Investigating the Interplay of the Sense of Competence with the Sense of Belongingness in the Calculus-Based Mechanics Physics Course for Future Engineers

Physics education research has identified numerous cognitive resources that students activate in their study of mechanics. In addition, targeted, topic-specific, research-based instructional interventions have been shown to be effective in helping more students in multiple institutional contexts to deepen their conceptual understanding of the material. On the other hand, serious obstacles to belongingness can neutralize any benefits that would accrue by cognitive interventions. In prior research, Sánchez and Ríos (2020) analyzed student perceptions of classroom structure, belongingness, and motivation in the calculus-based mechanics physics course for future engineers at a selective institution. In particular, they identified that in this institutional setting, belongingness was often connected with (and mediated by) an individual student's sense of success in the course. In the present work, we extend this work by exploring the degree to which student success in responding to specific course-related questions posed in interviews correlate with their sense of local (temporally) sense of belongingness. This work is part of the multifaceted collaborative project "Mechanics of Inclusion and Inclusivity in Mechanics," which is funded by the California Governor's Office of Planning and Research Learning Lab. Our project involves physics and engineering faculty and students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Allan Hancock College, with support from education faculty at UC Santa Barbara and researchers from Tufts University, Oregon State University, and the University of Delaware (Newark).