyeah,
Idothinkeverythingiskindofconnecting.
interviewer:
Whendidyou˝rststartthinkingthatthephysicsexplainswhytheBiochem
ishappening?
nicole:
Itwasthesetypesofactivities.Ithinktherewasanotherlikesimilarproteintypeof
one.AnditwaslikethatwaswhenIkindofrealizedlike,"Oh,likeamonthago,we
didthisinBiochem,andnowwe'redoingitinphysics."Itlikemakessense.

Int2
]
InthepasttwosectionswehavediscussedexamplesofNicolemakingconnectionsacross
coursessheisenrolledinsimultaneously.WenowturnourattentiontoaninstancewhereNicole
continuesmakingrelevantconnectionsaftershehasleftthe˝rstsemesterofphysics.
5.5.1.3MesosystemInteractionsBetweenPhysics&EukaryoticCellBiology
InourthirdinterviewwithNicole,halfwaythroughtheSpringsemester,wediscussNicoleseeing
physicscomeupinanothercourse.
interviewer:
Areyouseeingphysicspopupinotherplaces?
nicole:
I'mnotseeinglikephysicsasinlikeoh,thisisphysics.Butmorelikeconcepts
likeintheEukaryoticCellBioclassI'mtaking.Wetalked,wespentlike,our˝rst
examisonTuesday,andsothis˝rstsectionwasallaboutliketransportingproteins
72
andstu˙.AndsoIknowthatalotofithastodowiththestructureofthestructure
ofthetransportersandstu˙andwelearnedlastsemester[BLiSS]likethatkind
ofhydrophobicinteractionsandstu˙isimportantandit'sbecauseofphysics,like
physics.

Int3
]
WeseeNicoleexplainingthathydrophobicinteractionsareexplainedbythephysicsshe's
learnedandthatithasanimpactonthestructureandfunctionofproteintransporters.Weagainsee
Nicolepointingtophysicsasthemechanismbehindwhyprocessesexploredinherbiologycourses
occurthewaytheydobutnowshecontinuestomakeconnectionsaftershehasleftthe˝rstsemester
course.Nicole'sstatementsdescribingtherelevantconnectionsbetweenclassroomactivitiesin
physics,computationalmodeling,biochemistry,andbiologycoursessuggestthatwecanlookto
momentsinherclassroomexperienceinordertounderstandhowrelevantconnectionsarebuilt.
Inthenextsectionwestaywithinthemesosystemtolookforconnectionsacrossthecoursework
Nicoleexperiencesbutwepushbeyondthecognitiveviewthatrelevanceisonlyconstructedin
Nicole'smindandconsidertheclassroom'sroleinhelpingfosterandamplifyrelevance.
5.5.2Situativeperspectiveoftheco-constructionofrelevance
Intheprevioussection,wedescribedhowNicole'sbeliefsontherelevanceofphysicstoherother
courseshasbeenimpactedbyherperceptionofclassroomactivities.Webelievethisviewisinline
withthekindsofrelevancecurrentlyexploredinPERandisre˛ectedinthedesignofcommonly
usedsurveys.Weargue,however,thatNicole'sbeliefsarenottheonlycontributiontotherelevance
ofphysics.Inordertocaptureamorefullsenseofthisrelevance,weturnourattentiontothe
roletheclassroomenvironmentplaysinhelpingco-constructoramplifytherelevanceofphysicsto
Nicole.Inwhatfollows,weemployasituativeperspectivetoconsiderthereciprocalrelationship
ofNicoleandherclassroominforgingasenseofrelevance.
73
5.5.2.1Relevancebetweencomputationalmodelingandphysics
13daysafterweconductedInterview2,Nicoleandtwootherstudentsareworkinginagrouponan
activitymodelingtherandomwalkofaproteincollidingwithwatermoleculesby˛ippingcoins.
Intheactivity,theproteinissaidtomoveinonedimensioneitherforwardorbackwarddepending
ontheresultofthecoin˛ip[35].WhenNicole'sgroupmates(Alisa&Melanie,bothpseudonyms)
voiceconfusionandfrustration,Nicoleexplainsthepointoftheactivityalludingtoapieceofcode
producedinhercomputationalmodelingcoursethathelpedherunderstand.
alisa:
Theseprobabilitiesaredrivingmenuts!
melanie:
Isittheideathatit'swaveringalongthisoneline?
nicole:
It'sbasically,you˛ipacoin...andifit'splusoneifit'sheadsorminusoneifit's
tails...[mycomputationalmodelingcode]makesitreallyeasytosee.

RandomWalkActivity
]
ShortlyafterthismomentweseeNicoleturnherlaptoptowardhergroupmatestoshowthem
thesimulationshehaswrittenforhercomputationalmodelingcourse.Theprofessornoticesthis
momentwhilewalkingaroundtheroomandsuspectsthatthegroupmaybeo˙-task.Asthe
professorapproaches,Nicoleexplainsthatsheisshowingthegroupavisualizationshe'swrittenin
hercomputationalmodelingcoursethatrelatestothisactivity.Theprofessoraskstoseewhatthe
visualizationdoes,andweseeNicoleshowtheprofessorandhergroupmembershersimulation
runseveraltimes.Nicoleexplainshowchangingthenumberof˛ipstheprogramsimulatesimpacts
thedistancetraveledintherandomwalk.TheprofessorthensmilesandasksifNicolewouldbe
willingtosharethiswiththeentireclass.Inthelastportionoftheclass,Nicoleprojectsherlaptop
onthedocumentcameraforherclassmatestosee,andexplainshowhersimulationcreatesaplot
thathelpsvisualizetherandomnessofrandomwalk.Sherunsthecodeseveraltimesannouncing
howfartherandomwalkendedrelativetoitsinitialposition.Nicoleexplainsthatifyouletthe
codesimulatealargenumberof˛ips,thereisabetterchanceofendingupfurtherawayfromwhere
74
itstarted.TheprofessorthensummarizeswhyshebelievesNicole'scodeisagoodvisualization
oftheprocessofrandomwalk.
instructor:
SoIthoughtthiswasreallyniceright?BecausewhatNicoleisshowingus
isthat,allshe'sshowingyouisthatasthetimeincreases,right?Whichisthesame
asthenumberof˛ips,sonumberof˛ipsislettingyougoforalongertime,youare
gettingmorelikelytoseeavariationfromzero.Right?Soit'sthesamethingasthat
histogramplot.Butthisisshowingitinareallyniceway,likeyoucanseewherethe
zerois,right?Andyoucanseewhereallofthevariationthatthestepsgivesyouand
whereitendsupallinasingleplotwhichwasverynice.

RandomWalkActivity
]
Fromtheperspectiveoftheecologicalsystemstheory,thismomentfromthephysicscourse
embodiesthereciprocalnatureofparticipantsandtheirsettings.Nicolebringsinandshares
hercomputationalmodelingworkasawaytoshowthatitcanmakethepurposeofthisactivity
"reallyeasytosee."Thesimilaritiesbetweenrespectiveactivitiesfromcomputationalmodeling
andphysicsmediateandsupportNicolebutwealsoseeNicoleimpactinghercourseenvironment.
TheprofessorinthiscourseinvitesNicoletosharehercodewiththeclassandsummarizeswhyshe
believesNicole'svisualizationisvaluableinunderstandingthelearningobjectivesforthatactivity.
ThisincorporationofNicole'scontributionsintotheinstructionsuggeststhathercontributions
havesigni˝cantlyimpactedandaugmentedthatday'sphysicslesson.Infact,aftertheclass,author
Nairinterviewedtheinstructorwhoremarkedthatsheinitiallyhadplannedtoswitchtoaplanned
demonstrationbutrevisedherplansin-the-momenttomakespaceforNicole'scontribution.The
reciprocityinthismomentandhercourseenvironmentimpactingeachothera
criticalpartoftheconstructofrelevancewewanttodescribeandisinagreementwiththefeatures
ofBronfenbrenner's(1979)ecologicalsystemstheory.
WhatsetsthismomentapartfromtheprevioussectionisthatNicole'sconnection
is
relevant
tophysicsbecauseshehasbecomepartofthatdaysinstruction.Herknowledgeandpreviouswork
75
fromaclassoutsideofphysicsisbroughtin,validated,andincorporatedintowhatitmeanstodo
physics.Iftheclassroomdesigndidnotincludethe˛exibletimeandspacetoallowforNicoleto
bringherexpertise
in
,thenwemaynothaveseenthismomentplayoutaswehad.
StatingNicole
believes
physicsisrelevantduetotheseinteractionsisnotcapturingthewholeof
themoment.Theinstructor,throughheractions,suggeststhatNicole'scontributionsarerelevant
anduseful.TheclassmatesthatlistenandgiveNicoletheirattentionsignalwhatishappening
isrelevanttotheirlearningofphysics.ThetechnologyutilizedintheclassroomallowsNicole
toprojectherpersonalcomputermakesthistypeofsharing-outpossible;thistypeofstudent-led
presentationisacriticalpieceofthecourse'sdesign.Itisalloftheclassroomroles,structures,
norms,andvaluesinconcertthatallowforthissenseofrelevancetobeco-constructedand
ampli˝ed.
Inordertoconnectthisexpandedviewofrelevancebacktothebeliefstructuresmentioned
before,wereturnourfocusbackontoNicole'sbeliefstoverifythatthismomentwas
relevant
to
her.AuthorNair,afterseeingthismomentplayoutintheclassroom,followedupwithNicoleover
email.Thefollowingexchangehappensintheverysamedaytheeventstookplace.
From:
Abhilash
To:
Nicole
HiNicole,
IhadwalkedintoclassandnoticedyouwerepresentingworkfromaJupyternotebook.I'm
wonderingifyoucouldreplywithabriefre˛ectionofyoupresentingthattotheclass:-how
didthathappen?-howdiditfeel?-whatareyourthoughtsaboutpresentingotherworkin
yourphysicsclass?
Ijustwanttograbyourthoughtswhilethememoryisstillfreshinyourmind.
Haveawonderfulday!
76
From:
Nicole
To:
Abhilash
HiAbhilash!
Whenwestartedthecoin˛ip/randomwalkworksheet,IrealizedthatIhadessentiallydone
thisinmy[computationalmodeling]class,soIshowedmygroup,becauseIthoughtitwas
alotmoreeasytovisualizelikethatthanitwastophysically˛ipacoin.[Theprofessor]
sawmedoingitandaskedifIwouldshowtheclass.Iactuallyenjoyeddoingit,because
therehavebeenalotofconnectionsbetweenthetwoclasses,soitwasfuntobeabletoshow
otherstheconnectionsIhadbeenabletomake.Ithinkshowingworkfromotherclasses
actuallyhelpsalot,becauseitputsintoperspectiveallthedi˙erentwaysphysicsisused.
Hopeyouhaveagreatday!
Nicolebelievestheactofbringinginworkacrosscoursesishelpfulandsheenjoyedshowing
herclassmatestheconnectionsshewasabletomake.Inthenextsectionwelookataconnection
betweenbiochemistryandphysicsNicolerecallsinherthirdinterviewandhighlighttheimportant
featuresthathelpedsupportthismemorableandrelevantmoment.
5.5.2.2Relevancebetweenbiochemistryandphysics
InourthirdinterviewwithNicole,we˝ndoutthatconnectingacrossphysicsandbiochemistryis
alastingmemoryforher.
interviewer:
Tellmesomememorablemomentsfromthe˝rstsemester.
nicole:
UmIthinkonememorablemomentwasliketowardstheendwhenweweretalking
aboutlikethewatermoleculesandstu˙,IreallylikedthatbecauseIfeltlikeitrelated
reallywelltoBiochem,soIthoughtthatlikethosetwoconceptsliketogetherlike
reallygavemeareallystrongideaofwhypolarandnon-polarmoleculesdon'tinteract
basically.
77
interviewer:
Oh,ok,sotakemetothephywhichpartsweretheywhenyoutalkedabout
water.
nicole:
Umthatwastheveryendofthesemesterwebasicallyjustdid-wedidn'treallydo
anylikeexperimentationoranythingwejustkindoftalkedthroughalotofitandmade
likegiantwhiteboardsanddrewalotofpicturesandstu˙.UmbutIrememberlike
therewasonespeci˝cquestionwhereIwaslike"weliterallyhadanentireslideinmy
biochemlecturethatisthiswordforword"SoIlikeshowedthemandI'mlikethisis
what'sgoingonandthisislikehowthephysicswouldworkbehinditso.
interviewer:
Whoa,soyouwereshowingyourgroup-mates?
nicole:
Yeah
interviewer:
Inphysics?
nicole:
Hm.mmm.[
nodsinagreement
]
interviewer:
Umitseemslikealotoftimesyou'rebringinginoutsideofclassmaterials
intotheclass,howdidthatfeel?
nicole:
Itwasnice,itwasnicetomakethatconnectionbetweenthetwo,becauseitkindof
likereinforcestheideathatscienceissuperinterconnected.

Int3
]
TheactivitywhichNicolereferstoaboveisadaptedfromNEXUS/Physicswhichasksstudents
touseconceptsofenthalpyandentropytoreasonthroughwhyoilandwaterdonotmix.It
explicitlyquestionswhyoilandwatermixedtogetherisn'tafavoredstateeventhoughitappears
more"disordered"[35].Wenowturntothein-classvideotoseethismomentplayout.Nicoleis
workinginagroupofthreewithclassmatesMelanieandAlisa;NicoleandMelanieareadjacent
toeachother.Allthreestudentshavetheirheadsdown˝llingoutanswersto˝rstpageofthe
activity.Nicole˝nishesansweringthe˝rstpageandturnsthepagetolookatthenextquestion
(#4).Shethenexclaims"Ooh!Number4I..."andsmiles.Shethenquicklyreachesforherlaptop
andpowersiton.Ashortwhilelater,Melanieis˝nishedwiththe˝rstpageaswellandcon˝rms
heranswerswithNicole.ShethennoticesNicole'slaptopscreenandasksNicole"It'sbiochem?"
78
Nicolethenreplieswithasmileandsays"Yupbutit'sliterallytheanswertonumber4,so..."
Nicolenotesmultipletimestoclassmatesandtoundergraduatelearningassistantsthattheconcepts
inthisactivityarebeingcoveredsimultaneouslyinherbiochemistrycourse.
Onelearningassistant(Miles,pseudonym),whoiscoincidentallymajoringinbiochemistry,
stopsbyNicole'sgroup.MilesisacasestudentfromYear1ofBLiSSPhysics,whojoinedthe
instructionalteamasalearningassistantinthefollowingyear.MilesvalidatesNicole'sconnection
andstatesthatasimilarrealizationhappenedforhimwhenhewasastudentinthecourse;he
hadseensimilardiagramsbeingusedacrossphysicsactivitiesandhisbiochemistrytextbook.He,
againrelayshisownexperiencebydescribinghisformerbeliefthattheprocessesdescribedinthe
activityweresimplydrivenbyenthalpyanddescribeshowhenowrealizeshewaswrong.When
Nicoleandhergroupmemberssuggestthattheyare˝nished,Mileschallengesthemwithatask
thatisnotpartoftheactivity:toconsideriftheprocessofasubstratebindingtoanenzymeis
favorable.Throughthisinteraction,Nicolemakingconnectionsacrosshercoursesisnormalized
andrea˚rmedbyalearningassistantwhohasthedualstatusof(1)astudentwhohassuccessfully
completedthephysicscourseand(2)hasdisciplinaryexpertiseinbiochemistry.
OverthecourseoftwoclassperiodsweseeNicoletakingtheleadonwritinghergroup's
answersonwhite-boards,thiswasnotcommonforNicoleacrossherentiresemesterinthecourse.
WorkingwithMelanieandAlisawasastatedpreferenceofNicole'sandshereportedthatshe
workedmuchmoree˙ectivelywiththemthanotherstudents.Whetherwiththisgrouporothers,
Nicoletypicallydidnottaketheleadonwritinghergroup'sresponsesandinsteadcanbeoften
seenonvideoquietlyfollowinghergroup.SimilartothesynergybetweenNicole'scomputational
modelingcourseandphysics,theoverlapbetweenbiochemistryandphysicsactivitieswasnot
planned.Wearguethatthesimilarityofactivitiesisnotthemostsigni˝cantfeatureinmakingthis
momentmemorableandrelevant.
Thedatafromthein-classvideosuggeststhatthereareseveralclassroomstructuresthat
helpfacilitateNicolebringinginrelevantbiochemistryknowledgeintoaphysicsactivity.The
classroomnormsandcultureencouragestudentstoseekoutanyandallresourcestheyrequire.
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Manystudentsusetheirownlaptops,phones,andtabletstolookupinformationorreadclass
materialsonline;thisisencouragedandnotconsideredo˙-task.Nicoleprojectsherlaptoptothe
classtoshowhercomputationalsimulationofrandomwalkandusesherlaptoptobringupher
biochemistrynotes.Theclassroomcultureprioritizesstudentideasandbuildingconsensusover
relayingthe"correctanswer."Thisa˙ordsNicoletheopportunitytotaketheleadanddemonstrate
herknowledgefrombiochemistryandcontributetohergroup'swhite-boards.Miles'svalidation
ofNicole'sconnectionsarebolsteredbyhisrolesasaseniorbiochemistrymajorandastudentwho
hassuccessfullycompletedthephysicscourse.
Alloftheclassroomstructures,norms,androlesthathelpfacilitateandco-constructthis
momentcannotbedescribedbysimplymeasuringNicole'sbeliefs.Wearguethatthefullsense
ofphysicsbeingrelevanttoNicole'sothercoursesexistsinherbeliefsaswellastheinteractions
betweenNicoleandtheclassroom.Pre-to-postshiftsonattitudinalandepistemologicalsurveys
canbeanimportantdatapointformeasuringrelevancebutitdoesnotcapturetherichnessand
thepowerofclassroomelementsinamplifyingorco-constructingthosebeliefs.Usingecological
systemstheoryallowsustoidentifythatthemesosystemcanserveasarichspaceforrelevance
throughconnectionsacrosscourses.Oursituativeapproachtorelevancegivesusthechanceto(1)
capturethesemomentsastheyplayoutinourclassroomsforamorecompletesenseofrelevance
and(2)highlightcoursestructuresandnormsthatbedesigned/iteratedtoimpacttherelevanceof
physicsforstudents.
5.6Discussion
Inthispaper,wehavepresentedanalysisthatpushesbeyondthecognitiveperspectiveonrele-
vanceandusesasituativeapproach[67],areadermayquestionifexploringrelevancenecessitates
suchanexpansiveframework.Ecologicalsystemstheory'ssituativenaturegivesscholarsthelan-
guagetostartidentifyingsitesthatmaybeformativeinastudent'ssenseoftherelevanceofphysics.
Untilnow,thephysicsclassroomhasbeentheprimaryfocusofworkonstudents'beliefsonthe
relevanceofphysics[4,5,Wearguethattheotherlayersofsystemswithinastudent's
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lifecanplayacriticalroleinastudent'ssenseofrelevance.Inadditiontoallowingustomapout
importantcontextsinstudents'lives,asituativeperspectivea˙ordsustheabilitytoexplorethe
reciprocalrelationshipthatanenvironmentanditsparticipantshaveononeanother.
5.6.1Relevanceisco-constructedbystudentsandtheirenvironments
Oneofthelimitationsinseeingrelevanceaspurelyacognitiveconstructisthatitputstheonuson
studentsto
believe
thatphysicsisrelevant.Whenstudentsreporttheirbeliefthatphysicsmaynot
berelevanttotheirlives,thereisariskthatscholarsmayfocusonhowto˝xstudents'beliefsas
opposedtoaddressingthelayersofsystemsstudentsexistwithin.Movingawayfromade˝cit-view
ofstudents'beliefs,wecanexploretherichwaysstudentsandphysicsclassroomscanco-construct
andamplifytherelevanceofphysics.
Mariaarguablyisastudentthatwillattempttomakeconnectionsinanyclassroomsheis
inbutitisthedynamicrelationshipofthetwocoursesthathelpedforgehersensethatphysics
isrelevanttoher.Thecurriculum[35,40]mayhaveintroducedthenotionthatphysicsand
biologysharedisciplinaryideasbutwearguethatrelevancewasco-constructedbyMaria,her
coursework,therolessheplayedinthosesettings,andtherolesthesettingsplayedinamplifying
herconnections.Thisreciprocalanddynamicnaturetotheconstructionofrelevanceiswellsuited
forasituativeperspective.Mariabringsherbiologyknowledgeintothephysicsclassroomtoarrive
atanalternativesolutionpath.TheinstructorvalidatesMariaandaskshertoshareherreasoningto
therestoftheclass.Thecourseallowsformultiplecorrectanswersandhasthespaceforstudents'
voicestobesharedasexpertsintheirhomedisciplines.Inthismoment,Mariaisbringingin
theoutsidedisciplinaryknowledgebutitistheclassroomstructuresandvaluesthatamplifyher
relevantconnection.
Nicoleseesconnectionsbetweenherphysicscourseandhercomputationalmodelingcourse
earlyoninthesemester.ThisconnectionissupportedbymultiplemomentsinwhichNicolebrings
intheworkfromonecoursetohelpwiththeother.Wedemonstratethroughaseriesofinterviews
thatNicole'sbeliefsaroundrelevancehavebeenimpactedbyherclassroomexperiences.Whenwe
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looktotheclassroomforevidenceofthischange,ecologicalsystemstheoryallowsustoseetherole
theclassroomplaysinco-constructingandamplifyingtherelevanceofphysicsforNicole.Nicole
andtheclassroom'sdesigntogetherhaveconstructedamomentinwhichphysicsandNicole's
disciplinaryknowledgeandexperiencesarerelevanttoeachother.
5.6.2Ecologicalsystemstheoryasamotivationforholisticreforms
Oneofthestrategiesemployedbyscholarsattemptingtoimprovetheresultsfromsurveymeasures
istoengagestudentsinactivitiestodeveloptheirabilitiesinre˛ectionandmeta-cognition[38,
49].Theseinterventionsareoftenlocalizedtothephysicsclassroomandactivelyrequirestudents
toarticulateandre˛ectonconnectionsbetweenphysicsandtheirlives.Thetacitmessageis
thatstudentsdonotalreadypossessadequatere˛ectiveabilities.Thisde˝cit-viewofstudents'
abilitiesisproblematicbutitbecomesespeciallysowhenconsideringnon-physicsmajors.Thelife
sciencestudentspresentedherearehigh-achievingandhavesophisticatedexpertiseintheirmajor
disciplines.Theyactivelyandregularlyengageinthoughtfulre˛ectiontoassesshowrelevanttheir
courseworkandotherexperiencesaretothem,includingdecidingwhetherphysicsisacoursethat
shouldbetakensimply"togetitoutoftheway."
Itmaybepossiblethataphysicsclassroomactivityrequiringstudentstoconstructandre˛ect
onpotentialconnectionsofphysicstotheirlifecanresultinfurtherdevelopmentofstudents'
senseofrelevanceofphysics,whichcanthenbecapturedinpre-to-postshiftsonsurveys.Itmay
alsobepossiblethatrepeatedinsistencethatstudentsshouldbelievethatphysicsisconnectedto
theirlivesresultsinthemreportingwhattheyhavebeenconditionedtoreport.Withoutcareful
qualitativework,itwillbedi˚culttodistinguishbetweenthesepossibilities.Weacknowledgethat
apositiveresultonthesesurveymeasuresregardlessofthestrategyisprobablybene˝cialforthe
perceptionofphysicseducation.Theaspectthatconcernsusisthatasphysicsreformsproliferate
acrossinstitutions,wecontinuetocollectinstructionalstrategiesandactivitiestolayerontopof
aphysicsclassroomandlosesightoftheecologyatplay.Studentsenterandexitavarietyof
disciplinaryclassroomsandwithoutasystems-levelviewoftheirecosystem,itischallengingto
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forgemeaningfulconnectionsthatpersistandperpetuatebeyondthephysicsclassroom.
Ecologicalsystemstheorymotivatesustomovebeyondattemptstodesignorchoosethebest
activitytopromotestudents'beliefsaroundphysics.Insteaditnecessitatesthatweseestudents
asexistinginmultipleinteractinglayersofsystems.Inourcourse,wehaveestablishedseveral
practicestoensurethatstudents'beliefs,a˙ect,andexperiencesarebroughtintotheinstructional
cycle.Weuseaninitialsurveytoassesswhichdisciplinaryareasourstudentsarecomingfrom,
whattheyhopetodointhefuture,theirpreviousexperienceswithphysics,andtogaugetheir
levelofanxietyorfearastheyenterthecourse.Thisservesasafoundationofknowledgethat
willhelpguideinstructionalchoicesbutitmustbenotedthatevenwiththisknowledgewedid
notpredicttheconnectionsMariaandNicolewereabletomake.Planninginstructiontoattendto
students'ecologiesislessaboutpredictingwhichactivitieswillresonateandmoreaboutdesigning
activitieswithspace,depth,and˛exibilitytoamplifywhatstudentsarealreadycapableandwilling
todo.Thisprocesspromotesbringingstudentideasintoactivities,allowsinstructorstopositionlife
sciencestudentsasexpertsintheirhomedisciplines,andprovidescriticalvalidationanda˙ective
support.Movingtowardholisticphysicsreformsthatareresponsivetotheecosystempresentfor
theirstudentshasthepossibilitytogeneratelong-lastingandmeaningfulnarrativesoftherelevance
ofphysicstostudents'lives.
5.6.3Theimportanceofprovidingspaceforstudentstobringthewholeoftheirdisciplinary
selvesin
Oneofthecomponentsofthestudentsexperiencesoutlinedinthispaperisthespacetheyare
a˙ordedinbringingintheirdisciplinaryexpertise.Wearguethattheparticipatoryactsthesethree
studentsengagedinwascriticalintheconstructionofrelevance.Mariarecognizedanalternative
solutionpathutilizinghermicrobiologycontentknowledgeandwasa˙ordedtheopportunityto
sharehersolutiontotheclass.Nicolebroughtinhersolutionfromhercomputationalmodeling
coursetoshowhergroupmatesavisualizationthatshefeltwaseasiertounderstandthanthephysics
activity,shewasinvitedtosharethiswiththeentireclassroom.Theseparticipatorystructuresand
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a˛exiblecontentcoverageschedulewereimportantconsiderationstothedesignofourclassroom.
Withoutthisresponsiveanddynamicenvironment,weimagineMariaandNicolemaynothavehad
aspositiveofanexperience.
5.7Implications
5.7.1Revisitingourtoolstomeasurerelevance
Alargeportionoftheworkonstudents'attitudesandbeliefsinphysicseducationresearchconsists
ofreportingonfourcommonlyusedsurveys.Thiscorpusofworkfocusesonevaluatingcurriculum
andpedagogyonitsabilitytoshiftstudents'endorsementsofbeliefstatements.Thisworkhas
expandedtoincludedi˙eringstudentcompositionsandhasbeenusedtocomparetherelative
successofdi˙erentresearch-backedinstructionalstrategies.Resultsfromthesesurveyshavebeen
frequentlyreportedtosuggestthatitiscommonandexpectedthatstudentswill˝ndphysicsless
relevantafterinstructionthantheydidbefore.Wearguethatthe˝rstissueinthischainofevents
isthatthereisnoconsensusforwhatitmeansforphysicstoberelevant.Inthesurveys,phrases
suchas"realworld"and"everydaylife"areusedwithoutcontextualizingthemintowhatstudents
experience.Wehavepreviouslyarguedthattheconceptofthe"realworld"presentedinthese
surveysisofanabstractedsenseofthenaturalworldthatdoesnotincludestudents'disciplinary
interests[12].Ifourphysicsstudentsexperiencesarenotappropriatelycapturedwithinthese
surveys,thenthemeasurementofrelevanceislimitedandtheinterpretationsofstudents'abilities
tomakeconnectionsbecomesproblematic.Westillseethebene˝tofpre-to-postsurveysandwill
continuetoemploythemtounderstandthee˙ectsofourclassroomsbutwemustacknowledge
thelimitationintheirabilitytocapturerelevance.Mostimportantly,wemustshiftawayfrom
describingstudentsinde˝cit-tingedlanguagesothattheroleofinstructionisnottopersuade,
demand,orforcestudentstomakeconnectionsbutratherinvitestudentstohavearoleinthe
classroomsothatphysicsmayhavearoleintheirlives.
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5.7.2Expandingthegoalsofdesigningcoursesforrelevance
Thereadermaywonderifthesolutiontocreatingmorerelevantphysicsclassroomsistodesign
thenextcoin˛ipactivityforthenextNicole,orthenextparameciumactivityforthenextMaria.
Muchofthecurriculumdevelopmentinintroductoryphysicsforthelifesciences(IPLS)isfocused
oncreatinginterestingandengagingactivitiesforstudentstoauthenticallyapplyphysicstoexplore
biologicalphenomena.Webelievethatiscertainlyanimportantfactorinpromotingrelevance;
activitiesmustberichandauthenticastonotsimplyprovideaveneerofbiologicalcontextover
whatisessentiallyatraditionalphysicsproblem[73].Wealsobelievethatthecurriculumisonly
partofthesolution;classroomstructures,norms,androlesplayanequally,ifnot,moreimportant
role.
ThedatapresentedinthispaperfromtheexperiencesofMariaandNicoleshowtheimportance
oftheclassroominbringinginandvaluingtheirdisciplinaryexperiences.Weare˝ndingthat
providingspaceforstudentstobringtheirideasintotheclassroomrequiresarelatively˛exible
contentcoverageschedule,normsforsharingoutideastothelargerclass,andfacilitationofthe
buildingofconsensus.Theseareelementsoftheclassroomthatcanbeintentionallydesigned.As
partofourlargerdesign-basedresearchstudy,wearecurrentlyintheprocessofarticulatingdesign
conjecturesforaclassroomthatamongotherthings,canamplifyrelevance.Wedonotbelieve
itispossibletopredictallofourstudents'disciplinaryinterestsandexperiences,sowerelyon
buildingspacetoallowforstudentstosharetheirexpertise.Thisisimportantbothforstudentsand
learningassistantswhowereformerstudents.Positioningstudentsasexpertsinthelifesciences
andincorporatingtheirexpertiseintothelearningofphysicsallowsforaresponsivecourseandis
lessreliantonaperfectlycoordinatedIPLScurriculum.
5.8Acknowledgements
WethankthemembersoftheANSERgroupforthoughtfuldiscussionsaroundthiswork.We
thankthePERL@MSUgroupfortheirengagementandre˛ectionsduringgroupmeetingswhere
thisworkwaspresented.ThisworkwasfundedbytheLymanBriggsCollegeandtheDepartment
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ofPhysicsandAstronomyatMichiganStateUniversity.WewouldalsoliketothankAngela
LittleandBenjaminGellerfortheirencouragementandconstructivefeedbackinpushingthiswork
forward.Lastly,andmostimportantly,wewanttothankBeverly,Miles,Maria,andNicolefor
participatinginourresearchandallowingustosharetheirexperiences.
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CHAPTER6
TRULYNOTAFRAIDOFPHYSICSANYMORE:TRANSFORMATIONFROM
FEARINGPHYSICSTOAMPLIFYINGITSRELEVANCE
6.1Introduction
6.1.1Thenegativeperceptionofphysics
Physics,asadiscipline,hascultivatedaproblematicimagethatscholarshavebeenactivelytrying
tomitigate.Commonlypeoplehavedescribedphysicsas(1)evokingfearandanxiety(2)
beingirrelevanttostudents'livesorfuturecareerplans[18,and(3)beingdense,abstract,
orinscrutable[77,78].Emotionalanda˙ectivestancestowardphysicscananddoa˙ectstudents
abilitytolearnandareintertwinedwithstudents'epistemologicalbeliefs[79,80].Inattempts
toaddressthesechallenges,alargebodyofworkhasbeendedicatedtodevelopingstrategiesto
engagestudents,reducefear,andtransformstudents'beliefsandattitudestowardphysics[4,5,9,
10,19,20,38,51].Weaddtothisliteraturebasebyexploringhowanecologicalsystemsviewof
relevancecanexplaintheevolutionoftheroleofphysicsinastudent'slife.
6.1.2Physicsforthelifesciencesasanexemplarcontext
Inordertoexploretheseproblematicperceptions,wearguethatintroductoryphysicsforthelife
sciences(IPLS)classroomsareidealcontexts.Studentsmajoringinthelifesciencesrepresentoneof
thelargestproportionsofstudentsenrollinginintroductoryphysics[11].Additionally,disciplinary
areasinthelifesciencesandphysicsareoftenconsideredtohaveepistemologicalvaluesthatare
distantfromoneanother[73].Inearlyinterviewsourcasestudentsreportthatbiologyvalues
process-levelknowledgeandislessconcernedwithdiscretemechanisticexplanationsthatthey
associatewithphysics.Thisepistemologicaldistancecontributestothesensethatphysicshaslittle
relevancetothedisciplinaryinterestsoflifesciencestudents.Forpre-healthmajors,theperceived
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irrelevanceofphysicsiscompoundedbycon˛ictingmessaging;physicseducationscholarsand
policyreportsinsistlearningphysicsisrelevanttothestudyofmedicine[1,35,43]whilemedical
graduatesandphysiciansdisagree[12,Thediscrepancybetweentheviewsofsurveyed
practitionersinthecitedstudiesandthosethathelpcreatepolicyrecommendations[1]mayre˛ect
thegapthatexistsbetweenthecurrentperceptionoftherelevanceofphysics
is
andwhatitideally
couldbe.
Inthepastfewdecadesofphysicseducationresearch(PER),manyinstructionalstrategies
havebeendesignedto(1)positivelya˙ectstudents'beliefsandattitudestowardphysics[8,35,
71]and(2)presentphysicsasrelevanttostudents'disciplinaryinterestsorcareerplans[38,51,
81].Inspiteofthislargebodyofwork,themechanismbywhichtheseclassroomexperiences
impactstudentsisstillunder-explored.PER'scurrentmeasuresofsuccessofthesereforme˙orts
includepre-to-postshiftsonsurveysthatfailtocapturethewholeofthetransformationinstudents'
perceptionsofphysics[4,5,15,19,20].Thispaperaimstoarticulatethetransformationofa
student'sperceptiontowardphysicsthroughacasestudyoftheirexperiencesinanIPLSclassroom
intentionallydesignedtoattendtostudents'a˙ectaswellasvaluetheirdisciplinaryexperiences.
Wepushbeyondevaluatingthesuccessofthecourseasamonolithicexperienceandexplorethe
more˝ne-grainedinteractionsthatcontributetoatransformationoftheroleofphysicsinastudent's
life.
Inpreviousphysicseducationresearcharoundstudents'viewsofphysics,thefocushasbeen
aroundframingtheproblemofphysicsbeingperceivedasirrelevantasjustthat:aperception
issuethatthestudentshave.Inthosestudies,therecommendationwasforinstructorstoconvince,
coerce,orforcestudentsintobelievingthatphysicssimply
is
relevant.Weidentifythisasa
de˝cit-framingofstudents'abilities[15].ThispaperfocusesonMiles(pseudonym)whoisnot
accuratelyrepresentedwiththisde˝cit-framing.Milesactivelylookstomakeconnections,and
ifheultimatelydoesnotbelievephysicstoberelevant,itisnotbecausehehasoverlookedor
underestimatedphysics.
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6.1.3IntroducingMiles
WeorganizeourexplorationofMiles'sexperiencesintothreeacts.ActIfollowsMilesashe
experienceshis˝rstphysicscourse.Intheseexperiencesweseefearandanxietyinteractingwith
theutilityandsensemakingtoolsphysicsprovides.ForMiles,physicsisbothfrustratingand
functionalingaininginsightsintophysicalprocesses.ActIIdescribestheroleofMiles'sphysics
classroomexperiencesasastudentandasalearningassistantinmakingrelevantconnectionsto
physics.ActIIIfocusesonMilesasanagentofchangeasheembracesthevalueofhisroleasa
learningassistantandbecomesanampli˝eroftherelevanceofphysicstostudentsinthecourse.
Throughouttheseactswewillshowhowviewingrelevanceasasetofconnectionsbetween
physicsandMiles'slifeallowsustotrackthetransformationoftheroleofphysicsfromfearto
empowerment.Milesentershis˝rst-everphysicscoursewithanxietyandlackofcon˝denceinhis
abilitytodophysics.Afterheleavesthecourse,hedescribesadrastictransformation.
miles:
It'squitehonestly,veryremarkablehowcleareverythinghasbecome.I'mtrulynot
afraidofphysicsanymore.Iwasveryscaredofphysics,becauseitwasjustawayof
thinkingIneverhadtodo.Itwassomethingthatjustdidn'tcomeeasilytome...

Int4,Nov.2017
]
InthispaperwewillshowhowanalyzingMilesfromaecologicalsystemsperspectiveof
relevancehelpsustoseehowthischangeoccurred,tracingthegrowthandevolutionofconnections
betweenphysicsandsettingsinhislife.
6.2Methodology
Theworkpresentedinthispaperbuildsalongitudinalcasestudyofastudentashelearns
physicsforthe˝rsttimeinanIPLScoursethatistaughtinastudioformat.Thecourseutilizes
discursivestructuressuchaswhiteboardsandarrivingataclassroomconsensusthroughstudent
argumentation[39].SincethetermsIPLSandstudioformatcanhavemanyimplementations,itis
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instructivetooutlinethefeaturesofthestudycontextthatwebelievearecriticalinunderstanding
thiswork.
6.2.1Coursecontext
Thecourseinthisstudyisatwo-semesterintroductoryphysicssequencenamedBriggsLifeScience
Studio(BLiSS)Physics.ThiscourseistaughtinLymanBriggsCollege,aresidentialcollege
withinMichiganStateUniversity(MSU)thatisfocusedonscienceandthehistory,philosophy,
andsociologyofscience.Thevastmajorityofstudentsinthecoursearelifesciencemajors,and
manyofthemarepre-healthmajorswithplanstoattendmedicalschool.BLiSSPhysicsisoneof
multipleimplementationsofintroductoryphysicsthatstudentscanenrollinMSU.Thecreationof
BLiSSrepresentedcontinuingreformsinmakingphysicsatLymanBriggsmorerelevanttothelife
sciencemajors.
6.2.1.1Explicitfocusona˙ect
ThedesignofBLiSSPhysicsincorporatesexplicitsupportofstudents'a˙ectthroughconversations
withstudentsthatlearningphysicscanbechallengingandstressfulattimes.Thelearningobjectives
inBLiSSPhysicsincludehelpingstudentsleavethecoursewithlessfearandanxietytowards
physics,aswellasincreasedsenseofcompetenceindoingphysics.Atthestartofthecourse,
studentsareaskedto˝lloutaninitialsurveytounderstandtheirdisciplinaryinterests,futurecareer
plans,previousexperienceswithphysics,andtoprobetheirself-reportedanxietyandlevelof
preparednessforthecourse.
6.2.1.2Mixedinstructionalteam
TherearethreesectionsofBLiSSPhysicstaughtinasemesterbyadiverseinstructionalteam
consistingofundergraduatelearningassistants(whohavepreviouslysucceededinthecourse),
physicsgraduatestudents,andtwofacultymembers.Inanygivensectionofthecourse,thereare
threemembersoftheinstructionalteampresentforamaximumof48students.Studentsareinvited
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tojointheinstructionalteambybecomingundergraduatelearningassistantsiftheyhavesucceeded
inthecourse,havedemonstratedastrongabilitytocommunicate,andgenerallypromoteapositive
stancetowardsthestrugglesoflearningphysics.
6.2.1.3Authenticbiologicalcontext
EveryIPLScurriculumfocusesonbiologicalcontextsinwhichphysicsmaybeusedbutthe
implementationofthesephysicsconceptsappliedtobiologycanvarywildlyintheirauthenticityto
howbiologistswork[73].ThecurriculumofBLiSSPhysicsconsistsofamixtureofIPLSmaterials
thathavebeenpreviouslypublishedaswellasnewmaterialscreatedforthiscourse[9,31,35,51].
6.2.1.4Studentsasdisciplinaryexperts
OneofthestatedconcernsinimplementingIPLScurriculaisthephysicsinstructor'sknowledge
ofthelifesciencesandwhetheritissu˚cienttoauthenticallyincorporatephysicsintobiological
contexts.Toalleviatesomeoftheseissues,weconsultedwithabiophysicistatMSUwhohelped
articulatelimitsofphysicsmodelsaswellasintroduceustonewbiologicalphenomenathat
canbemodeledwiththetoolkitofintroductoryphysics.Theresourcewerelyonthemost
duringinstruction,however,isthestudents'disciplinaryexperiences.Thiscoursetakesplaceina
residentialcollegethatfocusesonscience(LymanBriggsCollege)withinMichiganStateUniversity.
Wecanexpectourstudentstoenterthephysicsclassroomwiththeknowledgeandexpertiseofpast
experienceswithbiologyandchemistry.Webuildstructuresintheclassroomtosupportstudentsin
bringingtheirdisciplinaryknowledgeintoactivitiestoarriveatricherexplanations.Thecurricular
activities,therefore,mustbe˛exibleandrelativelyunconstrainedtoallowforstudentstoinfuse
theirideasintothesolution.
6.2.1.5Modelingbiologicalcomplexitythroughcomputation
Asigni˝cantobjectiveofthecourseistodemonstratetostudentsthatmodernscienceutilizesthe
powerofcomputingtoanswercomplexquestions.Manystudentsenterourclassroomneverhaving
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writteninanyprogramminglanguage.Asawaytofamiliarizestudentswithusingcomputation
asatool,weincorporateactivitiesthataskstudentstoconstructvisualsimulationsusingvPython
throughanonlinedevelopmentenvironment[82].Studentsareneveraskedtowritecodefrom
scratchbutratherareprovidedminimallyworkingprogramsStudentsareaskedtomodify
orupdatethefewlinesoftheprograminorderforthesimulationtomodelaccuratephysics.
6.2.2Datacollection
Thedatapresentedinthispaperwaspartofalargerdesign-basedresearche˙orttostudythe
e˙ectivenessofthetransformedBLiSSPhysicsclassroominpromoting(1)studentattitudesand
beliefsaroundtherelevanceofphysicsand(2)studentself-e˚cacyandmindsettowardslearning
physics.ThecasestudyofMiles(pseudonym)representsoneof40casestudentsthatwere
interviewedacrosstwoyearsofthiscourse.24ofthesecasestudentswerefollowedandinterviewed
atmultipletimes.AuthorNairwasembeddedinthecourseasaresearcherandinstructor,and
helpeddevelopcurricularmaterials.Hewaspresentnearlyeverydayofinstruction,managingdata
collectionandrecording˝eldnotes.AuthorSawtellewastheleaddeveloperofthecurriculum
materialsforthisclass,andwasafacultyinstructorfor6sectionsofthecourseinwhich29cases
wereembedded.
Thedatainthispaperincludesmultipledatastreamsincludinganinitialcoursequestionnaire
whichisaimedatassessingstudentsperceptionsof,andpreviousexperienceswith,physicsas
theyentertheclassroom(seeSupplementalMaterialsforthecompletesurvey).Therewerethree
semi-structuredinterviewsconductedthroughouttheyear:nearthestartoftheFallsemester,near
theendoftheFallsemester,andhalfwaythroughtheSpringsemester.Afterhistimeasastudent,
Milesjoinedtheinstructionalteamasanundergraduatelearningassistantandwasintervieweda
fourthtimeinthemiddleofhis˝rstsemesterteachingphysics.
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6.2.3Analysismethods
Thiscasestudyutilizedseveralanalysismethodstounpackmeaningfromthevariousdatastreams.
Initialshort-responsecoursequestionnaireswerecategorizedbasedonstudentresponsesaround
(1)anxietyorfeartowardsphysics,(2)theirdisciplinaryidentities,and(3)theirattitudesand
beliefstowardphysicsbeingrelevant.Fieldnoteswerewrittentodocumenttheemergingthemes
andinteractionsintheclassroomforthepurposeofgivingcontextandlifetotheinterviewdata.
Eachinterviewwasvideoandaudiorecorded,transcribed,andcodedinmultipleiterations.
Initiallycodeswerecreatedtocapturethedi˙erentnotionsofrelevancerepresentedinthePER
measuresofstudentviewsofphysics(physicsbeingrelevantforfuturecareers,understanding
therealworld,everydaylife,orpersonalinterest),aswellasnotionsthatwerenotasfrequently
measured(physicsbeingrelevanttostudents'disciplinaryexperiencesoutsideofphysics)[12,29,
33].Asthestudyprogressed,thefocusofthecodingexpandedtoincludenarrativecodesthat
capturedhowMilespositionedtheroleofphysicsinhislife.WhenMilesbecamealearning
assistantinthecourse,thein-class˝eldnotesalsowereexpandedtoincludemomentswhenMiles
re˛ectedontheroleofphysicstootherstudents.Analyticmemoswereproducedthroughoutthis
studytohighlightsigni˝cantmomentsin-classaswellasintheinterviews[29,33].
Theclaimspresentedinthispaperweredevelopedanditeratedoverthecourseofmultiple
years.Claimswererevisedandvalidatedthroughdiscussionsandpresentationsatseveralresearch
groupmeetings.TranscriptionandcodingwascompletedusingsoftwareincludingInqScribe[87]
andMAXQDA[32].Thiscasestudyexistsalongsideanalysisofmanystudentexperiencesinour
course;whilethestoryofMilespresentedinthispaperisitsownentity,theanalysismethodsused
weresharedacrossandshapedbythelargersetofstudentexperiences.
93
6.2.4TheoreticalFramework
6.2.4.1Relevance
Thenotionofrelevancepresentedinthispaperisbuiltandadaptedfrompasttheoreticalworkon
relevanceandpaste˙ortstocreateanorganizationalstructureofattitudesandbeliefs[21].
Wearespeci˝callyinterestedinexploringtherelevanceofphysics,sowestartfromandbuild
upontheareasofstudents'livesthathavebeenthefocusofmultiplecommonlyusedmeasuresof
students'viewsofphysics[4,5,19,20].Weorganizeastudent'ssenseoftherelevanceofphysics
asasetofattitudestowardsphysics,eachattitudebeingcomposedofasetofbeliefstowardphysics.
Tovisualizetheroleofphysicsinastudent'slife,wemaptheconnectionsbetweenphysicsand
di˙erentsettingsinwhichthestudentparticipates.
6.2.4.2EcologicalSystemsTheory
Ecologicalsystemstheorywasinitiallydevelopedtodescribehumandevelopment[22],wehave
adoptedittocharacterizestudents'livesasmultipleinteractingsystems[15].Previousworkhas
limitedtheexplorationofstudents'viewsoftherelevanceofphysicstoinsidetheclassroom,
suggestingnewcurriculumorpedagogicalstrategiestoin˛uencestudents'views[38,48,59].We
insteadreversethisapproachby˝rstexploringtheinteractingsystemsthatconstitutestudents'
lives,˝ndwaystoincorporatethosesystemsintotheclassroom,and˝nallyinformthedesignof
curriculaandpedagogytoallowstudentstobringthoseexperiencesintotheclassroom.Weuse
ecologicalsystemstheorytomapsettingsinastudent'slifethatcanimpacttherelevanceofphysics
andcharacterizethenatureofthatconnection.
Instudyingtherelevanceofphysics,wenarrowourfocustothetwoinnermostsystems,the
microsystemandthemesosystem.Whileallsystemsrepresentedinecologicalsystemstheoryare
important,weidentifythesetwosystemsasthemostaccessibleinourstudydesignandrepresent
thesystemsthatcanbemosteasilyimpactedbyexperiencesintheclassroom.Themicrosystem
iscomposedofthesettings,roles,andrelationshipsthestudentengagesindirectly.Theelements
94
withinthemicrosystemmayinclude,forexample,astudent'scourses,peernetwork,researchlab,
andtherolesandrelationshipswithinthosesettings.Themesosystemconsistsoftheconnections
betweensettingsinthemicrosystem.Wecanforexampleimaginethatastudent'scoursework,
peernetwork,orresearchlabmayimpacttheirviewstowardphysics.Themesosystemwillbethe
focusofthispaperaswemapouttheevolvingconnectionsbetweenphysicsanddi˙erentsettings
inMile'slife.
6.3Act1:Fearfulreverenceofphysics
Whenwe˝rstmeetMiles,heentersourphysicscourseinhisjunioryearasabiochemistry
majorwithminorsinItalianandbioethics.Heworksinabiochemistryresearchlabandplans
onattendingamedicalschoolandbecomeaphysicianthatworkswithchildren.Milesdescribes
biologyashisfavoritescienti˝cdiscipline.Heisa˝rstgenerationcollegestudentandhasnever
takenphysicsbefore.ConcurrentlywiththeBLiSSPhysicscourse,Milesisenrolledinanadvanced
biochemistrycourseandanorganicchemistrylaboratory.Whatcaughtourattentionearlyonis
Miles'strepidationandfeartowardsphysics;hefrequentlydescribedhisidentityasabiochemist
andpositionedphysicsoutsideofthatidentityassomethingwithwhichhehadlittleexperience.
InhisinitialcoursequestionnaireMilesindicatedona˝ve-pointscale(VeryPreparedtoVery
Unprepared)thathewasveryunpreparedforthecourseandinafreeresponsequestionaskinghim
todescribehisexpectations,hewrote:
miles:
IamverynervousbecauseIhaveZERO[emphasisinoriginalresponse]physics
knowledgewhatsoever.Manyofmypeershavetakenphysicsinhighschool.

CourseQuestionnaire,Aug.2016
]
Miles'sanxietytowardphysicsisbroughtupagainwhenweinterviewhiminthe˝rstweeks
oftheFallsemester.Shortlyafterlistingthecourseshe'stakinginthesemester,hedescribeshis
hesitationintakingthiscourse.
miles:
I'mmostnervousaboutphysicstobecompletelyhonest,I'venevertakenphysics
95
before...andit'sjustaverydi˙erentwayofthinkingaboutthings...It'sinteresting
tosee,youhearhorrorstoriesaboutphysics...[myadvisor]talkedmeintotaking
[BLiSS]physicsbecauseitwaschanging...soIsaid"OK,I'llgiveitatry."ButI'm
stillnervous...

Int1,Sep.2016
]
TheanxietyMilesdescribesisnotsolelythatofanachievement-orientedstudentworried
aboutsucceedinginanunfamiliarcourse.Hisstancetowardsphysicsisinformedbythenegative
experienceshe'switnessedinothers.Heexplainsthereputationofthiscoursebeingdi˚cult;which
promptedstudentstotakelargelecture-formatphysicscoursesinwhichthe˝nalgradewouldbe
morepredictable.
1
MilesisawareofthenegativereputationoftheBLiSSphysicscourse,andduringhistimeasan
instructorforanMCATreviewprogramhewitnessedpeersstrugglingwithphysicsasanobstacle
ontheMCAT.
miles:
IactuallytaughtanMCATreviewprogramatthebeginningoflastsummer...I
taughtafewchaptersofbiology,andonechapterofchemistry,andthenjustlikeinthe
MCATtheyaddedanewcriticalthinkingsection,stu˙likethat...physicswaslikethe
bigonethattheyhadtoreschedulecertaindaysaroundbecausethepeopletakingthe
classdidn'tfeeltheyhadenoughtimetogooverthephysicspart,andthatwaskind
oflikethe˝rsttimeIsawphysicslikerightupclose,'causeIdidn'tknow,andthese
tutorswerepullingtheirhairout.Thesekidsjustlookedterribleafterthephysicsparts
andtheymissedlunchafewdays,justtodophysics,anditwaskindofweirdbutI
meanyougottadoit,it'sontheMCAT,andthat'sgoingtobeahugefactorformed
school...hopefullytheydid˝neIdon'tknow,Ididn'thavetotutorphysics[
laughs
]

Int1,Sep.2016
]
1
StudentsatMSUhavemanyintroductoryphysicscoursestochoosefromandoftenmakea
strategicdecisiononwhichtheywillbemostsuccessfulin.
96
Inlightoftheseexperiences,theperceptionissuethatphysicshascultivatedisvividlydemon-
stratedforMiles;physicsstandsapartfromtheotherdisciplines.Hedescribesthenegative
experiencesofthoselearningphysicsandisgladhedidnothavetoteachphysics.Onestrikingfea-
tureofthisnarrativeisthateventhoughMilesisanxiousaboutphysicshestillseestheimportance
ofphysics.ItisnotthatMilesperceivedphysicstobevaluabletoacareerinmedicinebutthatitis
required,andthereforeitisahurdlethatmustbeovercomeinordertodowellontheMCAT.This
stancetowardsphysicsasanobstacletoovercomealignswithmanyreportsdescribingpre-health
studentsasbeinggrade-achievementoriented[43,WecharacterizeMiles'sattitudesand
beliefstowardphysicsasfearfulreverence;physicsisimportantforhissuccess,andyetitisin-
timidatingandscary.Asweproceedinthe˝rstinterview,weseethatthisfearfulreverenceisnot
limitedtotheroleofphysicsasarequiredobstacle.ForMiles,physicsisalsoimportantbecauseof
itsroleintheotherdisciplinaryareashestudies;physicsisbeingbroughtupinbiochemistryand
hebelievesphysicsexplainseverything.
interviewer:
Doyouseelikephysicspoppingupinyourotherclasses?
miles:
...it'sinterestingbecausetheonlyclassI'veseenitsofarisbiochem...wewerejust
talkingabout...waterandhowlikelifetodayformed...[biochemistryprofessor]was
justkindoftalkingtousabouttheconceptofhowit'sphysics-howthewater,thatit's
unfavorablehowwaterisbeingpushedoutastheenzymeandsubstratecometogether,
andIjustthoughtthatwassointeresting...I'msurethat'sgoingtohelpmeinseeing
physicsinotherclassestoo.

Int1,Sep.2016
]
Milesisseeingphysicsbeingreferredtobyhisprofessorinhismajordisciplineandisopen
toseeingmoreoftheseconnections.LaterinthesameinterviewMilesexpresseshisbeliefthat
physicsisfundamentalbyrepeatedlysaying"ithastobe"physics.AtthispointMileshasnot
hadtheexperiencewithphysicsforhimtoarticulateconnectionsbeyondhisbeliefthatitmustbe
physics,
97
interviewer:
Doyouseebiology,chemistry,andphysicsasbeingrelated?
miles:
Ineverreallydid,nowImean,theyhavetobe...likeIsaidIneverreallytookphysics
soIdidn'tknow.AndImean,ithastobephysics.Likeallofthathastobe,everykind
ofmovementor,we'veonlydonemovementsofar...Ithastobe,Ithinkphysicsisa
drivingforcebehindeverything,ithastobe.AtleastIthinkso...

Int1,Sep.2016
]
WeaskifMilesseesconceptsfromthe˝rstfewweeksofphysicsashavingconnectionsto
hisothercourses.Heresponds
"um...kinematics,Idon'tthinkIcanseeitnow."
ForMiles,we
arguephysicsisill-de˝nedandobscure.Evenwiththislackofclarity,heunderstandsphysicsis
importantfortworeasons:(1)itisrequiredforhissuccessontheMCATandincompletinghis
undergraduatedegree,and(2)thedrivingforceunderlyingeverything"hastobe"physics.
6.3.1Miles'sinitialmesosystem
WehavethusfardescribedMiles'sstartingsetofattitudesandbeliefstowardphysicsashebegins
ourcourse.Inthesubsequentsectionsofthispaper,wewillseetheroleofphysicsinMiles'slife
shiftashecompletesayearofphysicsasastudentandmovesintoaroleasalearningassistant.
WewillconstructdiagramsofMiles'smesosystem(i.e.,theconnectionsbetweenphysicsandother
settingsinMiles'slife)totrackthechangingnumberandqualityofconnectionsthataccompanya
shiftingroleofphysics(Fig.6.1).
Figure1displaysMiles'smesosystemintheFallsemesterduringtheseinitialinterviews.Miles
isenrolledinOrganicChemistryLabandAdvancedBiochemistryconcurrentlywithphysics.
BiochemistryandChemistryhavemultipleconnectionstodi˙erentsettingsinMiles'slife.He
tutorsthetopicsfromthesecoursesinanMCATreviewprogram,andheworksinabiochemistry
researchlabthatutilizesdisciplinaryknowledgefrombothchemistryandbiochemistry.Physics
standsapartinMiles'smesosystemashavingnopositiveconnectionstohisinterestsorpeergroups.
Itisalsotheonlydisciplinarycoursethatisill-de˝ned;Milesdoesnothavepreviousexperiences
learningphysicstoknowwhatitconsistsofletalonearticulatethewaysinwhichphysicsconnects
98
Figure6.1:ArepresentationofconnectionswithinMiles'smesosystemashestartshis˝rst
semesterofphysics.Thesettingsrepresentedincludethecourseshe'senrolledinaswellashis
extracurricularactivities.AdvancedBiochemistryandOrganicChemistryLabaretwocoursesthat
arewellconnectedtoothersettings;Milesworksasatutorinthesetopicsaswellasconducting
researchthatutilizesbothdisciplinaryareas.Incontrast,physicsexistsasalargelymysterious
entity(representedwithadottedoutline)withwhichMileshaslittleexperienceotherthanknowing
thatphysicsisimportantandthatithasareputationforbeingdi˚cultandstressful.
toothersettingsinhislife.MilesunderstandsthatphysicsisimportantforhissuccessontheMCAT
andthatitplaysanimportantroleamongsttheotherscienti˝cdisciplines.Healsohasseveral
experiencestosuggestthatlearningphysicsisastressfulandchallengingexperience.Physics,so
far,isnotintegratedintoMiles'slifeanditsrelevanceislimitedtothefactthatitisanobstacle
toovercome.InthenextsectionwewillseehowthisroleofphysicsevolvesforMilesashe
progressesthroughtherestofthecourse.WewillrevisitMiles'smesosystemineachacttoexplain
howphysicsbecomesmorerelevanttoMilesthroughtheproliferationandincreasingqualityof
physicsconnectionsinhismesosystem.
99
6.4ActII:Physicsasfrustrating&asensemakingtool
Inthissectionwelookatin-classdataofMilesaswellastwofollow-upinterviews,Wefollow
MilesashecompletesaunitnearthemiddleoftheFallsemesterthatincorporatescomputational
simulationstoexplaintheprocessofdi˙usionastheresultofcollisionsonalargescale.We
interviewMilesshortlyafterthedi˙usionunitandagainnearthemiddleoftheSpringsemester.
Thecomputationalsequenceondi˙usionissplitupintotwoclassperiods.The˝rstclassperiod
isfocusedonmanipulatingandcombiningequationsfromconservationofenergyandmomentum
toarriveatone˝nalexpressionforthechangeinmomentumofaparticleexperiencinganelastic
collision[91].Inthesecondclassperiod,studentsarepresentedwithaminimallyworkingprogram
[83,85,86]thatcontainsthestructureandsyntaxofasimulationoftwoparticlescollidingbut
withoutanexpressionforhowthemomentumwouldtransferbetweentheparticles.Theyare
taskedwithwritingafewlinesofcodethatrepresentsthecorrectphysicsusingtheirexpression
forthechangeinmomentumderivedinthepreviousclassperiod.Thereareintotal3simulations
studentsareaskedtocompletethatscaleupincomplexityfromvisualizing2spherescollidingin
1-dimension,to2spherescollidingina3-dimensionalbox,and˝nallytomanyspherescolliding
ina3-dimensionalbox.
6.4.1Familiarfrustrationswithphysics
Inhis˝rstinterview,Milesrecountsseveralnegativeexperienceshe'switnessedwhileothershave
triedtolearnphysicsandshareshisownanxietyabouthisownabilitytodophysics.Inthe˝rstday
ofthiscomputationalsequence,wewitnessMilesexperiencethisfamiliarsenseforwhatphysicsis:
afrustratingandchallengingdiscipline.Duringthestartofthe˝rstdayoftheactivity,Milescanbe
seeninthein-classvideowithhisheadonhishandseeminglydisengaged.Hehadjustexplained
tohisgroup-matesthathewasnotabletorelaxduringtheweekendandheexpressesfrustration
throughouttheactivityashestrugglestogetexpressionsthatagreewithhisgroup-mates(Kathryn
andAmy).Miles,attimes,worksaloneintenselytotryto˝ndwherehisderivationdi˙ersfrom
100
thegroup'sandtherestoftheclass.Throughoutthisentireunit,Kathrynisquietandrarelyspeaks
butfollowsalongwithhergroup'swork.Amytakestheleadinthegroupandendsupleadingthe
programming.Duringthe˝rstday,apatternemergesinwhichMileswilldisplayfrustrationand
Amywillhelpandreassurehim.
Inthenextmoment,Milesisscrutinizinghowtosimplifyhisexpression,andjokinglydisparages
himselfwhenhedoesnotnoticeitrightaway.
miles:
Oh,arethese[terms]goingtocancel?Ohthesewillcancel,wowI'manidiot.
amy:
Miles,it'sokay.
miles:
[
laughs
]It'ssoserious.
amy:
Lifewillgoon.

Day1,ComputationalSequence,Oct.2016
]
Later,whenMilesasksanLAforclari˝cation,theexplanationfromtheLAoccupiesapproxi-
mately5minutesofthegroup'sattention.AftertheLAleaves,Milesapologizesforhavingasked
thequestion.
miles:
I'msorryguys,[
group-mates
laugh
]Iamaweaklingofthisgroup.Youcaneat[sic]
meo˙theisland˝rst,I'veacceptedit...[
laughs
]Ihavenocontributiontothisgroup,
IknowI'materriblegroupmember,I'mjusttryingtounderstand.

Day1,ComputationalSequence,Oct.2016
]
Throughoutthe˝rstday,momentsofMilesdisplayingfrustrationiscommon.Though,theday
isnotwithoutmomentsofcelebration.WhenMilesdiscoversheisunderstandingorcanexplaina
process,hishappinessemotesveryclearlyinthevideo.
miles:
Ohthisonebouncesbackintheotherdirection,thisonejustkeepsgoing.Okay
makessense.Itliterallyslowsdownbylikepoint...[
startssmilingandnodding
]Finally
gettingsomethingguys.[
giveshimselfaroundofapplause
]goMiles.

Day1,ComputationalSequence,Oct.2016
]
101
BeingabletovisualizeaprocessisimportanttoMiles;hefrequentlyhasstatedininterviews
thatifhecanvisualizeaprocessthenheknowsheunderstandsit.Inthelastportionofclass,
Milescanbeseenworkingintenselywithhisnotebookandcalculatortryingtoreasonthroughhis
equations.ThegrouphasalreadyproducedawhiteboardwiththeirsolutionsbutMilescontinues
toworkwhileAmyandKathrynarewaitingfortheclasstoreconveneforawholeclassdiscussion.
WhenAmychecksinwithMiles,heexplainsthatheisnowplugginginnumberstounderstandthe
expressions.
miles:
...plugginginnumbersnow,'causeI'mlike,Ican'tseeitinmyhead,it'sbothering
me.

Day1,ComputationalSequence,Oct.2016
]
Afterthewhole-classdiscussionclassisadjournedandstudentsarepackinguptoleave.Amy
isworkingwithMilestohelpexplainwherehisexpressionsweredi˙erentfromthosepresentedin
class.Miles'sexpresseshisfrustrationthroughhumor.
miles:
I'mabouttocrymyself[
shakespaper
]I'mabouttothrowatempertantrum[
laughs
]
amy:
Miles,it'sokay...
miles:
IjusthatewhenIcan'tdosomething.Ifeellikethisyearhasbeenconsistentlyme
notknowinghowtodoshit.[
mimicsviolentlypoundinghis˝stsonthedesk
]I'moutraged
[
laughs
]I'mgoingtothrowatempertantrum[
laughs
]

Day1,ComputationalSequence,Oct.2016
]
WhileMilesisclearlyusinghumorinthevideo,itisclearfromhisactionsandhisinterviews
thathegenuinelycaresaboutunderstandingtheconcepts.Wearguethattherearetwomain
contributingfactorstohisfrustrations.
First,thisinitialtaskofmanipulatingexpressionshasbeenchallengingforbothstudentsand
LAsinourexperience.InLAprepmeetingsandindiscussionswithstudents,itbecameclearthat
thestepsinarrivingatthe˝nalexpressioncanseemtosomeasunmotivatedandarbitraryuntil
102
theyworkonprogrammingthesimulation.Untiltheyseethepurposeofthisexpressionindriving
thephysicsoftheirsimulation,itcanbeperceivedasapurelymathematicalexercise.
Second,whenMilescanbeseenintenselyworkingonarrivingatthecorrectexpression,Miles
alludestohisgroup-matesthatheneedstobeabletoseeit.ThissuggeststhatpartofMiles's
frustrationstemsfromthisactivitynothavingavisualrepresentationthathecanusetobetter
understandtheprocess.Wewillseethisabilitytoseeprocessesendsupplayinganimportant
roleintheseconddayofthissequencewhenstudentsbuildtheirvisualsimulationsofparticle
collisions.
6.4.2PhysicscanserveMiles'sneedtovisualize
Theseconddayofthedi˙usionactivityiscenteredaroundstudentsinsertingtheexpressionthey
derivedinthepreviousclassperiodintotheminimallyworkingprogramtovisualizetwoparticles
collidingelastically.
AmyistakingtheleadinenteringthecodeintothelaptopwhileKathrynandMilesfollow
along.Whenthegroupsuccessfully˝nishesthe˝rstportionoftheactivity(twospherescollidingin
onedimension)MilesandAmyverifytheexpectedbehaviorbycheckingtheirintuitiononseveral
scenarios,andtryingthemoutinthesimulation.Whatoccurswhenonesphereislessmassive
thantheother?Whatwouldhappenifthelessmassivesphereisfasterorslowerthantheother?
Aftertheyverifytheirintuition,weseeMilesappreciatingthepurposeofthisactivityandhaving
apositiveexperience.
amy:
Okay,that'sfun.
miles:
Thatwascool,Ilikethisnow.Ifeelbadfortalkingshit.
amy:
Ilikecodingwhenitworks.
miles:
ImeanIdon'treallyliketocodebutIliketoseethisstu˙,sothat'scool.

Day2,ComputationalSequence,Oct.2016
]
103
AfterMiles'sgroupcompleteseachstageofthevisualizationweseeMilesexpresshisappre-
ciationandexcitement.Asthegroupcontinuestoworkthroughtheactivity,theydiscusswith
anLAthattheyhavemanagedtokeeptheparticlesconstrainedintwoofthethreedimensions.
Mileswondersaloudwhatwouldhappeniftheyallowedtheparticlestohaveinitialvelocityin
thez-direction(outofthecomputerscreen).Anundergraduatelearningassistantoverhearshis
commentandencouragesthemtotryit.
miles:
Sowe'redoingtwoseparatelinesthatjustspeci˝callyde˝netheY...sothenwe're
goingtoseewhathappens.[
Amy
startstherevisedsimulation
]
miles:
Ok,wait...[
largegasp
],wait!Wegotthemtostay.
la:
Looksgoodtome.
amy:
Dowehavetodothex-direction,orthez-direction?...
miles:
[
toLA
]Isn'tthissocool?Italkedmadshitaboutthisshitallthetimebutwhenit
works,Ilive!Ifeelsohappy.[
laughs
]
amy:
[
laughs
]Hegetssuperexcited.
miles:
Ifeelsohappy.
la:
Sothez-directionwouldbeiftheycameoutofthebox[motioningoutofthelaptop
screen]Ithinkyoude˝neditwithzeroz-momentuminitially,right?Soifyoulookin
thecode,youseeithasitspositionintheziszero,it'svelocityintheziszero.Soit
shouldn'treallymoveinthez,unlessyougiveitaz-velocity.
miles:
Iwonderifitwouldbecoolifwedidthat...wedon'thaveto,wehave...
la:
Iwonderwhatitwouldlooklikebecauseifit˛iesout,it'dbeinterestingright?
miles:
[
eyeswideopen,pointingattheLAnoddingandsmilinginagreement
]Shouldwetryit?
la:
Justseewhathappens[
smiles
]I'mkindofcurious.
miles:
You'reright,Iamtoo,Ifeelthesameway.
la:
Itmightnoteveractuallycollide-
miles:
-we'lljustcheckitout,checkitout.[
Amy
changeslinesofcodeandrunsthesimulationagain,
whileallgroupmemberslookon
]
104
miles:
Oh![
grabschestinshock
]
amy:
Interesting[
laughs
]
off-camerastudent:
Whatdidtheydo?
miles:
Itliterallyjust...itattacksyou![
Amy
turnslaptoptoshowotherstudentsattable
]
off-camerastudent:
Itattacksyou?
miles:
Itrunsafteryou.Lookit[
pointsatthesimulation,entiregrouplaughs
]
miles:
[
tofacultyinstructor
]Wegaveitaz[velocity]insteadofzero[
laughs
]

Day2,ComputationalSequence,Oct.2016
]
Whenthegrouptrieshissuggestion,thecodeshowsasurprisingresultanditisfollowedby
acascadeofeventsmarkedbylaughterandexcitement.Thismomentmarksatransformationin
Miles'sviewonthevalueofthisactivity.
miles:
[
smilingwidelyrockingbackandforthinhisseat
]That'ssocool!...thatissocool.
amy:
We're˝guringstu˙outguys,howexcitingisthat?
miles:
Thisisactuallyproactive[sic]Iliterallydon'tmeantotalkshit,I'msogladIdidn't
talkthatmuchshitaboutitthistime...We'redoingverywell,we'redoingverywell,
I'msohappyaboutit.

Day2,ComputationalSequence,Oct.2016
]
MultipletimesthroughouttheseconddayofthissequenceweseeMilesremarkthathewishes
hewasn'tsonegativeaboutthisactivity(e.g."Italkedmadshitaboutthis").The˝rstdaywas
markedwithfrustrationanditisquitepossiblethatheexpectedtheseconddaytobethesame.
InlaterinterviewsMileswouldjokethatheinitiallywas"allergic"tothecodingactivitiesinthe
physicsclass,andeventhoughMilesmaynotenjoytheactofwritingcodetheseconddayshows
Milesappreciatingtheactivityanditsabilitytovisualizedi˙usion.Inadditiontothephysicsclass
providingvisualrepresentationsthatMilesvalues,italsoisaspaceinwhichhecanbringinhis
outsideknowledge.Next,wewillseeMilesbringinoutsideknowledgedirectlyfromhismemory,
surprisinghisgroup-mates.
105
6.4.3Physicsasaspacetobringinoutsideknowledge
Asstudentsscaletheirvisualsimulationofdi˙usionfrom2particlestomanyparticles,thethird
activityasksthemtousetheirsimulationtomodelcollisionsinlivingsystemsbetweenwaterand
proteins.Theyareaskedto˝ndandusebiologicallyappropriatevaluesoftherelativenumbers,
masses,andradiiofwatermoleculesandtypicalproteins.
amy:
What'sthemassofatypicalprotein?[Mileseyesstareintospace,seeminglytrans˝xed
inthoughtsearchinghismemory]
miles:
137...110,110isthemassofoneresidueofanaminoacidinprotein,sodepending
ontheaminoacid,dependingontheproteinthat'swhatitwouldbe.[Miles&Amy
smileateachother]
miles:
Soifyouhaveaproteinof...youjustmultiplyitby110,thatisthestandardweight
ofoneresidue,sooneaminoacid,inoneprotein.[grouplaughs]

Day2,ComputationalSequence,Oct.2016
]
Milesinthismomentrecitesknowledgefromhisbiochemistrybackgroundthatisrelevantto
theactivityfrommemory.Thelaughteramongthegroupmemberssuggeststhattheydidnot
expectthislevelofdetailinhisexplanation.Thismomentisinstarkcontrasttothe˝rstday
ofthiscomputationalsequencewhereMileswasexpressingfrustrationathisperceivedlackof
understanding.Inthisinstance,Milesgetstheopportunitytobeasourceofknowledgeinhis
physicsclass.Theeventsduringthecomputationalsequenceondi˙usionareexemplaryofthe
mixedstatethatphysicsoccupiesinMiles'slife.Itisbothasourceoffrustrationandaspacein
whichhecanmakeconnectionswithoutsideknowledge.
ForMiles,wearguethatthecurriculumaloneisnotwhatcausesMilestobecomeengaged;that
istosay,physicsconceptspresentedinastudioIPLSsettingarenotautomaticallymoreaccessible.
Instead,wearguethatthecriticalelementinpromotinghisengagementishisrealizationthat
physicscanbeusedtovisualizewhatheiscuriousabout,andisaspaceinwhichhecanbringin
andsharehisbiochemistryexpertise.ThereadermayquestionifMiles'spositivestancetoward
106
Day2issimplytheresultofexperiencingamoreinteractiveandvisuallystimulatingactivityand
notindicativeofphysicsprovidinghimwithadeepermoremeaningfulunderstanding.Next,we
willdescribehowthisactivityservedMiles'sdesiretounderstandphenomenaatadeepleveland
thathisexperiencesinthiscoursehavestartedtoshifthisrelationshipwithphysics.
6.4.4PhysicsservesMiles'svaluesfordeepunderstanding
Afterthein-classmomentsdescribedabove,wesitdownwithMilesforasecondinterviewwhere
hedescribesthecomputationalsequenceashelpinghimseedi˙usioninanewway.Oneofthe
learninggoalsofthisdi˙usionunitisthatstudentsshiftawayfromthenotionthatdi˙usion"just
happens"andmovetowardsacausalexplanationthatinvolvesindividualcollisionshappeningata
largescale.Miles'sre˛ectionbelowdemonstratesthat,forhim,thiswasanovelwayofthinking
ofdi˙usion.
miles:
Honestlythisactivityreallyhelpedmekindofformalizeavisualrepresentationof
di˙usion[
gesturingturningobjectsinhishead
]ofpiecesofdi˙usionthatmakedi˙usion,
di˙usion...allofthesemoleculesinthistight-packedspacelikebouncingo˙each
otherallowedthemtolikedispersethroughouttheentirething...andallthelittle
interactionswithincausedittodi˙useoutintothewholething.Actually,Iremember
thatinclass,thatwassomethingthathelpedmethinkaboutdi˙usionindi˙erent
way...Ineverthoughtofdi˙usionthatway,Ijustwas[inhispreviouscourses]told
thatyoudisperse,thatyoudispersethroughoutaliquidbutithastodowiththings
interactingandbouncingo˙eachother.

Int2,Nov.2016
]
WearguethatphysicsisbecomingmorerelevanttoMilesinthatitprovideshimthetoolkitto
visualizeandgainanewperspectiveondi˙usion,aphenomenahehaspreviouslylearned.Miles
stronglyidenti˝esasabiochemistandhassigni˝cantrootsintothosedisciplinarycommunities
throughhisresearchandtutoringexperiences.Ifphysicscanimpactthesecontextswithwhich
107
Milesstronglyidenti˝es,physicscanpotentiallyplayamoresigni˝cantroleinMiles'slife.Later
inthesameinterview,weseethatMiles'sattitudetowardsphysicsintheMCATtutoringprogram
hasshifted.Previouslyhenotedhowhewasgladhedidn'thavetoteachphysicsbecauseitwas
suchafrustratingexperienceforthoselearningit.Henowstatesthatheiswillingtohelpstudents
withphysicstopicsandisokaywiththeprospectofbeingincorrect.
miles:
Itutor,or,IdolikeanMCATprogramoverthesummer,andtheyhavebiochemistry,
bio,chem,physics;allthatstu˙.We'rejustbasicallylikeLAsorwhatever.So,people
comewithdi˙erentquestionsallthetime.Like,thispastsummer,physicswasthe
onlycoursethatIcouldn'thelpanybodywith.SoIfeellikeIwouldbeabletohelp
someonemore-sowiththat.Imean,IthinkIwouldfeelprettycomfortablewithdoing
it.Imean,I'mnotafraidtobewrong.SoifIdidn'tknowsomething,Iwouldjustsay
Idon'tknow,oranything.ButIwouldneverbeafraidto...

Int2,Nov.2016
]
MilesstatesthathefeelscomfortabletutoringstudentsforthephysicsportionoftheMCAT,
asituationthathepreviouslydescribedaspeople"pullingtheirhairout"andthestudentshaving
"lookedterrible."WetakethismomenttosuggestthatMilesisfeelingmorecon˝dentinhisability
todophysics.WesawearlyonthatMilesenteredourcoursebelievingthatphysicsmustbe
importanttotheotherscienceseventhoughhewasunabletodescribespeci˝cexamples.Nowafter
asemesterandahalfofphysicsinstruction,Milescanmorecon˝dentlydescribetheimportance
andrelevancetophysicstootherdisciplines.
WeinterviewMilesforathirdtimeafterhehasleftthe˝rstsemesterofBLiSSphysicsand
ishalfwaythroughhissecondsemesterofphysics.DuringtheinterviewweaskMileswhyhe
enrolledinthe˝rstsemesterofphysics,thisleadstoMilesdescribinghimselfassomeonewho
valueslearning.
interviewer:
So,takemeback...whydidyouenrollin[the˝rstsemesterofphysics]?
miles:
Well,Imean,it'sarequirementformymajor.
108
interviewer:
It'sarequirement.Okay.
miles:
Yeah...Ireallydon'twanttosayI'moneofthosepeoplewhojustisgoingtotakea
classbecauseit'srequiredbymymajor.IreallypridemyselfinthinkingthatIreally
amverypassionateaboutlearning.Iwouldconsidermyselfasalifelearner.Iwill
learntherestofmylife.IwanttolearnasmuchasIpossiblycan.Ireallybelieve
knowledgeispower.

Int3,Mar.2017
]
Milesisengagedinamultitudeofacademicendeavors,andmustbalancethetimeinvestment
ofhisengagementwiththerelativereturnonthatinvestment.Webelievethisisemblematicofthe
decisionslifescience,andespeciallypre-healthstudents,havetomake.Unfortunately,inthePER
literature,thissophisticatedprioritizationofconstrainedresourcesispresentedasanunwillingness
tosee,orignoranceof,theimportanceandrelevanceofphysics.Miles'snotionthatknowledgeis
empoweringcontinuesthroughouttheinterview,andpointstothisbeliefasthereasonheworked
sohardintheFallsemesterofphysics.
miles:
But,IthinkthathastodowithwhyIworkedashardasIdid.YouknowwhatImean?
BecauseIreallydidwanttounderstandwhatweweredoing.Iwantedtounderstand
alloftheseconceptsthatwewerelearningandthingslikethat.Becausephysicsis
whythingswork.YouknowwhatImean?That'swhatI'velearned...inPhysicsII
now,andthenlastsemester.That'swhytheselawsandstu˙arewhytheworldaround
usworksthewayitdoes.SoIthoughtthatwassuchavaluablepieceofknowledge
thatanybodyshouldhave.Ireallybelievethatonceyouhavethatknowledge,thatthat
knowledgeempowersyouandyoulookattheworldverydi˙erently.Sothat'swhyI
reallyworkedhardtounderstandeverythingItrytounderstand.

Int3,Mar.2017
]
Miles'sstatementshereconnecthishardworkinthe˝rstsemesterto:(1)valuingknowinghow
theworldworksand(2)believingphysicshastheabilitytoexplainhowtheworldworks.Laterin
109
theinterviewMilesexpoundsonwhyhebelievesheisrequiredtotakephysicsasabiochemistry
major.
miles:
IthinkI'mrequiredtotakephysicsbecauseImean,wehavetobewell-roundedin
thesciences,forone.Andtwo,it'sjustadi˙erentwayofthinking.Imean,howcould
yougothroughlifeandlookatthethingsyoulookatandwhy,Idon'tunderstandhow
someonecouldn'tquestionsomeofthosethingsornotwanttounderstandwhythings
work.SoIthinkjustpracticingtheskillofopeningyourselfup...andembracingnew
waysofthinking,nomatterhowhardtheyare.Ithinkthat'ssoimportant.Andjustas
apersonandasastudentaswell.Ireallybelievethat.

Int3,Mar.2017
]
Milesthroughoutthethirdinterviewframeshimselfashavingastrongdesiretounderstand
whythingsintheworldworkthewaytheydo.Thisdesiretounderstandtheworldcombinedwith
hisbeliefthat"physicsiswhythingswork"positionsphysicsasatoolhecanusetosatisfyhis
curiosityabouttheworld.
interviewer:
Howdoyouseephysicsbeingimportanttoyouintherealworld?
miles:
Iquestioneverything.
interviewer:
[
repeats
]Questioneverything.
miles:
Ireallydoquestioneverything...Sophysicswouldforsureapplytometryingto
answerwhysomethinghappened.Forthelongesttime,Iwantedtoknow[why]salt
meltsice.Iwantedtounderstand,"Whydoesthishappen?Whyisthisathing?"So,
justlittlethingslikethat.Icanlookaroundandjustquestionanydumbthing.You
knowwhatImean?Sunsets,like,whyarethosecolorsthere?Justthingslikethat.So
Ithinkthat's...howit'sgoingtoapplyintherestofmylife.

Int3,Mar.2017
]
110
Milesstatesthatsincelearningphysics,heisnowabletoseephysicsconnectionstohisother
courseworkandhistutoringinotherdisciplines.Inthenextmoment,Milesexplainshowphysics
cananswerincreasinglydeeplayersof"why"questions.
interviewer:
Haveyouseenanyconnectionsbetweenphysicsandyourothercourses?
miles:
Oh,yeah.Yeah.Allthetime.Imean-
interviewer:
Allthetime?
miles:
Yeah.Imean,andeventhinkingbacktophysicsin...otherclasses...I'malsoa
studenttutor,soItutorOrgo,Chem,andthenBiochem,andBio,So,like,Iwas
justhelpingsomeonelastweekwith,itwasspectroscopyandthingslikethat...they
wereaskingwhythathappens.So,Imean...youcangivetheexplanationabout,
"Oh,electronsarejumpingtohigherenergystatesandthenbackdown."Butthen
theyask,like,"Okay,sowhatisthislight?Whatisthislightentity?"...Sothatgets
intoelectromagneticwaves,andthewavelengthsandtheamountofenergyineach
wavelength,andthingslikethat...It'salmostlikeIhavebeenlearningphysicsallmy
life,andIjusthaven'treallyknownit.Someoftheequationshaven'tbeeninaphysics
classroom..."Okay.I'mstillassociatedwithchem,"..Physics,I'vebeenseeingallmy
life.It'sjustnow[I'm]practicingitandunderstandingthevariablesandstu˙likethat.
SoIseeit[physics]allthetimeinmyclassesnow.
interviewer:
Gotcha.
miles:
...it'seasierformetoidentifyphysicsnow.Forsure.

Int3,Mar.2017
]
TheexperiencesthatMilesrecountsinhisinterviewssuggeststhatthetwosemestersoflearning
physicshashadaprofoundimpactonhislife.WeaskMilesifourphysicscoursehaschangedhis
interestinphysics.
interviewer:
Doyouthinkthe˝rstsemestercoursechangedyourinterestinphysics?
111
miles:
Yeah.Yeah.BecauseitreallybecauselikeIsaid,I'mveryattractedtounderstanding
thewaythingswork,andphysicsisthat.Physicsisliterallythat.SoIwasveryattracted,
Ibecameveryattractedtophysics.Imean,ifyoubrushawayallthefrustrationand
like,howdi˚cultthattheerrgh!sometimes,aboutit.
miles:
Ireallyaminterestedinphysics.That'swhy,it'salmostlikeIkeeplearningmore
in-depthstu˙,whetheritbebiochem,whetheritbephysics.Ifeelmorecomfortable
understandingtherealworld.YouknowwhatImean?AndsoIthinkyes.After
takingphysics...mypassiontounderstandphysicsreallybecameheightened.Iwant
toexplorethesedi˙erentconceptsandwhat-not.So,yes.Ithinkso.Verycon˝dently,
yes.

Int3,Mar.2017
]
WearguethatthislastquoteisemblematicofhowphysicsischaracterizedinMiles'slife,a
mixed-state:itisboththesourceoffrustrationaswellasasense-makingtoolthathecanuse
tobetterunderstandotherdisciplinesandtheworldaroundhim.Milesexperiencesphysicsasa
waytovisualizedi˙usionaswellasaspaceinwhichhisoutsideknowledgeisrelevant.Miles
articulatesconnectionsbetweenphysicsandmultiplesettingsinhislife:hiseverydaylife(sunsets,
saltmeltingice),hisotherdisciplinarycourses,andhisroleasatutor.ThisisincontrasttoAct
IinwhichMiles'srecognizedtheimportanceofphysicsbuttheroleofphysicswaslargelyan
unspeci˝edanxietythatphysicswasarequiredhurdleinhispath.
6.4.5GrowthofconnectionsinMiles'smesosystem
IfwelooktoMiles'smesosystem(Fig.6.2),wecannowseethatphysicshasconnectionstomany
aspectsofMiles'slife.Itprovidestheexplanatorypowerneededtounpackdisciplinaryideasin
hisothercourses,physicshelpshimconstructexplanationsashe'stutoringothers,andservesasa
waytounderstandthelightfromasunsetorwhysaltmeltsice.InActIwedescribedhowMiles
largelydescribedphysicsasbeingoutsideofhisexpertise;inActIIwehavemadetheargumentthat
hisphysicscourseisaspacewherehebringsinandshareshisexpertise.Physicsalignswithhis
112
Figure6.2:ArepresentationofconnectionswithinMiles'smesosystemashe˝nishestwosemesters
ofphysics.Whencomparedtohismesosystemintheprevioussection(Fig.6.1),physicshasmany
moreconnectionstoothersettingsMilesengagesinincludinghisjobasanMCATtutorandasa
tutorattheuniversityformultiplelifesciencecourses.Milesnowpointstophysicsasprovidinga
newviewontheworldaroundhimaswellashelpinghimconstructdeeperexplanationsofconcepts
inlifesciencecourses.
personalinterestinunderstandingunderlyingmechanismsandprovideshimatoolkittounderstand
phenomenahe'spreviouslylearnedinanewlight.Overall,physicshasbecomemoreenmeshedin
Miles'slifeandthemesosystemprovidesamapoftheconnectionsbeingmade.InthenextAct,we
willseeMilesmovebeyondhisroleasalearnerofphysicsandintotheroleofateacherofphysics
ashebecomesalearningassistantthatpromotestherelevanceofphysicstoothers.
6.5ActIII:Milesasanampli˝eroftherelevanceofphysics
AsMilesnearedtheendofhissecondand˝nalsemesterofphysics,hewasidenti˝edbythe
instructionalteamasastudentwhowouldbeagoodcandidatefortheroleofundergraduatelearning
assistant(LA).Hewasencouragedtoapply,andeventhoughMileswasinitiallyhesitant,hewould
applyandjointheBLiSSPhysicsinstructionalteaminthefollowingFallsemester.Afterafew
monthsofteachingasanLA,weinterviewMilesforafourthtimeanddiscoverthatthetransition
113
intoteachingphysicsmarkedasigni˝cantchangeinhiscon˝dence.
miles:
Mywholeperspectiveofphysicshasjustchanged...Ineverwouldhavethought
itwouldhavechanged,ever...IwasveryapprehensiveaboutbecominganLA,just
becauseIwasn'tcon˝dentonsomeofmyphysicsbackgroundandmakingthose
connectionsandhelpingstudentsunderstandtheseconnections.BecauseIwasnot
con˝dentonthat.Buttobehonestwithyou,thepast,probablythepastmonth,Ihave
feltsocon˝dentintheclassroom.Just,Idon'tknow,itjust,it'smore,it'sjustdi˙erent.
It'sverydi˙erent,seeingeverythingagain.

Int4,Nov.2017
]
Teachingphysicsmarksasigni˝canttransformationinMiles'sviewofphysics,andinthis˝nal
actwewillexplorewhatitmeansforMilestobecomeanampli˝erofrelevance.InAct1,wesee
Milessharemultipleexamplesofhowhisbeliefsandattitudestowardsphysicswasshapedbythe
experiencesandwordsofothers.HedescribeshowhispeersoftenavoidBLiSSphysicsbecause
ofitsdi˚cultyandopttotakeadi˙erentcourseforamorepredictablegradeoutcome.Milesalso
witnessedasanMCATtutorthestressstudentswentthroughwhenhavingtoprepareforthephysics
portionoftheexam.Thebeliefthatphysicsisadi˚cultobstacletoovercomemayperpetuateif
Milesweretore-voiceorotherwisesupportthemwithexamplesfromhisownexperience.Instead,
weseeMilesshareexamplesofhowusefulandrelevantphysicshasbecometohim.Hedoesnot
perpetuatethenotionthatphysicsisirrelevantbutinsteadampli˝esitsrelevancetoothers.
6.5.1Reinforcingconnectionsofstudents
ItisthemiddleoftheFallsemesterandstudentsareworkingonbuildingexplanatorymodelsfor
whyoilandwaterdonotmix.Milesiswalkingaroundtheclassroomcheckingongroupsinhis
roleasanLA.ThethreestudentsinthegroupareNicole,Melanie,andAlisa.Nicolehasjust
realizedshehasdonepartsofthisactivityinherbiochemistrycourseandhasbroughtupslides
fromthatcourseonherlaptop.
114
nicole:
Ididthisinbiochem-
miles:
Iknow!Didyoutake461or401?Iknowthere'slike,thatpicture[
pointsdownthe
classroom
]isliterallyinour,Itook461,that'sinourbiochembookandit'sliterallythe
samesituation,likeitliterallyexplainsit.
melanie:
Wedidtheoilandwaterthinginmychemclasslastsemester.
miles:
Didyoutalkaboutitintermsofentropythough?
melanie:
Yes
miles:
Youdid?Damnit,youshouldbelikereallycon˝dentonthis.
melanie:
TheproblemmademeveryangryatthetimebutnowIunderstandit.
miles:
Iknow,whenI˝rstdidthisactivityIwasconvinceditwasenthalpy,Iwaslike
'nope,it'senthalpy-driven,itisnotentropic,thisisenthalpy'andIwascompletely,
likecompletelywrong.Also,ifyouguysknowit,likeifyou'vealreadydoneit.Try
toexplainwhythisisfavorable.[
drawsnewsituationonwhiteboard,notvisibleoncamera
]so
thisisthesubstrateforanenzymeandthisistheenzyme.Sowhyisthisfavoredwhen
thissystemismoreorderedthanthissystem?

OilandWaterActivity,Nov.2017
]
MilesinthisclipreinforcesNicoleandMelanie'sconnectionstoothercoursesaswellasuse
storiesofhisownpreviousmisconceptionstopresentphysicsastheplacewherehegainedamore
completeunderstanding.Wedonotarguethatthisisanuncommonoruniqueinteractionbetweena
learningassistantandstudentsbutwedoarguethattheintersectionofMiles'srolesintheclassroom
isparticularlye˙ectiveatcommunicatingtherelevanceofphysicstoothers.Heisabiochemistry
majorwhohaspreviouslysucceededinthiscourseandheispositionedbythefacultyinstructoras
adisciplinaryexpert.
6.5.2Milesispositionedasanexpertintheclassroom
Inthenextclassperiod,thefacultyinstructoriscreatingasummarypageoftakeawaysfromtheoil
andwateractivityonthedocumentprojectorandhasjust˝nishedansweringaquestionaskedbya
115
studento˙-camera.
faculty:
Alsothismightbeanimportantthing.Idon'tactuallyknow,doesanybodyknow
abouttherelativemagnitudesofbreakingthesehydrogenbondsbetweenformingthese
hydrophilicconnections?[
Facultylooksaroundclassroom,nooneanswers
]
faculty:
Idon'tknow.
miles:
They'reaboutthesame.
faculty:
[
looksatMiles
]They'reaboutthesame?OK,[Miles]issayingthey'reaboutthe
same,Itrusthim[
smiles
]sothequestionwouldbehowmanydoweendupwithinthis
process.

OilandWaterActivityConsensusBuilding,Dec.2017
]
Inthisbriefmoment,theinstructorposesaquestionthatshedoesn'tknowtheanswertoand
asksifsomeoneintheclassknowstheanswer(afairlytypicalmoveinthisIPLSclass).Whenno
onereplies,Milesprovideshisresponseandtheinstructorre-voicesitandstatesthatshetrustshim.
Thismomentofrecognitionasaknowerofoutsideknowledgeaswellasthepreviousexampleof
Milesworkingwithstudentsandpositivelyreinforcingtheirconnectionsarejustsingularexamples
ofthetypesofinteractionsMileshasthroughouthistimeteaching.Herepeatedlyusesthelessons
he'slearnedfromhistimeasastudentinthecoursetoengageandmotivatestudentsinlearning
physics,andheconsistentlyservesasanexpertfortheinstructortorelyuponintheclassroom.
WhydoesastudentlikeMilesendupbeingapromoterandampli˝eroftherelevanceofphysics?
Inthenextsection,weinterviewMilesnearthemiddleofhis˝rstteachingsemesterandseethe
importanceoftheconnectionshe'sbeenabletomakeinhismesosystem.
6.5.3Increasedcon˝denceandclarityofconnections
Miles,inhisroleasalearningassistant,hastheopportunitytogothroughtheentire˝rstsemester
curriculumwiththebene˝tof(1)having˝nishedayearofphysicsand(2)shiftinghispriorityfrom
completingactivitiestounderstandingandconveyingthemainpurposeofactivities.Inthefourth
116
interview,weaskMilestore˛ectonthepastthreesemesters:twoasastudent,andthecurrentone
aspartofaninstructionalteam.
miles:
SoInoticed,Iforsurenoticedthatwhileteachingthissemester.ThatI'mjustreally
startingtounderstandhoweverything's˝nallyconnecting.YouknowwhatImean?
Asastudentin˝rstsemester,Ireallycouldnotseethat.IthinkIreallystruggledwith,
IevensaidthatinalotoftheinterviewsIhad.Iwasn'tabletovisualizewhywewere
learningtheseequationsbythese,alltheseWhitemenwhowerelikevisionaries.You
knowwhatImean?Like,whywouldbelearningallthatstu˙?
miles:
SoI'm˝nallystartingtounderstandallofthatstu˙...I'malsoinPChem[Physical
Chemistry]rightnow...EvenwhenIwasjuststudyingformylastPChemexam,it
wasliketheseequationsthatusedtojustscarethehelloutofme,inthatitjustlooked
likeabunchoflettersthrownaround.Itwasmoreintimidatingthen...Icouldn'teven
putforthunderstandingbecause...it'salmostlikeIdidn'tcareasmuch.Butit's
almost,nowlookingbackatallofthis,andlookingathowmuchIactuallydoknow
andapplyingitindi˙erentplaces,likePChem,forinstance.It'salmostinspiringthat
thepeoplewhomadetheseequations,andthesamepeoplewhofrustratedmewhen
Iwasn'tapplyingmyself,justhowdi˙erentlytheysawtheworld.YouknowwhatI
mean?It'sjustveryinspiring,inaway...

Int4,Nov.2017
]
Milescontrastshisattitudetowardsphysicsinthe˝rstsemestertohiscurrentviewanduses
hisviewofphysicsequationsasapointofcomparison.Equationspreviouslywereintimidating
andMilesdescribeshedidn'tunderstandwhyhehadtolearnthem.Weseethisdescriptionas
parallelingMiles'svisibledisengagementatthestartthecomputationalsequenceondi˙usion.He
notesintheabovetranscriptthatoneissuewasthathewasn'tabletovisualizethepurposeof
theequations.Similarly,inthein-classdata,itwasn'tuntilthesimulationshowedthepowerto
visualizeideasthathefoundtheactivitytobeusefulandinteresting.
117
InMiles'secology,henowhasanewroleinthephysicsclassroomasamemberofthe
instructionalteam.InFigure3,weseethatinhismesosystem,connectionstophysicsarespreading
tonewsettings,notablyPhysicalChemistry.
interviewer:
YoumentionedthattherearesomeconnectionsandapplicationstoP.Chem.
Canyousaymorewordsreallyquick?
miles:
Yeah...whatI'vebeenseeingmostly,isbecausethe˝rstwholehalfofPChem,
wetreateverything...withclassicalmechanics.So,like,Boltzmannconstantand
thingslikethat.I'veseentheBoltzmannconstantbefore,insecondsemesterspecif-
ically...ThenIjustunderstood...especiallyhow,like,theArrheniusequation.It
describesthefractionofmoleculesthatcanhaveenoughenergytoreact.
interviewer:
Wow.
miles:
YouknowwhatImean?
interviewer:
Yeah.
miles:
So,andthatincorporatestemperature,forinstance.So,Iwas˝nallystartingto
understandhowtemperaturewell,Imean...Welivewithit.Wecheckourphonesfor
temperatureandthingslikethat.But...I˝nallywasabletovisualizethatrelationship
betweenincreaseinthetemperature,increasestheprobabilityofthesemolecules
reacting,andblah,blah,blah,blah,blah....mybrainalmostwasgrip-,tryingtograb
ontothingsthatIknew.

Int4,Nov.2017
]
WhenMilesislearningconceptsinphysicalchemistry,heisreachingforideaslearnedinhis
physicsclasses.Tothereaderitmaybeobviousthatphysicalchemistryandphysicsshouldshare
manydisciplinaryideasbutwearguethattheviewsofmanylifesciencestudentsandworking
professionalsthatphysicswasirrelevanttotheirsciencepreparationsuggestthatitisn'tanobvious
ornaturalconnection[12,Physics,duetoitspervasivereputation,canbeintimidating,
whichwascertainlytrueforMilesbeforehetookphysics.Whencoursesareintimidatingand
118
perceivedasahurdletoovercome,manystudentswillhavethedesiretocompartmentalizethat
courseasabadmemory.HereweseeMilesactivelylookingtophysicsashelearnsnewideas,a
classicexampleofwhatitmeansforphysicstoberelevant[18].Miles'sdisciplinaryconnections
betweenphysicsandotherdisciplinesservestobeanimportantpartofhisroleinthephysics
classroomasalearningassistant.
6.5.4Powerfulimpactsofagrowingsenseofrelevance
ForMiles,thetransformationheexperiencesisnotlimitedtoanincreasednumberofcross-
disciplinaryconnectionsbuthasasigni˝cantimpactonMiles'srelationshipwithphysics[36].In
the˝rstact,wedescribeMiles'sapprehensionandanxietytowardphysics.Inthis˝nalact,we
seethatthisrelationshiphaschanged.Inthepassagebelow,Milesengagesinare˛ectiononhis
journeywithphysics.
miles:
It'squitehonestly,veryremarkablehowcleareverythinghasbecome.Like,I'mtruly
notafraidofphysicsanymore.Like,Iwasveryscaredofphysics.Becauseitwasjust
awayofthinkingIneverhadtodo.Itwassomethingthatjustdidn'tcomeeasilyto
me,andsomaybesubconsciouslyIwastryingtoresistitalot.That'smaybewhyI
struggledquiteabitwhenitcametotryingtolearnphysicsinastudiostyle.Ireally
don'tknow...Butit'salmostlike,"Whydon'tweallthinklikethis?"now.Youknow
whatImean?It'sjustsuchalogicalwayofunderstandingthingsthatIthinkwejust
glazeoverinsomeofourclasses.YouknowwhatImean?
miles:
IwasveryapprehensiveaboutbecominganL.A.,justbecauseIwasn'tcon˝denton
someofmyphysicsbackgroundandmakingthoseconnectionsandhelpingstudents
understandtheseconnections.BecauseIwasnotcon˝dentonthat.Buttobehonest
withyou,thepastprobablythepastmonthIhavefeltsocon˝dentintheclassroom.

Int4,Nov.2017
]
119
6.5.5Re˛ectingontheevolutionofMiles'smesosystem
AswelookattheMiles'smesosysteminthis˝nalAct,weseethatphysicshasbecomemuch
moresecurelyconnectedandintegratedintohislife.Physicsconnectstodisciplinarycourses
likePhysicalChemistry.Physicsisnowconnectedtohistutoringandlearningassistantrolesin
apositiveway:physicsisadisciplinehecanteachtoothersasopposedtoasourceofdistress.
Physicsisalsohelpingprovidedeeperanswerstothequestionshehasabouttheworldaround
him,wherepreviously,itwasaninscrutableareaofstudyforMiles.Thesenumerousconnections
sproutinginhismesosystem˝rmlyattachesphysicstohavearoleinMiles'slife.Throughthese
connections,physicsisrelevanttoMiles.
6.6Discussion
Studentsreportingthatphysicsideasconnecttoexperiencesintheirlivesandtheworldaround
themiscertainlythegoalofmanyreforme˙ortsinPER.Whatwedescribeheregoesbeyonda
storyofastudent"seeing"therelevanceofphysicsandshowsthepowerfulimpactwhenastudent
forgesconnectionswithadisciplinetheypreviouslyfeared.Usingecologicalsystemstheoryasa
waytounderstandstudents'liveshelpsuscenterourexplorationonthestudent.Wecanbuildfrom
theexperiencesstudentsbringwiththemintothephysicsclassroomsandlookforwaystoleverage
theirrichbackgroundsinthelearningofphysics.
WearguethatthetransformationintherelationshipMileshaswithphysicsleavespowerful
lastingimpressionsonhislife.Henotonlybelievesthatphysicsisrelevanttohim,heisactively
promotingtherelevanceofphysicstoothers.Leveragingstudents'ecologicalsystemsinthe
classroomhelpsustoshiftawayfromafocusonconvincingstudentsthatphysicsisrelevant.
Insteadofsearchingforcompellingcurricularcontexts,wecandesignclassroomexperiencesthat
treatstudentsasmorethannovicephysicslearners.Thisdesignchoicereliesonframingstudents
asableandwillingtoseekoutmeaningfulconnectionsacrosstheirexperiences.
Miles'sexperiencesthroughthesethreesemesterscreatearichstory,andonecanexploreit
usingmanylenses;eachlensisonlyaprojectionintoareducedplaneofanalysis.Wechosetolook
120
throughthelensofrelevancetohelparticulatetheprocessofastudentstartinghisjourneythrough
physicsfearfulofthedisciplineandendingwithhimpromotingandamplifyingtherelevanceof
physicstoothers.Thereisnocurrentconsensusonhowtomakeaphysicscoursemorerelevant,
whichmaybeunsurprisingsinceweareonlyapproachingaconsensusforwhatitmeansforphysics
toberelevantatall[9,10,12,51,92].
ForMiles,hisphysicslearningexperiencesservedhisdesiretounderstandcross-disciplinary
conceptsdeeply,makesenseofeverydayphenomena,andhisself-statedneedtovisualizeconcepts
beforeunderstanding.Physicswasaspaceinwhichoutsideknowledgefromhisbiochemistry
majorwasvalued;itwaswhereheshedtheintimidatinglabelofanovicephysicslearnerandbe
seenasaknowerofimportantpiecesofknowledge.AsMilestransitionedfromstudenttoLAwe
seehimdeeplyintegratedintoaspacewhichhepreviouslyhadnoexperiencewith.Heservesas
anexpertintheclassroomthatdemonstratescon˝denceinhisabilitytodophysicsandconveythe
relevanceofphysicstoamultitudeofdisciplinaryexperiences.
Milesisrepresentativeofthevastmajorityofstudentsinourclassroominthattheyaresuccessful
intheirhomedisciplinesandhavemadeasigni˝cantinvestmentinlearningscience.Inthatlight,
itisfoolishandde˝cit-tingedtoargueforconvincingorforcingstudentsto"see"therelevanceof
physics[43,48].ItimpliesstudentslikeMileswillnotmakemeaningfulconnectionsontheirownif
giventheopportunity.Itisnolongertenableforphysicsinstructiontorelyontheculturalreputation
ofphysicsbeingfundamentalasasu˚cientargumentforwhyphysicsisrelevant.Thisisolating
stanceisintimidatingandanxiety-inducingforstudentslikeMiles.Ifclassroomsfocusonshifting
theframingofstudents'rolesfromnovicelearnerstomembersofalearningcommunitywith
valuableknowledgeandexpertise,studentscanbecomepromotersandampli˝ersoftherelevance
ofphysics.
6.7Implications
Wearguethatinordertomakephysicsmorerelevanttostudents,classroomdesignsneedto
providestudentswiththeagencyandspacetobringthemselvesandtheirexperiencesintointeraction
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withphysics.WhendesigningBLiSSphysics,weunderstoodthattherewasnowaytopredictor
catertothediversityofbackgroundspresentinourstudentpopulation.Tomitigatethisproblem,
wefocusedondevelopingclassroomexperiencesthathad˛exibilityandspacetoallowstudentsto:
(1)usephysicstouncoverinsightsinfamiliarcontextsfromothercoursework,(2)recognizethat
bringinginandvaluingtheiroutsideexperiencesisacriticalpartofdoingphysics,and(3)design
experimentstoanswertheirownquestions.Inthefollowingsectionswedescribetheimplications
ofsuchadesign.
6.7.1Framingphysicsasfundamentalisdetrimentaltopromotingrelevance
IPLSclassroomsarebydesigncross-disciplinaryspaceswherestudents'disciplinarywaysof
knowingfrombiologyandchemistrycomeintocontactwiththenormsofwhatitmeanstodo
physics.Thisinteractionbetweentheepistemologicalvaluesofdi˙erentdisciplinescanpotentially
leadtotensionorgrandstandingifaphysicsinstructorleadsstudentstobelievetheknowledge
fromtheirothercoursesisanincompletestoryorthatinthephysicsclassroomtheywilllearnwhat
"really"occurs[93].Thisnotionthatphysicsissomehowamorefundamentalscienti˝cdiscipline
thanothersispervasiveandtroubling.
Forpre-healthmajorslikeMiles,theinsistencethatphysicssimplyisrelevanttothem[43]runs
countertotheirownexperiencesworkingwithdoctors[12]aswellascountertoalargecollection
ofresearchinthemedicalcommunitymakingthecaseforphysicsbeingirrelevanttothesuccess
ofdoctors[15,Wearguethatframingphysicsasfundamentalorthewaysofknowing
inphysicsasbeingadistinctenterprisetostudents'previousexperiencesworksdirectlyagainst
physicsbecomingmoreconnectedandenmeshedinstudents'lives.
6.7.2Positioningstudentsasdisciplinaryexpertsisapowerfulpedagogicalshift
StudentsinourIPLSclassroomarrivewithawealthofexperienceinscienceintheformof
coursework,research,andservice.Milesinitiallydescribeshimselfashaving"ZEROphysics
knowledgewhatsoever"andinmanyphysicscourseshemayverywellbetreatedasanovice.The
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BLiSSphysicsclassroomvaluesMiles'sdisciplinaryknowledgeandexpertiseandconsidershiman
expert.Inpreviouswork,wehavedescribedotherinstancesinwhichstudents'outsideknowledge
beingvaluedintheBLiSSphysicsclassroomledtoanincreasedsenseofrelevance[12,15].
Inamirroredfashionstudents'experiencesandknowledgearerelevanttodoingphysicsand
thetoolkitofphysicsisrelevanttoansweringquestionsstudentscareabout.Believingthatphysics
canbeatoolusedtounderstandphenomenastudentsareinterestedincanbeapowerfulwayfor
studentstoseephysicsplayingaroleintheirlives[12,13,15,31].
6.7.3Discomfortofteachingwithouthavingalltheanswers
Teachinginaclassroomwiththisamountof˛exibilitycanseemuncomfortable,especiallyfor
physicsinstructorswhoareaccustomedtobeingtheprincipalexpertsintheroom.Therewillbe
momentsinwhichthephysicsfacultywillnotknowtheanswertoaquestionstudentsbringupfrom
disciplinesoutsideofphysics.Physicsinstructorsmaynotbeknowledgeableinthecomplexities
beyondthereducedbiologicalmodelsconstructedinintroductoryphysics.Inourdesign,this
concernisalleviatedtosomeextentbyhavingLAsfromoutsidedisciplinesintheclassroomand
relyingonourownstudentsasexpertsintheirhomedisciplines.
InActII,thefacultyinstructorposedaquestionforwhichshedidnothaveananswer.What
followedwasamomentforMilestostepupasanexpertandtoberecognizedinfrontoftheentire
classassomeonethefacultyinstructortrusts.Wearguethatteachingwithoutknowingallofthe
answersandhavingtorelyonstudentsforpiecesofknowledgeismuchclosertoanauthentic
communityoflearnersconstructingknowledgetogether.AttheendofMiles'sjourneyinour
classroomphysicsnolongerstandsapartfromtheotherdisciplinesinhislifebecomeswell-
connectedtomanyaspectsofMiles'slife.Physicsisnolongeraninscrutabledisciplinethatothers
sayisimportantandrelevant,insteadphysicsisenmeshedinhowMilesunderstandsdisciplinary
ideasinhishomediscipline.
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6.8Acknowledgements
WethankthemembersoftheANSERgroupforthoughtfuldiscussionsaroundthiswork.We
thankthePERL@MSUgroupfortheirengagementandre˛ectionsduringgroupmeetingswhere
thisworkwaspresented.ThisworkwasfundedbytheLymanBriggsCollegeandtheDepartment
ofPhysicsandAstronomyatMichiganStateUniversity.WethankAngelaLittleforcontinually
highlightingthevalueofourworktothecommunity.WethankBenjaminGellerforencouraging
ustopushforwardaswebothexploredthemurkyspaceofrelevance.Lastly,andmostimportantly,
thisworkwouldnotexistwithoutMiles.Wearegratefulfortheinsightshe'sprovidedandthetrust
he'splacedinustotellthesestories.
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CHAPTER7
DISCUSSION
7.1Currentunderstandingofrelevance
Thestudiespresentedinthisdissertationareallfocusedontherelevanceofphysics.Thenotion
ofrelevanceIhavedevelopedhastwotraits,it(1)isembodiedinarelationshipbetweenastudent
andphysicsand(2)canbemeasuredorobservedasconnectionsbetweenphysicsandthesettings
instudents'lives.Inmomentswherestudents˝ndphysicstoberelevant,theyare˝ndingmeaning
inthephysicsideasandpracticestheyhavelearnedinaspeci˝csetting.Ecologicalsystemstheory
allowsustoselectsettingsofdi˙erentgrainsizestosupportthespeci˝cresearchquestionweare
interestedin.
7.1.1Ourchoiceofsettings
Forourstudyofrelevance,wehavemostlydiscussedthesettingsofdisciplinarycoursework
andresearch.Onecan,however,choosetolookatstudentexperiencesthroughdi˙erentsettings
altogether.Forexample,inChapter4.2,wediscussedthecasestudentSamwhosefriendshipwith
herfriendsupportedherthinkingofandreasoningwithphysicsconceptsinhereverydaylife.One
couldtakethissamelensandapplyittothecasestudentsofMilesandMaria,whowerefriends
duringthecourseandbecameLAsatthesametime.Dependingonthechoiceofsystems,youwould
telladi˙erentstoryaboutthecontributionofthoseconnectionstofurtheringasenseofrelevance.
Wemadeaspeci˝cchoicetofocusonthesettingsthat(1)werereadilyaccessiblewithinthe
largerdesign-basedprojectand(2)allowedustostarttheprocessofarticulatingtheimplications
ofclassroomdesign.Ourchoiceofsettingshasimplicationsforthebreadthanddiversityof
connectionswedescribe.Withinthis˛exibleframeworkofrelevance,pushingbeyondthesetting
ofaclassroomwouldyieldrichandinterestingresultsonhowothersettingsarepromotingor
hinderingastudent'ssenseofrelevance.
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7.1.2Ourchoiceofsystems
Inadditiontorestrictingoursettingstothedomainofastudent'sacademiclife,wechosetonarrow
ourfocustothemicro-andmesosystemofecologicalsystemstheory[22].Ournarrowingoffocusis
notintendedtoconveythattheotherlayersofsystemsarenotimportantorconsequential.Infactwe
seethee˙ectsoftheseouterlayersofsystemspermeatingthroughoutthemeso-andmicrosystem.
Forexample,sincethisstudyisimplementedwithintheUnitedStates,itisinfusedwiththecultural
valuesandideologiesofthiscountry.Weseeallclassroominteractionstobein˛uencedbyand
reproductionsofvaluesandideologies.Forexample,domesticandinternationalstudentswill
arriveinourclassroomwithdi˙erentculturalvaluesandideologiesthatwillimpacthowthey
engagewiththeenvironmentandtheirpeers.IPLScoursesnavigatetheintersectionofphysicsand
biology,eachofwhichhasitsownepistemologicalvaluesandculture.Wemadeanintentional
choicetofocusourattentiononthenatureofconnectionsacrosssettingsandacknowledgethemany
directionsforfuturework.Forexample,exploringhowBLiSSphysicsinteractswiththecultureof
physicsthatthecourseissituatedwithin.Dothedesignfeaturesimpacthowstudentsperceivethe
cultureofphysics?
Ichosetofocusonthemicro-andmesosystemspeci˝callyasitrepresentedtheminimal
complementtounderstandandanalyzecasestudents'statementsonhowphysicsisrelevantto
andmeaningfulinareasoftheirlives.Themicro-andmesosystemalsorepresentedthesystems
mostreadilyprobedbyourstudydesignwhichdidnotfollowstudentsoutsideoftheclassroom
environment.Anexplorationofthein˛uencesoftheexo-,macro-,andchronosystemwouldlikely
necessitateadi˙erentstudydesignbutwouldaddrichnesstoourunderstandingofhowindirect
settings,valuesandideologies,orthepassageoftimewouldimpactastudents'senseofrelevance.
7.1.3Revisitingearlycaseswithourcurrentview
Inlookingbackacrossthestudiespresentedinthisdissertation,thereareseveralavenuesthatwe
couldrevisitequippedwiththeknowledgeofecologicalsystemstheory.
Inchapter4.1wewereintroducedtothecasestudentBeverlywhostatedthatphysicswas
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notrelevanttothepracticeofmedicinebecauseofconversationswithphysicianssheshadowed.
Neartheendofherparticipationinourstudy,shehadswitchedawayfromapre-medicaltrack.
AnecologicalsystemsviewofBeverlywouldhelpusarticulatethechangesthatmayoccurwhen
studentsexperienceashiftintheacademictrajectories,andthee˙ectsofthatshiftontheirperception
oftherelevanceofphysics.It'squitepossiblethatBeverly'sshiftincareerpathswouldhaveleft
observablechangesinhermesosystem.Beverlyhadmanydiscussionswithherfamilyaboutthe
dangersofbeinginasmallcarversusalargercariftherewereanaccident.SinceBLiSSphysics
explicitlyhasthisscenarioasalabinvestigation,anotheravenuetopursuewouldbetounpack
howthesemomentsinclassshiftedhowsheengagedinconversationswithherfamilyonthese
topics.Anopenquestioniswhetherthesein-classactivitiesbecamerelevantinthesediscussions
withfamily.Howdophysicsactivitiesaroundthedangersoftheworldimpactconversationswith
familythatmayholddi˙erentviews?
Inchapter4.2weexploredhowSam'sfriendshipswereasourceofconnectionsbetween
physicsandhereverydaylife.Inherinterviews,sheremarksthatsheonlythinksofthesephysics
conceptswhenshe'saroundspeci˝cfriendsorgroupswithcertainmajorslikeengineering.If
werevisitedSamwithanecologicalsystemsviewandde˝neoursettingtobemorespeci˝cthan
herpeernetwork,itwouldequipustoexplorehowdi˙erentfriendgroupscontributetoorhinder
connectionstophysics.Itisnotunreasonablethatstudentswillhavedi˙erentpeerandsocial
groupsthatful˝lldi˙erentneedsintheirlives;thisisanalogoustohowphysicscanbethoughtof
ful˝llingneedsinstudents'lives.Understandinghowstudents'friendshipsimpacttheirsenseof
relevancewouldaddanimportantlayertoourunderstanding.
7.2ThisworkrelativetothewaysPERhasreportedonrelevance
Thisdissertationhasexploredthenotionofrelevanceandbuiltaframeworkwithwhichre-
searcherscanmakemeaningful,holisticinterpretationsofstudents'viewsofrelevance.Idescribed
howthisframeworkprovidesamuchmorecompletepictureofrelevancethanwhatattitudinal
andepistemologicalsurveyscanmeasureanditmaintainsastrengths-basedviewofstudentability.
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Thisworkisare-envisioningofthewayweconsiderandjudgetherelevanceofphysics.Previously,
researchershavebeencertainofthewaysphysicsisrelevant,andhaveaskedstudentstoendorse
thosestatements.Thoseendorsementsaretheninterpretedasvaluestatementsofstudents.Those
thatagreewiththe"expert"viewsaresuccessesforacoursedesign,whilethosethatagreewiththe
"novice"viewsaredeemedstudentsthatwerenotreachedwiththeinstruction.Surveyaftersurvey,
yearafteryear,PERhasreportedandacceptedthefactthatstudents'beliefsaroundtherelevance
ofphysicswillbenegativelyimpactedbyinstruction.
Ourapproachquestionswhatispreviouslythoughttobewell-known,thatphysicsisrelevant
forallstudents.Insteadofaskinghowthestudentfeelsaboutthepresumedtruththatphysicsis
relevant,westartwithstudents'livesandexperiencesandaskwherephysics˝tsin.Ineachchapter
wehavechallengedthewaysPERhasinterpretedorunderstoodstudents'viewsontherelevance
ofphysics.
InChapter4.1,weshowedhowphraseslike"realworld"arerelativelyabstract,andtobefrank
meaningless.Inchapter4.2weshowwhatisrequiredforastudenttoconnectphysicstoeveryday
experiences,anddemonstratetheimportanceofsupportnetworksinastudent'slife.InChapter5,
weformalizedaprocesstoapproachtheexplorationofrelevanceanddemonstrateitsdescriptive
powerinunderstandingtherelevantconnectionstwostudentsmake.Finally,inChapter6,we
revisitthemainmotivatingpurposetoourentireenterprise.Throughacasestudy,were-assert
how˝ndingrelevanceinadisciplineyouoncefearedcanbeatransformativeexperience.
Throughoutallofthestudentexperienceswithinthisdissertationandtheothersnotdiscussed,
themostimportantrealizationisthatstudents'outsideexperiencesmatter.Physicsinstructioncan
nolongera˙ordtotreatthelearningofphysicsasbeingdistinctorspecial.Forstudentsmajoring
inthelifescienceswhoneverplanonbecomingphysicists,itiscrucialthatinstructioninvites,
integrates,andvaluestheirexperiencesforstudentstoregardanintroductoryphysicssequenceas
morethanjustahurdletoovercomeonthepathtotheirmajor.
Intheend,relevanceisnotastretchgoaloranextraconsiderationforthoselookingtobuild
astrongerconnectionwithstudents.Relevanceisfarfromoptionalistheprimarychallenge
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forphysicseducation.Asmajorprogramsincreasinglyquestionthevalueofarequisitephysics
courseinthepreparationoftheirundergraduatestudents,physicsprogramsareatriskoflosing
theirprimaryfundingmechanismeducationofnon-physicsmajors.Inservingtheneedsof
thesestudents,itisnolongerdefensibletoplaninstructiondisconnectedanddetachedfromthe
studentsintheclassroom.Relevanceisamechanismbywhichinstructorscanengageandmotivate
studentsintheclassroom.Inalmosteverycasepresented,weseearecurrenceofapatterninwhich
studentsrecallphysicsthroughkeymomentsofrelevance.Maria,Nicole,Sam,andMilesallhave
relevantconnectionscrystallizedintotheirmemoriesthatremainpowerfultouchstonesasthey
continuetheirjourney.Students'a˙ectivecharacteristicsarepartandparceloftheirexperience
learningphysics.Throughthesefourcaseswehaveshownthatthereisaresiliencyofknowledge
whenyoulearninanengagingwayandmakegenuineconnectionstoyourlife.
Ifthecasespresentedwerenotsu˚cienttoconvincethereaderoftheseclaims,thesepatterns
existamongstmanyoftheadditionalcasescollectedinthisprojectbutnotpresentedintheprimary
chapters.AlisaandMelaniearemembersofaneuroscienceresearchgroupthatusesphysics
conceptstostudyneuronsignalinginthebrain.Alisaemailedmetotellmeofallthephysicsshe
isseeingandhowthecon-focalmicroscopytechniquesexploredinBLiSSarere-appearingduring
herstudyabroadexperienceinEurope.Leslieisastudentwhowasinitiallyresistanttophysics
becauseshefeltphysicsactivitiesoverlysimpli˝edthecomplexityofbiology.Afterleavingthe
physicssequence,shestudiedelectricityproductionin˝shspeciesandsentanemailtodiscuss
howshewillbelearninghowtoperformatechniquecalledqPCRinherresearchlabthatuses
conceptsfromthesecondsemester.Thelistofcasestudentswhore˛ectontheirtimelearning
physicspositivelyistoolongtodiscusseveninadissertation.Thesestudentsconsistentlyreach
outtomementionthattheythoughtIwouldbeproudorexcitedtoknowabouttheconnections
theywereseeing.
ThisdissertationmayappeartobeoneofidentifyinganissuewithPER,constructingatheo-
reticalframeworkinresponse,andshowingitsapplication.Thatisfarfromthewholestory;this
dissertationisaboutthepowerofestablishingmeaningfulconnectionswithstudentsinaclassroom.
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Treatingstudentsasbeingmorethannovicephysicslearnersandinsteadtreatingthemasknowers,
providingspaceandtimeforstudents,andinvitingstudentsintoleadershiprolesintheclassroom
arewaystotransformhowphysicsinstructionviewsitspurpose.Thepriorityisn'ttransmission
ofpiece-mealknowledgeamarguingforare-imaginingofwhatitmeanstoteachphysicsto
non-physicsmajors.Insteadofshowingthemwherethey˝tintothelandscapeofphysics,we
shouldbeaskingwherephysicsmay˝tintotheirlives.Ifwerevisittheresolutionofthestory
Isharedatthestartofthispaper,ofahighschoolphysicsstudentquestioningthepurposeof
physics,we˝ndthattheanswerwasstaringatusallalong.WhenIhaveexhaustedallofmy
logicalarguments,Ireliedonaskingherforafavor,relyingontherapportandrelationshipIhad
builtintheclassroom.Physicscontinuestoservetheneedsofonlyaselectfewinoursociety;
co-constructingrelevancewithstudentsbyinvitingtheirexperiencesintotheenterpriseoflearning
physicsisareliablemechanismtonotonlyconveyknowledgebutovercomethetroublingand
intimidatingperceptionofphysics.
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CHAPTER8
IMPLICATIONS
Thereadermaythrowtheirhandsupandwonderhowdi˚cultitwillbetopredicttherightcontext
fortherightstudents.Planningforeverypossibilitycanbeanexerciseinfrustration.Tothis
worriedreader,Iwanttoonceagainremindthemthattheclassroompracticespresentedinthis
papermakethelifeofaninstructormuchsimpler.Yourchallengeisn'ttopredictorgatherstudents'
interestsandplanactivitiesaccordingly.Yourchallengeistoletgoofcontrol,letgooftheidentity
asthesoleexpert,andletgoofsu˙ocatingcontentcoverage.Letitallgo,andtrustthosestudents
thatareinyourclassroom.Yourmainresponsibilityistoopenasupportivespaceforstudents
tobringthemselvesinandconnecttotheiroutsideexperiences.Physicshasaperceptionissue
forthoseoutsideofthedisciplineaswellasarepresentationissueforthoseinsidethediscipline.
Invitingandsupportingstudentsfromoutsidethedisciplineindevelopingrelevancecanbeapath
forwardinaddressingbothissuessimultaneously.
Thisentiredissertationisane˙orttounderstandstudents'viewsabouttherelevanceofphysics.
Theinterpretationsfromsurveysaroundtherelevanceofphysicshavefortoolongbeenastain
onthereputationofphysicsstudents.Studentsarecapableandwillingtomakeconnectionsina
physicsclassroomifgivenopportunityandguidance.
InthefutureweplantoarticulatehowthedesignoftheBLiSSclassroompromotesstudent
outcomesutilizingconjecture-mapping[68].Fornowwecandescribeaselectnumberofdesign
elementsthathavefosteredstudentsbuildingstrongconnectionstophysicsandpromotingtheir
viewsthatphysicsisrelevant.
Mixedinstructionalteam
Themembersoftheinstructionalteamconsistofavarietyofacademic
titlesincludingfaculty,graduatestudent,andundergraduatelearningassistant(LA).Thishas
createdmultiplelevelsofknowledgeandexperience.Weoften˝ndthatstudentsmaybehesitant
toaskthefacultymemberaquestion;thepresenceofanLAhelpsmitigatethisissue.Inaddition,
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mostofourLAsarenotmajoringinphysics,sotheinstructionalteamhasamixtureofdisciplinary
expertisetodrawuponandconnectto.
Avoidanceofsuper˝cialbiologicalcontexts
WhendesigningoradaptingactivitiesforBLiSS,
careistakentoensurethatactivitiesrepresentauthenticlinesofinquirythatarerepresentativeof
theinterestsofbiologists.WedonotusesphericalchickensorcowsinBLiSSphysicsandinstead
positionphysicsashavingatoolkitofrepresentationsandpracticesthatcanbeofuseinavarietyof
contexts.Thisoftenmeansthatwecannotavoidbiologicalcomplexityandhavetomoveforward
withargumentationandreasoningintheabsenceofacleananalyticsolution.
Computationtotacklebiologicalcomplexity
Throughoutthecourseweusecomputational
activitiestohelpstudentsanalyzeandvisualizecomplexphenomenathatwouldnotbepossibleby
hand.Weusetheseopportunitiestoconnecttocomputationalbiologicalmodelsthatincreasingly
representmodernbiologyresearch.
Courseimplementationisresponsivetostudenta˙ect
ItisnotanaccidentthatBLiSSphysics
isnamedafteranemotion.Attendingtostudenta˙ectisacentralpremiseofteachingBLiSS
physics.Students'a˙ectiveresponsestoactivitiescanimpactday-to-dayplanningasactivity
sequencesareextended,short-circuited,ormodi˝ed.Atmanypointsinthecoursewearefaced
withmultipleoptionsofequallyfeasibleactivitiestorun.Oftenthischoiceisdiscussedinterms
oftheclassclimateoverall.Atypicalconsiderationwouldgoasfollows:Shouldwedothelab
activitythatworksverywellatgivingstudentscleanintuitiveresults?Orshouldwedotheactivity
thathaslessdirectlead-intothenextunitbuthashistoricallycausedstudentstoeruptinjoy?The
instructionalteamputsaheavyemphasisonacknowledgingfrustrationsandcelebratingsuccesses
asbeingpartoftheteachingpractice.Throughoutthein-classexperiencespresentedinthepaper
youwillnoticeinstructorandLAteachingmovesfocusedonpositivelysupportingstudents'a˙ect.
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Studentspositionedasexpertsintheroom
BLiSSphysicsemphasizesknowledgeconstruction
throughargumentationandconsensus-building.Studentsareencouragedtobringintheiroutside
expertiseandthecoursehastimeandspacebuilt-intoallowforstudentstoshare.Settingasidetime
toallowforstudentstosharetheirexpertisecomesatthecostofcontentcoverage;wedonotattempt
tocovereverytopictraditionallytaughtina˝rstsemesterphysicscourse.Weattempttofocuson
areasofphysicsthathavegreatoverlapandrelevancetothelifesciences.Thisdesignelementis
perhapsthehardesttoimplementbecauseitrequiresthepossibilitythatthefacultymemberdoesn't
knowalltheanswers.Infact,weseethisasastrengthofthedesign.Studentsrecognizingthat
theyauthenticallycontributetothesharedknowledgeisapowerfulmediatorofrelevance.Maria,
Nicole,andMilesallhavemomentsinwhichtheiroutsideknowledgecontributestoarichershared
understanding.
Ifwecanfocusonexperiencestopromotestudentsbelievingphysicsisrelevanttothem,we
mayseetheproblematicpublicimageofintroductoryphysicsclassroomsdestroyed.Asmoreand
morestudentsbelievethatphysicsisrelevanttotheirlives,physicscanperhaps˝nallygiveup
itsprizedstatusasbeingdistinctfromor"purer"thanotherdisciplinesandbecomejustoneof
many˝eldstopursue.Ifwereformourclassroomstobespaceswherestudentsfeelwelcomedand
valued,thereisnolimittothetransformationswewillseeasstudentsentertheworldequipped
withatoolkitofphysics.
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APPENDICES
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APPENDIXA
REAL-TIMEVISUALIZATIONOFEQUIPOTENTIALLINESUSINGTHEIOLAB
Thispaperrepresentsanexampleofthecross-pollinationthatoccurswhenresearchandcurriculum
designimpacteachother.ThisactivitywasdesignedintheseconditerationofBLiSS,anditwas
ane˙orttoimplementamodi˝cationofacommonlyusedexplorationofequipotentiallines.The
impactsnotedinthestudentquotesaswellasfrominterviewsyettobepublishedsignaltousthatthis
wasameaningfulexperienceformanystudentsbecauseitwasintuitivetothem,easytoapproach,
usedcommonlyfoundmaterials,andgavestudentsresponsiveandaccuratedata.Activitieslike
thisoneareexamplesofclassroomexperiencesexplicitlydesignedtoengagestudentsandpromote
positivea˙ectiveresponses.
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APPENDIXB
COURSEQUESTIONNAIRE
Startingonthenextpage,weincludethequestionnairegiventostudentsatthestartofthe2017
Fallsemester.Thegoalsaretolearnaboutstudents'disciplinaryinterests,futurecareers,and
disciplinaryexperiences.Italsoasksstudentstoself-reporttheirlevelsofpreparationandanxiety
astheyheadintoourcourse.ThequestionnairewasinitiallydesignedinMSU'sLON-CAPAsystem
inthe˝rstyearbutwasmodi˝edandimplementedinQualtricsfortheseconditeration.
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