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Same Activity, Divergent Impacts: Representing Paths Towards Physics Computational Literacy and Physics Identity with Conjecture Mapping-Based Narrative Analysis

Sarah McHale, Tor Ole B. Odden, Ken Heller

TL;DR

This study investigates how integrating computation into physics education influences students' affective self-perceptions and physics identity. Using a conjecture-mapping-based narrative analysis, it links the design and enactment of a multi-day nonlinear-fitting activity to two contrasting student outcomes (Bridget and Jake) through manifestations in physics computational literacy beliefs and physics identity. The findings highlight that students’ epistemic framings of code—shaped by prior experiences and course design—drive divergent affective trajectories, affecting sense of belonging, recognition, and perceived competence. The work advances pedagogy by showing how activity design and scaffolding influence not only cognitive gains but also affective development, with implications for assessment, collaboration norms, and identity formation in computational physics courses.

Abstract

Integrating computation into physics teaching is a curricular move that, at present, has been predominately studied for its cognitive impacts. However, if this modality of instruction shifts how students engage with physics, we argue there is room for students to redefine what it means to do physics and how they perceive themselves relative to the field. To investigate this, we situate a comparative case study in the context of a computationally integrated physics course. We study two students' experiences with a multi-day activity to understand how and why they came to affectively divergent self-perceptions. We propose a modified use of conjecture mapping to visualize the production of affective outcomes and connect narrative analysis to activity design. Our analysis highlights how different interpretations of and engagement with activity design reflect students' epistemic framing of code, which, in turn, drives engagement with scaffolding in manners that shape self-perception.

Same Activity, Divergent Impacts: Representing Paths Towards Physics Computational Literacy and Physics Identity with Conjecture Mapping-Based Narrative Analysis

TL;DR

This study investigates how integrating computation into physics education influences students' affective self-perceptions and physics identity. Using a conjecture-mapping-based narrative analysis, it links the design and enactment of a multi-day nonlinear-fitting activity to two contrasting student outcomes (Bridget and Jake) through manifestations in physics computational literacy beliefs and physics identity. The findings highlight that students’ epistemic framings of code—shaped by prior experiences and course design—drive divergent affective trajectories, affecting sense of belonging, recognition, and perceived competence. The work advances pedagogy by showing how activity design and scaffolding influence not only cognitive gains but also affective development, with implications for assessment, collaboration norms, and identity formation in computational physics courses.

Abstract

Integrating computation into physics teaching is a curricular move that, at present, has been predominately studied for its cognitive impacts. However, if this modality of instruction shifts how students engage with physics, we argue there is room for students to redefine what it means to do physics and how they perceive themselves relative to the field. To investigate this, we situate a comparative case study in the context of a computationally integrated physics course. We study two students' experiences with a multi-day activity to understand how and why they came to affectively divergent self-perceptions. We propose a modified use of conjecture mapping to visualize the production of affective outcomes and connect narrative analysis to activity design. Our analysis highlights how different interpretations of and engagement with activity design reflect students' epistemic framing of code, which, in turn, drives engagement with scaffolding in manners that shape self-perception.
Paper Structure (22 sections, 3 figures)

This paper contains 22 sections, 3 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Theoretical Frameworks
  3. Physics Computational Literacy
  4. Physics Identity
  5. Methods
  6. Data Sources
  7. Conjecture mapping
  8. Modifications for Narrative Analysis
  9. Comparative Case Study
  10. Setting & Context
  11. Bridget's Perspective
  12. Bridget's Narrative
  13. Bridget's Conjecture Map
  14. Jake's Perspective
  15. Jake's Narrative
  16. ...and 7 more sections

Figures (3)

  • Figure 1: Components of a conjecture map. When we use a modified term, Sandoval's original term is included in parentheses sandoval.
  • Figure 2: Conjecture map representing Bridget's perspective on the multi-day activity, specifically depicting her conceptualization of and engagement with code. Connections with positive valence are shown as solid arrows, and connections with negative valence are shown as dashed arrows.
  • Figure 3: Conjecture map representing Jake's perspective on the multi-day activity, specifically depicting his conceptualization of and engagement with code. Connections with positive valence are shown as solid arrows, and connections with negative valence are shown as dashed arrows.