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In two earlier studies, we developed a new method to measure students' ability to transfer physics problem solving skills to new contexts using a sequence of online learning modules, and implemented two interventions in the form of…
Large Language Models (LLMs) have achieved remarkable success, where instruction tuning is the critical step in aligning LLMs with user intentions. In this work, we investigate how the instruction tuning adjusts pre-trained models with a…
Human-aligned deep learning models exhibit behaviors consistent with human values, such as robustness, fairness, and honesty. Transferring these behavioral properties to models trained on different tasks or data distributions remains…
With the rise of online eTextbooks and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), a huge amount of data has been collected related to students' learning. With the careful analysis of this data, educators can gain useful insights into the…
Performance in introductory courses, particularly physics, is often crucial for student success in STEM majors and can impact an individual's tendency to persist in their chosen field. To enhance students' individual learning experiences,…
Knowledge distillation (KD) is a model compression technique that transfers knowledge from a large teacher model to a smaller student model to enhance its performance. Existing methods often assume that the student model is inherently…
The rapid advancement of technology and science education demands innovative approaches to develop students' critical and creative thinking skills. However, there is limited systematic evidence about the effectiveness of different physics…
Positive affect has been linked to increased interest, curiosity and satisfaction in human learning. In reinforcement learning, extrinsic rewards are often sparse and difficult to define, intrinsically motivated learning can help address…
Reliable and validated assessments of introductory physics have been instrumental in driving curricular and pedagogical reforms that lead to improved student learning. As part of an effort to systematically improve our sophomore-level…
Working effectively with large, existing software systems requires strong comprehension skills, yet most graduates enter the industry with little preparation for this challenge. We report early results from a pilot intervention integrated…
The American Physical Society calls on its members to improve the diversity of physics by supporting an inclusive culture that encourages women and Black, Indigenous, and people of color to become physicists. In the current educational…
Physics education researchers have argued that authentic physics education includes computation as part of a physics student's training, and many parties have made efforts towards this goal. However, most research on this teaching modality…
Compared with traditional face-to-face teaching, online learning is more convenient. However, during online classes, it is more difficult for teachers to observe all student reactions at the same time. Our system is designed to help…
The Engage to Excel (PCAST) report, the National Research Council's Framework for K-12 Science Education, and the Next Generation Science Standards all call for transforming the physics classroom into an environment that teaches students…
A good teacher should not only be knowledgeable, but should also be able to communicate in a way that the student understands -- to share the student's representation of the world. In this work, we introduce a new controlled experimental…
Students' attitudes and approaches to problem solving in physics can profoundly influence their motivation to learn and development of expertise. We developed and validated an Attitudes and Approaches to Problem Solving survey by expanding…
This work reports on results from the first national study of the impact of student facilitation of informal physics outreach programs on their physics identity, sense of belonging, and essential career skill development. Drawing on results…
We develop a difference-in-differences framework to measure the persuasive impact of informational treatments on behavior. We introduce two causal parameters, the forward and backward average persuasion rates on the treated, which refine…
Our recent study showed that two lab courses, whose goals were exclusively to reinforce material developed in the lecture courses, do not have any impact on exam performance at the 1% level. In this study, we replicated this analysis with a…
Physics faculty care about their students learning physics content. In addition, they usually hope that their students will learn some deeper lessons about thinking critically and scientifically. They hope that as a result of taking a…