  In a previous study, students' self-expressed learning orientations towards
an exercise centered on self-monitoring one's ability to solve a pre-lab
physics problem were identified from a post-test feedback survey given to an
introductory algebra-based physics student population spanning six measured
semesters, and examined as a potential variable in course performance, force
and motion conceptual understanding, and attitudes towards learning physics.
The sampled population, which primarily consists of life science majors, was
also asked in the same feedback survey to discuss what portion or portions of
the course were relevant to their respective choices of major. In this study,
we examine the fact that about 50 students out of 218 sampled students, or 23%
of the sample population, explicitly stated that they perceived no relevance at
all of the course to their respective majors, whereas the other 168 students
cited portions of the course or the entirety of the course as being relevant to
their majors. A follow-up investigation of perceived relevance versus
irrelevance shows that attitudes towards physics will experience more
expert-like shifts for students who perceive relevance than students who do
not; in particular, the attitudinal survey's item clusters that pertain to
personal interest and real-world connections appear to show the strongest
effect. Further examination showed that biology majors and health science
majors (two distinctive sub-populations of life science majors) show similar
pre-post trends for relevance vs. irrelevance perceptions, whereas students
with a performance achievement goal appeared to bifurcate between a novice-like
shift for perceived irrelevance and no attitudinal shift from pre to post for
perceived relevance. Discussion includes emphasis on limitations imposed by
institution type among other factors.
