Disentangle effects of HWC engagement versus policy signaling on error climate and student affect

Determine the extent to which observed improvements in students’ willingness to engage with their errors and reductions in homework-related stress in upper-division physics courses are caused by active student engagement with homework corrections (HWCs) as opposed to the implicit error-positive messaging conveyed merely by offering HWCs.

Background

The authors observe that, in a course offering homework corrections (HWCs), students exhibited reduced stress when completing homework and a greater willingness to engage with their own errors, which they interpret as evidence of a productive error climate.

However, they note uncertainty about whether these benefits arise from students’ actual participation in HWCs or from the implicit signal that errors are acceptable and part of learning simply because the instructor offers HWCs. Clarifying the relative contributions of these mechanisms is necessary to guide instructional design and research on error climates in upper-division physics.