The role of personal epistemology in student reasoning

A growing body of research has revealed that physics students may answer certain physics questions incorrectly even though they have demonstrated successful reasoning on analogous questions. Researchers are increasingly using dual-process theories of reasoning (DPToR) as a theoretical lens to explain and predict student reasoning patterns on these tasks. While much of the work to date on student reasoning has primarily focused on cognitive domains, relatively little has been done to test the impact of factors like personal epistemology. Prior literature has suggested that a student's personal epistemology may impede their ability to access otherwise available knowledge and skills when solving physics questions. As part of a multi-institutional project aimed at better supporting student reasoning, we have developed and examined the validity of an instrument aimed at measuring personal epistemology through factor analysis techniques. Students' personal epistemology scores were then matched with their responses to physics questions to investigate the extent that students' personal epistemologies may impact reasoning on certain kinds of questions. In this talk, we present observed links between reasoning patterns and personal epistemology as measured by this instrument.