Presentation
Attending to Scientific Practices within Undergraduate Research Experiences
Physics Education Research Topical Group, American Association of Physics Teachers
(2016)
Abstract
Ford (2015) argues for viewing "scientific practice" not as a list of particular skills, but rather, as "sets of regularities of behaviors and social interactions" among scientists. This conceptualization of scientific practices foregrounds how they 1) meaningfully connect to one another, 2) are purposefully employed in their ability to explain nature and 3) prospectively adapt based on critique. While Ford focused on practices in K-12 classrooms, we apply this framework to understand how undergraduate physics majors do or do not make progress toward more central participation in physics research experiences. Using video from interviews with students and research mentors, and classroom and research-lab observations, we argue that this "practice" analytical lens affords new insights into how students experience their undergraduate research experiences. Our analysis traces students' trajectories toward deep engagement with scientific practices through early stages of participation.
Publication Date
July, 2016
Location
Sacramento, California
Comments
This poster was originally presented at the 2016 Physics Education Research Conference and can also be found online at this link.
©2016 AAPT PERTG
Citation Information
Gina M. Quan, Chandra Anne Turpen and Andrew Elby. "Attending to Scientific Practices within Undergraduate Research Experiences" Physics Education Research Topical Group, American Association of Physics Teachers (2016) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/gina-quan/44/
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC_BY International License.