Just how different are they? Learning physics in the wake of the NSW HSC syllabus changeover

Abstract

In February 2001 we began research into the different ways incoming first year students experience their studies in physics. We designed a survey instrument to measure the 2001 cohort of students’ approaches to learning, their ideas about the nature of the subject, their perspectives on the learning environment at university and their performance on assessment. Interrelations between these different factors form a broad picture of student learning and groups of students with distinct patterns of experience have been identified. In 2002 we are repeating this study with the aim of examining any qualitative or quantitative changes in these patterns of experience that coincide with the changeover to the new NSW Higher School Certificate syllabus. An understanding of our students’ experiences will provide the necessary background to review our own tertiary physics courses and tune them to meet the needs of future students.