What is epistemology and why should you care?

Recent studies (May and Etkina, 2001; Lising and Elby, 2003; Sahin, 2009; Ding, 2014) have shown that students' personal epistemology can affect student conceptual learning and course grades in physics. But rarely in talks or conversation is the term epistemology defined clearly in relation to the physics classroom. In this talk I will define epistemology, discuss several theoretical frameworks related to personal epistemology, and describe why knowing about students' epistemologies can impact both teaching and learning in physics classrooms. The Epistemological Beliefs and Epistemological Resources framework will be discussed as well as assessments related to their frameworks and suggestions for classroom instructions.