Differences between novice and expert physics students have frequently been reported, yet students’ development through intermediate stages has seldom been described. In this study, we characterize undergraduate physics majors’ epistemological sophistication at various levels of degree progress. A cross‐section of physics majors was surveyed with the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey. Beginning physics majors are significantly more expert‐like than non‐physics majors in introductory physics courses; furthermore, this high level of sophistication is constant over the first three years of the physics degree program, with increases at the senior and graduate levels. Based on longitudinal data on a subset of students, we observe negligible average shift in students’ responses over periods of up to two years. We discuss implications for how and why physics students’ epistemological sophistication develops, including a possible connection between CLASS survey response and self‐identification as a physicist.
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30 January 2007
2006 PHYSICS EDUCATION RESEARCH CONFERENCE
26-27 July 2006
Syracuse, New York (USA)
Research Article|
January 30 2007
Characterizing the Epistemologicai Development of Physics Majors
Elizabeth Gire;
Elizabeth Gire
*University of California, San Diego
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Edward Price;
Edward Price
†California State University, San Marcos
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Barbara Jones
Barbara Jones
*University of California, San Diego
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AIP Conf. Proc. 883, 65–68 (2007)
Citation
Elizabeth Gire, Edward Price, Barbara Jones; Characterizing the Epistemologicai Development of Physics Majors. AIP Conf. Proc. 30 January 2007; 883 (1): 65–68. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2508692
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