Blogging in the physics classroom: a research-based approach to shaping students' attitudes toward physics

Although there has been much research on how to help students learn physics, students still come away without a deep understanding of how physics has transformed the world around them and almost all leave with decreased expectations and a more negative attitude toward physics. We discuss an experiment to address this problem: a course weblog which discusses real-world applications of physics and engages students in discussion and thinking outside of class. Students' attitudes toward the value of physics and its applicability to the real-world were probed using a 26-question Likert scale survey over the course of four semesters in an introductory physics course. We found that students who did not participate in the blog generally exhibited a deterioration in attitude toward physics as seen previously. Students who read, commented, and were involved with the blog maintained their initially positive attitudes toward physics. Student response to the blog was overwhelmingly positive, with students claiming that the blog made the subjects studied in the classroom come alive for them and seem more relevant.