Preliminary efforts to evaluate an initiative introducing computation across the undergraduate physics curriculum
We report our preliminary efforts to evaluate a departmental project: the inclusion of computational methods across our undergraduate curriculum. Our overarching goal is for students to consider computational approaches as a "normal" way to solve physics problems, on par with analytical approaches. In this paper, we focus on our efforts to evaluate the development of our students' attitudes and self-efficacy with respect to key computational methods. We describe our efforts to develop and deploy a survey instrument students complete each semester. This allows us to study, e.g., the points in the curriculum at which students gain confidence with particular methods, or adopt more expert-like attitudes regarding computation in general. We investigated the reliability of our instrument using a split-half process and found the Spearman-Brown coefficients for unequal length were r = 0.818, r = 0.895, and r = 0.917 for the three constructs in our survey. We also provide preliminary data from the early use of the survey and outline next steps for the project.
Physics Education Research Conference 2021
Part of the PER Conference series Virtual Conference: August 4-5, 2021 Pages 141-146
2021 Notable Paper
Author: Lyle This paper was one of four 2021 PERC Proceedings papers selected as notable by PERLOC and the Notable Papers subcommittee.
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![]() <a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=15739">Gavrin, A, G. Vemuri, and D. Maric. "Preliminary efforts to evaluate an initiative introducing computation across the undergraduate physics curriculum." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference, August 4-5, 2021.</a>
![]() A. Gavrin, G. Vemuri, and D. Maric, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference, 2021, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15739&DocID=5473).
![]() A. Gavrin, G. Vemuri, and D. Maric, Preliminary efforts to evaluate an initiative introducing computation across the undergraduate physics curriculum, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference, 2021, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15739&DocID=5473>.
![]() Gavrin, A., Vemuri, G., & Maric, D. (2021, August 4-5). Preliminary efforts to evaluate an initiative introducing computation across the undergraduate physics curriculum. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference. Retrieved May 3, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15739&DocID=5473
![]() Gavrin, A, G. Vemuri, and D. Maric. "Preliminary efforts to evaluate an initiative introducing computation across the undergraduate physics curriculum." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference, August 4-5, 2021. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15739&DocID=5473 (accessed 3 May 2025).
![]() Gavrin, Andrew, Gautam Vemuri, and Danka Maric. "Preliminary efforts to evaluate an initiative introducing computation across the undergraduate physics curriculum." Physics Education Research Conference 2021. Virtual Conference: 2021. 141-146 of PER Conference. 3 May 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15739&DocID=5473>.
![]() @inproceedings{
Author = "Andrew Gavrin and Gautam Vemuri and Danka Maric",
Title = {Preliminary efforts to evaluate an initiative introducing computation across the undergraduate physics curriculum},
BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2021},
Pages = {141-146},
Address = {Virtual Conference},
Series = {PER Conference},
Month = {August 4-5},
Year = {2021}
}
![]() %A Andrew Gavrin %A Gautam Vemuri %A Danka Maric %T Preliminary efforts to evaluate an initiative introducing computation across the undergraduate physics curriculum %S PER Conference %D August 4-5 2021 %P 141-146 %C Virtual Conference %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15739&DocID=5473 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2021 %O August 4-5 %O application/pdf ![]() %0 Conference Proceedings %A Gavrin, Andrew %A Vemuri, Gautam %A Maric, Danka %D August 4-5 2021 %T Preliminary efforts to evaluate an initiative introducing computation across the undergraduate physics curriculum %B Physics Education Research Conference 2021 %C Virtual Conference %P 141-146 %S PER Conference %8 August 4-5 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15739&DocID=5473 Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.
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