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PS.D-SU-6.01 | Contributed | Physics teachers’ framings of equity and anti-racism
Presenting Author: Tra Huynh, University of Washington Bothell
Additional Author | Lauren Bauman, University of Washington
Additional Author | Amy Robertson, Seattle Pacific University
Additional Author | Rachel Scherr, University of Washington Bothell
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With the on-going anti-racism movement in the U.S., teachers have been encouraged to incorporate anti-racist activities and curricula in their classrooms. In the Energy and Equity summer workshop 2020, we listened to high school physics teachers compare the lenses of antiracism and equity. We identified three themes that characterize these high school physics teachers’ discourse about the relationship between equity and anti-racism. The findings provide insights into physics teacher conceptions about anti-racist lens and their thoughts and concerns in taking up an anti-racist lens for their practice.
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PS.D-SU-6.02 | Contributed | Students’ Use of Disability Accommodations in Emergency Remote Teaching
Presenting Author: Erin Scanlon, University of Connecticut, Avery Point
Additional Author | Michael Vignal, University of Colorado, Boulder
Additional Author | Bethany R. Wilcox, University of Colorado, Boulder
Additional Author | Jacquelyn J. Chini, University of Central Florida
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Disability is an important aspect of diversity but there are barriers to access and participation for disabled students inherent in the design of physics courses. To help counteract these barriers, universities are required to provide reasonable accommodations for disabled students. However, not all students use accommodations because of social factors (e.g., disability stigma) and others do not have access to professional diagnosis. With the decision to switch to emergency remote teaching (ERT, some educators believe that courses are inherently more accessible. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of students who identify with a disability/impairment who were taking a physics course in Fall 2020 to inform policies about providing access to students in future remote and face-to-face courses. In this talk we will present ethical considerations of conducting research during ERT as well as findings related to students use of accommodations and perceived effectiveness in physics courses.
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PS.D-SU-6.03 | Contributed | Reflective Journaling in the Era of COVID
Presenting Author: Ana Barrera, San Francisco State University
Additional Author | Kim Coble, San Francisco State University
Additional Author | Bahar Amin, San Francisco State University
Additional Author | Amal Egad, San Francisco State University
Additional Author | Niah Freeman, San Francisco State University
The Alma project was developed at San Francisco State with the purpose of promoting inclusion and affirming students’ identities by encouraging self-reflection through journaling. After the Alma Project was successfully piloted in 2018 in Supplemental Instruction (SI) classes, it further expanded into all SI classes as well as introductory physics and astronomy labs. In Spring 2020, reflective journaling was used as an asset-based tool to center student voices in physics classrooms and to recognize students’ experiences transitioning to online learning during the COVID-19 global pandemic. In addition, a question was added to lab experience surveys to understand students' experiences with remote learning during COVID-19. Essays (N = 257) and surveys (N = 1031) were analyzed using an iterative thematic coding approach. Based on these surveys and essays, we identify themes of positive and negative impact of online teaching and learning as well as strategies students described for self-care.
Additional authors: Jomar Lopes, Rachel Xie ( San Francisco State University).
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PS.D-SU-6.04 | Contributed | Evolution of Grades and Social Comparison Concern within a Course
Presenting Author: Srividya Suresh, the Ohio State University
Presenting Author | Andrew Heckler , the Ohio State University
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We investigate the evolution and associations between exam grades and Social Comparison Concern (SCC) among students in an introductory calculus-based physics course. SCC is a scale measuring the concern over one’s own ability or performance relative to others and has previously been found to be moderately correlated with grades. We hypothesize a mutual influence between grades and SCC. Using a structural equation model, we find evidence that exam scores partially mediate changes in SCC scores, and in turn, SCC scores partially mediate changes in exam scores, though the mediation effects are somewhat small, around 10% of the total effects between grades and SCC. We also find that while SCC scores are correlated with exam scores, they are only very weakly correlated with non-exam grade components. Overall, the results provide evidence for a dynamic feedback loop in which SCC may either negatively or positively interfere with student performance on exams.
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PS.D-SU-6.05 | Contributed | The Universal Design for Learning Instructional Practices Observation Protocol (UDL-IPOP)
Presenting Author: Jacquelyn Chini, University of Central Florida
Additional Author | Erin Scanlon, University of Connecticut, Avery Point
Additional Author | Westley D. James, Lake Mary High School
Additional Author | Sacha Cartagena, University of Central Florida
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Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a recommended framework to facilitate proactive design of instructional environments that support variation in learners’ needs, abilities, and interests. However, little empirical research describes what UDL looks like in postsecondary STEM education, and there is not a unified method for “measuring” the enactment of UDL-aligned practices. After using an existing UDL observation protocol designed for K-12 education, we began developing a tool to meet the unique needs of postsecondary STEM education research and development—the Universal Design for Learning Instructional Practices Observation Protocol (UDL-IPOP) . This talk will describe our development process, including working with researchers and instructors to set goals for the protocol (i.e., useful to both faculty and researchers; measures amount of UDL-aligned strategies implemented; observed strategies aligned to UDL checkpoints) and exploring the pilot protocol with experts (e.g., STEM education researches, instructors and disability experts), and the current status of the protocol.
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PS.D-SU-6.06 | Contributed | Cultural Capitals Expressed through Reflective Journaling in Introductory Physics Labs
Presenting Author: Kim Coble, San Francisco State University
Additional Author | Ana Maria Barrera, San Francisco State University
Additional Author | Bahar Amin, San Francisco State University
Additional Author | Mireya Arreguin, San Francisco State University
Additional Author | Amal Egad, San Francisco State University
Through reflective journaling, the Alma project at San Francisco State University (an HSI) seeks to affirm STEM students’ identities, support connections with their life experiences, and recognize their cultural wealth. Our department offers a number of introductory physics and astronomy lecture and lab sequences including: a three-semester calculus-based physics sequence targeted toward engineering, computer science and physical science majors; a two-semester algebra-based physics sequence targeted toward students in the biosciences; a one-semester conceptual physics course; and one-semester conceptual astronomy course. In response to the prompt “why am I here,” designed to draw out their values and purpose, students journaled for 5 - 10 minutes and then spent time in class sharing their responses. Using an iterative thematic coding approach, we analyzed more than 400 essays and identified 11 cultural capitals expressed by students. Here we compare and contrast the frequencies of cultural capitals exhibited by respondents in different course types.
Additional Authors:
Marissa Harris (San Francisco State University)
Jomar Lopes (San Francisco State University)
Alejandra Lopez-Macha (San Francisco State University)
Rachel Xie (San Francisco State University)
Khanh Tran (Purdue University)
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PS.D-SU-6.07 | Contributed | Experts’ Perspectives on Disability in Postsecondary STEM Across Disciplines
Presenting Author: Camille Coffie, University of Central Florida
Additional Author | Erin M. Scanlon, University of Connecticut, Avery Point
Additional Author | Jacquelyn J. Chini, University of Central Florida
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Individual instructors’ perspectives of disability impact the experiences of disabled students. For example, if a person considers disability as mainly an individual deficit (i.e., aligned with individual or medical models), they will likely place the onus on the disabled student to fit into the existing education system. On the other hand, if a person considers disability as arising from the interaction of socially constructed spaces and practices (i.e., aligned with a social model), they may more likely consider systemic reform. As part of developing an observation protocol for inclusive teaching practices in postsecondary STEM, we interviewed experts from several relevant disciplines, including postsecondary physics and chemistry instructors, STEM discipline-based education researchers, and researchers in exceptional/special education. We will present convergences and divergences in the trends of how these experts discussed disability and inclusive teaching in postsecondary STEM and consider the implications of these perspectives for disabled students.