Helping students apply energy ideas to everyday situations is a core goal in physics education. But not all students get there—and it’s not just about who knows the most content. In a 10-week classroom study with 165 students, we tracked both their energy understanding and their affective and metacognitive factors (like emotions, cognitive load, and self-regulation). Using k-means clustering on their learning trajectories, we identified three distinct student groups that differed in the coherence of their energy knowledge development.
The key insight: Students who learned the most also felt more positive, experienced lower cognitive load, and used stronger metacognitive strategies. Those who struggled often felt overwhelmed or disengaged. The takeaway is clear: supporting emotions and self-regulation is just as important as teaching physics content. Instruction that addresses these factors can help more students successfully build and apply their energy knowledge.
The paper: Wyrwich, T., Domenichini, D., Gombert, S., Kubsch, M., & Neumann, K. (2025). Characterizing students’ energy learning trajectories. Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research, 7(1). doi:10.1186/s43031-025-00141-z