Developing expertlike epistemologies about physics empirical discovery using virtual reality

Abstract

The process and role of developing new scientific models experimentally is a cornerstone of physics – and arguably an important learning objective of laboratory courses – but research in physics education suggests that the content-focused, “cookbook” paradigm of lab instruction common in the last 2-3 decades does not effectively meet this objective. These instructional practices often leave students believing that in-class experiments exist to supplement conceptual learning and that the sole purpose of real-world experiments is to test theories. As a result, many students frame lab work as an exercise in knowledge confirmation, and often develop the expectation that all physics that appears in the labs can be found with a Google search. Framing a real-world lab such that its results are Google-proof enough to engage students in the process of scientific discovery requires great creativity. This paper describes an alternative approach, using virtual reality to integrate the process of authentic scientific discovery into the lab curriculum. We developed labs in which students explore and develop mathematical models for unknown force laws between new kinds of particles that we invented. We find that this intervention produced significant shifts in students’ epistemologies about experimental physics toward being more expertlike – specifically regarding the central role experimentation plays for research physicists in making new discoveries and developing theories, and the role of laboratory experiments in teaching a nuanced and unique scientific way of knowing.