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University physics students’ motivations and experiences in informal physics programs
written by Claudia Fracchiolla, Simone Hyater-Adams, Noah D. Finkelstein, and Kathleen A. Hinko
Substantial resources are directed toward public engagement by the physics community, but there is still much to understand about physicists' initial motivation for involvement, their experiences and their reasons for sustained participation. We use motivation theory as a lens to investigate the factors that contribute to physics students' decisions to participate in informal science programs. We conducted surveys and interviews with university students that volunteered in an afterschool physics program for K-12 students. Interviews were analyzed using content analysis. Findings indicate that previous participation in informal activities, attitudes towards engaging with the community, and recognition from peers are common themes in university students' initial reasons for involvement. The emergent themes of a positive experience and the enjoyment of sharing physics are related to students' persistence in the program.
Physics Education Research Conference 2016
Part of the PER Conference series
Sacramento, CA: July 20-21, 2016
Pages 124-127
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Education Foundations
- Learning Theory
- Student Characteristics
= Affect
Education Practices
- Informal Education
- Lower Undergraduate
- Upper Undergraduate
- Reference Material
= Research study
Intended Users Formats Ratings
- Researchers
- Administrators
- application/pdf
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Mirror:
https://doi.org/10.1119/perc.2016…
Access Rights:
Free access
License:
This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the published article's author(s), title, proceedings citation, and DOI.
Rights Holder:
American Association of Physics Teachers
DOI:
10.1119/perc.2016.pr.026
NSF Numbers:
1125844
1423496
Keyword:
PERC 2016
Record Creator:
Metadata instance created November 30, 2016 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:
December 29, 2016 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update
when Cataloged:
December 29, 2016
Other Collections:

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Record Link
AIP Format
C. Fracchiolla, S. Hyater-Adams, N. Finkelstein, and K. Hinko, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2016, Sacramento, CA, 2016, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14215&DocID=4568).
AJP/PRST-PER
C. Fracchiolla, S. Hyater-Adams, N. Finkelstein, and K. Hinko, University physics students’ motivations and experiences in informal physics programs, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2016, Sacramento, CA, 2016, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14215&DocID=4568>.
APA Format
Fracchiolla, C., Hyater-Adams, S., Finkelstein, N., & Hinko, K. (2016, July 20-21). University physics students’ motivations and experiences in informal physics programs. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2016, Sacramento, CA. Retrieved May 1, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14215&DocID=4568
Chicago Format
Fracchiolla, C, S. Hyater-Adams, N. Finkelstein, and K. Hinko. "University physics students’ motivations and experiences in informal physics programs." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2016, Sacramento, CA, July 20-21, 2016. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14215&DocID=4568 (accessed 1 May 2024).
MLA Format
Fracchiolla, Claudia, Simone Hyater-Adams, Noah Finkelstein, and Kathleen Hinko. "University physics students’ motivations and experiences in informal physics programs." Physics Education Research Conference 2016. Sacramento, CA: 2016. 124-127 of PER Conference. 1 May 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14215&DocID=4568>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{ Author = "Claudia Fracchiolla and Simone Hyater-Adams and Noah Finkelstein and Kathleen Hinko", Title = {University physics students’ motivations and experiences in informal physics programs}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2016}, Pages = {124-127}, Address = {Sacramento, CA}, Series = {PER Conference}, Month = {July 20-21}, Year = {2016} }
Refer Export Format

%A Claudia Fracchiolla %A Simone Hyater-Adams %A Noah Finkelstein %A Kathleen Hinko %T University physics students' motivations and experiences in informal physics programs %S PER Conference %D July 20-21 2016 %P 124-127 %C Sacramento, CA %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14215&DocID=4568 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2016 %O July 20-21 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Fracchiolla, Claudia %A Hyater-Adams, Simone %A Finkelstein, Noah %A Hinko, Kathleen %D July 20-21 2016 %T University physics students' motivations and experiences in informal physics programs %B Physics Education Research Conference 2016 %C Sacramento, CA %P 124-127 %S PER Conference %8 July 20-21 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14215&DocID=4568


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