A CSU Online Particle Physics Course with Summer Research at CERN: Assessing Student Identity, Interest, and Learning in Particle Physics

As part of a National Science Foundation-funded initiative to expand career pathways for physics majors at 14 Hispanic-Serving Institutions, we developed an online particle physics course through the CSU Fully Online program, collaborative between CSU Fresno and Cal Poly Pomona. This course provides students with opportunities for summer research experiences at CERN, U.S. national labs, and R1 universities, aiming to bridge the gap between undergraduate studies and advanced research in physics.

The course integrates active learning strategies, including pre-lecture videos, weekly assessments, structured office hours with think-pair- share activities, guided discussion forums, and term papers on frontier topics in particle physics. This project contains a physics education research component, where we collect data on student attitudes such as self-efficacy, physics identity and physics interest; assessment performance on pre and post assessment questions, as well as their career goals. We report first year's preliminary findings from these efforts.