How do interactive physics learning environments foster Intellectual Humility (IH)?

Students often enter the physics classroom with intuitive conceptions drawn from real life experiences or former coursework, and may be hesitant or reluctant to forego these mindsets in favor of formally instructed knowledge. The goal of introductory physics courses is not only to teach and expose students to new content, but also to cultivate students' abilities to reason through and derive content knowledge through personal inquiry. This scientific process necessitates one's abilities to be open-minded in terms of hearing evidence that contradicts his or her personal opinion, to be willing to discard any original misconceptions in the face of such alternative evidence, and to identify and pay appropriate attention to one's academic limitations. Such a mindset is indicative of the quality of Intellectual Humility (IH), defined as “the owning of one's limitations." In the present study, we utilize IH surveys, reflections, conceptual knowledge assessments, and classroom observations collected for both a traditional, lecture-style physics course and an interactive environment, problem-solving based physics course. We will present our findings from the study as we attempt to examine the role of interactive learning environments in fostering IH in physics through collaboration.