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How physics instruction impacts students' beliefs about learning physics: A meta-analysis of 24 studies
Physics Education · Submitted 25 Mar 2014
abstract compiled · 2026-09-23 · no language-model review
The authors' main claim We report that in typical physics classes, students' beliefs deteriorate or at best stay the same.
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The abstract, sentence by sentence
In this meta-analysis, we synthesize the results of 24 studies using the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) and the Maryland Physics Expectations Survey (MPEX) to answer several questions: (1) How does physics instruction impact students' beliefs? (2) When do physics majors develop expert-like beliefs? and (3) How do students' beliefs impact their learning of physics? We report that in typical physics classes, students' beliefs deteriorate or at best stay the same. There are a few types of interventions, including an explicit focus on model-building and/or developing expert- like beliefs that lead to significant improvements in beliefs. Further, small courses and those for elementary education and non-science majors also result in improved beliefs. However, because the available data oversamples certain types of classes, it is unclear whether these improvements are actually due to the interventions, or due to the small class size, or student population typical of the kinds of classes in which these interventions are most often used. Physics majors tend to enter their undergraduate education with more expert-like beliefs than non-majors and these beliefs remain relatively stable throughout their undergraduate careers. Thus, typical physics courses appear to be selecting students who already have strong beliefs, rather than supporting students in developing strong beliefs. There is a small correlation between students' incoming beliefs about physics and their gains on conceptual mechanics surveys. This suggests that students with more expert-like incoming beliefs may learn more in their physics courses, but this finding should be further explored and replicated. Some unanswered questions remain. To answer these questions, we advocate several specific types of future studies.
background contribution method result interpretation main claim
| # | sentence | role | the authors' own work | states the main conclusion | strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| s0 | In this meta-analysis, we synthesize the results of 24 studies using the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) and the Maryland Physics Expectations Survey (MPEX) to answer several questions: (1) How does physics instruction impact students' beliefs? | contribution 0.64 | 0.82 | 0.03 | unclear 0.64 |
| s1 | (2) When do physics majors develop expert-like beliefs? and (3) How do students' beliefs impact their learning of physics? | contribution 0.48 | 0.07 | 0.02 | unclear 0.99 |
| s2 | We report that in typical physics classes, students' beliefs deteriorate or at best stay the same. | result 1.00 | 0.84 | 0.60 | asserted 0.99 |
| s3 | There are a few types of interventions, including an explicit focus on model-building and/or developing expert- like beliefs that lead to significant improvements in beliefs. | result 1.00 | 0.72 | 0.17 | asserted 1.00 |
| s4 | Further, small courses and those for elementary education and non-science majors also result in improved beliefs. | result 1.00 | 0.60 | 0.07 | asserted 1.00 |
| s5 | However, because the available data oversamples certain types of classes, it is unclear whether these improvements are actually due to the interventions, or due to the small class size, or student population typical of the kinds of classes in which these interventions are most often used. | limitation 1.00 | 0.38 | 0.05 | hedged possibility 0.45 |
| s6 | Physics majors tend to enter their undergraduate education with more expert-like beliefs than non-majors and these beliefs remain relatively stable throughout their undergraduate careers. | result 1.00 | 0.78 | 0.10 | asserted 1.00 |
| s7 | Thus, typical physics courses appear to be selecting students who already have strong beliefs, rather than supporting students in developing strong beliefs. | interpretation 1.00 | 0.57 | 0.23 | asserted 0.53 |
| s8 | There is a small correlation between students' incoming beliefs about physics and their gains on conceptual mechanics surveys. | result 1.00 | 0.83 | 0.04 | asserted 0.99 |
| s9 | This suggests that students with more expert-like incoming beliefs may learn more in their physics courses, but this finding should be further explored and replicated. | interpretation 0.80 | 0.75 | 0.04 | hedged possibility 1.00 |
| s10 | Some unanswered questions remain. | future work 0.67 | 0.16 | 0.02 | asserted 0.78 |
| s11 | To answer these questions, we advocate several specific types of future studies. | future work 1.00 | 0.29 | 0.03 | asserted 0.48 |
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The paper
Original abstract
In this meta-analysis, we synthesize the results of 24 studies using the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) and the Maryland Physics Expectations Survey (MPEX) to answer several questions: (1) How does physics instruction impact students' beliefs? (2) When do physics majors develop expert-like beliefs? and (3) How do students' beliefs impact their learning of physics? We report that in typical physics classes, students' beliefs deteriorate or at best stay the same. There are a few types of interventions, including an explicit focus on model-building and/or developing expert- like beliefs that lead to significant improvements in beliefs. Further, small courses and those for elementary education and non-science majors also result in improved beliefs. However, because the available data oversamples certain types of classes, it is unclear whether these improvements are actually due to the interventions, or due to the small class size, or student population typical of the kinds of classes in which these interventions are most often used. Physics majors tend to enter their undergraduate education with more expert-like beliefs than non-majors and these beliefs remain relatively stable throughout their undergraduate careers. Thus, typical physics courses appear to be selecting students who already have strong beliefs, rather than supporting students in developing strong beliefs. There is a small correlation between students' incoming beliefs about physics and their gains on conceptual mechanics surveys. This suggests that students with more expert-like incoming beliefs may learn more in their physics courses, but this finding should be further explored and replicated. Some unanswered questions remain. To answer these questions, we advocate several specific types of future studies.
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