• Open Access

Correlating student interest and high school preparation with learning and performance in an introductory university physics course

Jason J. B. Harlow, David M. Harrison, and Andrew Meyertholen
Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 10, 010112 – Published 7 April 2014

Abstract

We have studied the correlation of student performance in a large first year university physics course with their reasons for taking the course and whether or not the student took a senior-level high school physics course. Performance was measured both by the Force Concept Inventory and by the grade on the final examination. Students who took the course primarily for their own interest outperformed students who took the course primarily because it was required, both on the Force Concept Inventory and on the final examination; students who took a senior-level high school physics course outperformed students who did not, also both on the Force Concept Inventory and on the final exam. Students who took the course for their own interest and took high school physics outperformed students who took the course because it was required and did not take high school physics by a wide margin. However, the normalized gain on the Force Concept Inventory was the same within uncertainties for all groups and subgroups of students.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 30 August 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.010112

This article is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 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

Authors & Affiliations

Jason J. B. Harlow, David M. Harrison*, and Andrew Meyertholen

  • Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A7 Canada

  • *david.harrison@utoronto.ca

Article Text

Click to Expand

References

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 10, Iss. 1 — January - June 2014

Reuse & Permissions
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Physics Education Research

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

×

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×