Beyond performance metrics: Examining a decrease in students' physics self-efficacy through a social network lens

TL;DR

This study investigates how students' self-efficacy in physics decreases during Modeling Instruction courses and how social network positions influence these changes, revealing complex relationships between classroom interactions and self-belief.

Contribution

It introduces a social network analysis approach to understanding self-efficacy changes in active learning physics classrooms, highlighting the role of social centrality measures.

Findings

Post-self-efficacy scores are predicted by PageRank centrality.

PageRank is related to mastery experiences in self-efficacy.

InDegree and outDegree relate to verbal persuasion and vicarious learning.

Abstract

The Modeling Instruction (MI) approach to introductory physics manifests significant increases in student conceptual understanding and attitudes toward physics. In light of these findings, we investigated changes in student self-efficacy while considering the construct's contribution to the career-decision making process. Students in the Fall 2014 and 2015 MI courses at Florida International University exhibited a decrease on each of the sources of self-efficacy and overall self-efficacy (N = 147) as measured by the Sources of Self-Efficacy in Science Courses-Physics (SOSESC-P) survey. This held true regardless of student gender or ethnic group. Given the highly interactive nature of the MI course and the drops observed on the SOSESC-P, we chose to further explore students' changes in self-efficacy as a function of three centrality measures (i.e., relational positions in the classroom social network): inDegree, outDegree, and PageRank. We collected social network data by periodically asking students to list the names of peers with whom they had meaningful interactions. While controlling for PRE scores on the SOSESC-P, bootstrapped linear regressions revealed post-self-efficacy scores to be predicted by PageRank centrality. When disaggregated by the sources of self-efficacy, PageRank centrality was shown to be directly related to students' sense of mastery experiences. InDegree was associated with verbal persuasion experiences, and outDegree with both verbal persuasion and vicarious learning experiences. We posit that analysis of social networks in active learning classrooms helps to reveal nuances in self-efficacy development.