Students’ views about experimental physics in a large-enrollment introductory lab focused on experimental scientific practices

A large-enrollment, introductory physics laboratory course at the University of Colorado Boulder has undergone a recent transformation to help students’ develop lab skills and better align students’ views and beliefs about experimental physics with those of expert experimental physicists through engagement with authentic scientific practices. We examine the impact of the transformation on women and men in the course and report the effect of this transformation on the students’ views and beliefs using the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey for Experimental Physics (E-CLASS) as a measurement tool. We analyze over 3000 student responses from both before and after the transformation for both women and men on overall E-CLASS scores, as well as item-by-item. The results show statistically significant increase in the overall average E-CLASS score after the transformation as compared to that of the course before the transformation regardless of gender. In addition, item-by-item analysis indicates that there are larger gains in a few E-CLASS items, especially those related to the new course learning goals and some of these items are different for women and men. Our results show that students can have different lab experiences depending on their identity, an important aspect that should to be taken into account when designing educational interventions.

Figure 1

Comparison of the average overall E-CLASS scores between the BT (blue, $N=1449$) and AT (orange, $N=1723$) offerings of the course. Error bars are 95% confidence intervals and dashed lines are for guidance.

Figure 2

Average overall pretest and post-test E-CLASS scores for women in the BT (blue, $N=382$) and AT (orange, $N=522$) offerings. Error bars are 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 3

Women’s average post-test scores in the BT (blue) and AT (orange) courses on E-CLASS items (bar graph) that are related to the AT course learning goals. Effect sizes, Hedge’s $g$ and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals, are plotted as symbols for each of the items. Items with significant differences between BT and AT post-test scores for women are denoted by squares with red border.

Figure 4

Women’s average post-test scores in the BT (blue) and AT (orange) courses on E-CLASS items (bar graph) that are not related to the AT course learning goals. Effect sizes, Hedge’s $g$ and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals, are plotted as symbols for each of the items. Items with significant differences between BT and AT post-test scores for women are denoted by squares.

Figure 5

Average overall pretest and post-test E-CLASS scores for men in the BT (blue, $N=1067$) and AT (orange, $N=1201$) offerings. Error bars are 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 6

Men’s average post-test scores in the BT (blue) and AT (orange) courses on E-CLASS items (bar graph) that are related to the AT course learning goals. Effect sizes, Hedge’s $g$ and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals, are plotted as symbols for each of the items. Items with significant differences between BT and AT post-test scores for men are denoted by square symbol.

Figure 7

Men’s average post-test scores in the BT (blue) and AT (orange) courses on E-CLASS items (bar graph) that are not related to the AT course learning goals. Effect sizes, Hedge’s $g$ and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals, are plotted as symbols for each of the items. Items with significant differences between BT and AT post-test scores for men are denoted by squares.