Learning Physics in the Millennial Age

Physics is a subject area that, like many others, requires a specific and rather well-defined skillset. This skillset includes the ability to solve problems which involve, at minimum, an understanding of basic algebra. The level of mathematics required often depends upon the population of students a particular physics class is geared for. Non-majors studying physics typically need to have a working knowledge of basic algebra, while science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors need to have some basic calculus under their belts. To promote deeper learning in physics, educators and researchers have developed a variety of active-learning strategies that have one primary goal; namely, to enhance student learning. In addition, many research studies in physics education have looked at factors that affect learning in physics. Oftentimes these studies have focused on specific subsets of populations of students in classes such as introductory courses for non-majors or for specific non-STEM populations such as music or elementary education majors. Additional studies have focused on student learning in courses designed for physics and other STEM-related disciplines. Several studies, for example, have focused on the conceptual and reasoning difficulties novice students often encounter in an introductory physics course. Physics educators know that students don’t enter the classroom with a tabula rasa – rather they bring with them a minimum of about 18 years of life experiences that directly and indirectly impede or enhance their ability to learn physics. Within the introductory physics course, one might argue that there are more similarities than differences in terms of factors that impede or enhance student learning across various subsets of student populations. For example, studies have shown that an alarmingly large number of students across the entire introductory spectrum of courses have similar difficulties in terms of the preconceptions and misconceptions they bring with them into the classroom. In the roughly 50 years that formal research in physics education has been conducted, we have uncovered, time and time again, that our students come into our classes with issues that have a direct or indirect bearing on their ability to learn physics. One central question this paper aims to address is: Are the factors that impede or enhance student learning in physics any different in the millennial age?