Engineering Students' Expectations and Performance in Introductory Physics

Abstract

Admittedly, the expectations of engineering students can play a significant role in what they benefit from their physics courses. The study aimed to determine the predictors of student grades in introductory physics course at Batangas State University (BSU) by using descriptive/correlational methods to investigate and describe/explain relationships of students physics grades with their physics expectations, gender, and class sessions. The responses of the 99 engineering students at BSU on the items in the Maryland Physics Expectations (MPEX) survey instrument were compared with the experts responses. The result showed that students overall expectation scores improved significantly between the beginning and the end of the physics course during the first semester of the SY 2010-2011. Males are more likely to have higher percentage of agreement to favorable responses prior to instruction than females. Both respondents, however, were more likely to have similar physics expectations after one semester instruction. Respondents in different sessions were more likely to have similar physics expectations before and after one semester instruction. Their overall post instruction physics expectations are significantly correlated with their physics performance. Moreover, the study revealed that an expert-like belief in the concept and effort link dimensions correlate highly with good physics performance.