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Students’ use and perception of textbooks and online resources in introductory physics

Charles Ruggieri
Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 16, 020123 – Published 14 October 2020
Physics logo See synopsis: YouTube: Physics Friend Not Foe

Abstract

In this mixed-methods study of large enrollment introductory physics service courses, I investigated students’ perception and use of online education resources as supplements to course-provided materials and activities. Specifically, I focused on the increasing use of popular free online media resources such as YouTube and Khan Academy, and fee-based textbook solution repository services such as Chegg. In the quantitative portion of this study, I surveyed students from three courses on their textbook and online resource usage and found that most students relied primarily on online resources as they navigated the courses, and comparatively few used the textbook regularly. In the qualitative portion, I investigated the patterns and culture of textbook and online resource usage via semistructured interviews and found that students reported using online resources as supplements to, or in place of, the course-provided materials when engaging with online homework or studying for an exam. Students reported using online resources productively to guide learning efforts, but also acknowledged unproductive uses such as copying solutions to mitigate loss of assignment points. I provide suggestions for changes in course materials, practices, and expectations to better engage students in the course and in their learning.

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  • Received 4 June 2020
  • Accepted 15 September 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.16.020123

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Physics Education Research

synopsis

Key Image

YouTube: Physics Friend Not Foe

Published 14 October 2020

Physics students use online resources to supplement their in-class instruction and not, as commonly thought, to find the answers to homework questions.

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Authors & Affiliations

Charles Ruggieri*

  • Department of Physics and Astronomy & Office of STEM Education, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA

  • *chazr@rutgers.edu

Article Text

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Issue

Vol. 16, Iss. 2 — July - December 2020

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