Workshop presentation given at the Physics Higher Education Conference 2011, held at the University of Lancaster 8-9 Sept 2011

1. Physics Education Research
The University of Edinburgh
Do ‘expert’ views of attitudes
towards physics agree?
Simon Bates, Robyn Donnelly,
Cait MacPhee, Kate Slaughter
PHEC 8-9 Sept 2011, Lancaster UK.
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2. Physics Education Research
The University of Edinburgh
Do ‘expert’ views of attitudes to physics agree?
Simon Bates, Robyn Donnelly,
Cait MacPhee, Kate Slaughter
PHEC 8-9 Sept 2011, Lancaster UK.
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3. Physics Education Research
The University of Edinburgh
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4. Physics Education Research
The University of Edinburgh
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5. Physics Education Research
The University of Edinburgh
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6. Physics Education Research
The University of Edinburgh
Time to revisit the ‘expert’ view?
Original validation procedure
(+ unanalyzed data)
Seen demographic differences in students, what
about experts?
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7. Physics Education Research
The University of Edinburgh
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8. Physics Education Research
The University of Edinburgh
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9. Physics Education Research
The University of Edinburgh
Selected results
Question 12 - I cannot learn physics if the teacher doesn't
(A, N, D)  (57, 23, 20)
explain things well in class
40.0
35.0
30.0
Percentage of students
25.0
PRE
20.0
POST
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree
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10. Physics Education Research
The University of Edinburgh
Headline 1:
‘Expert’ views on 5 item statements not at
all consistent in academic staff
responses
(criteria: less than 2 out of 3 respondents
agree)
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11. Physics Education Research
The University of Edinburgh
Item 12
“I cannot learn physics if the teacher does
not explain things well in class.”
Expert response: D
%age of academic respondents:
(A,N,D)  (17, 22, 62)
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12. Physics Education Research
The University of Edinburgh
Item 37
“To understand physics, I sometimes think
about my personal experiences and relate
them to the topic being analyzed.”
Expert response: A
%age of academic respondents:
(A,N,D)  (66, 27, 7) 12

13. Physics Education Research
The University of Edinburgh
Headline 2:
Some significant differences between M
and F academic responses at the item
and category level
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14. Physics Education Research
The University of Edinburgh
Item 37
“To understand physics, I sometimes think
about my personal experiences and relate
them to the topic being analyzed.”
Expert response: A
%age of academic respondents:
(A,N,D)  M (62, 30, 8) F (85, 15, 0) 14

15. Physics Education Research
The University of Edinburgh
Category Real-World Connection
4 statements including item 37.
%age of academic respondents:
(A,N,D)  M (88,9,3) F (94,6, 0)
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16. Physics Education Research
The University of Edinburgh
Conclusion
The ‘expert’ view on some items of CLASS
does not appear as clear cut as you might
imagine it to be.
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17. Physics Education Research
The University of Edinburgh
Conclusions
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wasabicube/2270560164/
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18. Physics Education Research
The University of Edinburgh
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19. Physics Education Research
The University of Edinburgh
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