Students’ concepts of force as applied to related physical systems: A search for consistency

Finegold, Menahem; Gorsky, Paul

doi:10.1080/0950069910130109

Cited by 70 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…These differences mostly disappeared with instruction except once again for the balloon context. These observations support work showing that contextual sensitivity decreases with instruction [6][7][8]13,14]. The difference in the responses between the soft and hard physical contexts supports the observations of Liu and MacIsaac [15] that familiarity is an important variable in the consistent application of alternate models.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

“…The higher consistency produced by the course studied than that observed by Palmer could be a result of the problem selection (Palmer used Newton's first law), the population of students, the time between instruction and testing, or the inquiry-based nature of the course, among other factors. This observation of increased consistency postinstruction lends further support to studies finding that students' consistent application of both the correct and alternate models increases with instruction [13,14].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

“…This group selects either a Newtonian or a non-Newtonian answer based on context. This further supports research showing that some students can hold both a correct and an alternate model at the same time and apply them based on the contextual features of the situation [10][11][12]14]. Note that in thep 3 vector for the Spring 2006 pretest threecluster model, the largest component is neither the correct answer nor the dominant misconception, but is a third component.…”

Section: Clustering Of Course Datasupporting

confidence: 57%

“…Substantial variation in the consistency of the application of alternate frameworks and scientifically correct frameworks was found with students often using both the correct model and an alternate model in different situations [10][11][12]. The consistency of student reasoning (either correct or incorrect) was found to increase with additional instruction [12][13][14] and to depend on the familiarity of the context of the problems [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Using cluster analysis to identify patterns in students’ responses to contextually different conceptual problems

Stewart

Miller

Audo

2012

Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res.

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This study examined the evolution of student responses to seven contextually different versions of two Force Concept Inventory questions in an introductory physics course at the University of Arkansas. The consistency in answering the closely related questions evolved little over the seven-question exam. A model for the state of student knowledge involving the probability of selecting one of the multiple-choice answers was developed. Criteria for using clustering algorithms to extract model parameters were explored and it was found that the overlap between the probability distributions of the model vectors was an important parameter in characterizing the cluster models. The course data were then clustered and the extracted model showed that students largely fit into two groups both pre-and postinstruction: one that answered all questions correctly with high probability and one that selected the distracter representing the same misconception with high probability. For the course studied, 14% of the students were left with persistent misconceptions post instruction on a static force problem and 30% on a dynamic Newton's third law problem. These students selected the answer representing the predominant misconception slightly more consistently postinstruction, indicating that the course studied had been ineffective at moving this subgroup of students nearer a Newtonian force concept and had instead moved them slightly farther away from a correct conceptual understanding of these two problems. The consistency in answering pairs of problems with varied physical contexts is shown to be an important supplementary statistic to the score on the problems and suggests that the inclusion of such problem pairs in future conceptual inventories would be efficacious. Multiple, contextually varied questions further probe the structure of students' knowledge. To allow working instructors to make use of the additional insight gained from cluster analysis, it is our hope that the physics education research community will make these methods available though their Web sites.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Section: Clustering Of Course Datasupporting

confidence: 57%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Using cluster analysis to identify patterns in students’ responses to contextually different conceptual problems

Stewart

Miller

Audo

2012

Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res.

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“…El presente trabajo no pretende ser una colección de respuestas de estudiantes categorizadas en función de sus coherencias y consistencias como ideas previas, esquemas conceptuales alternativos, o desde sus resistencias al cambio conceptual a pesar de la instrucción (OLIVA MARTÍNEZ, 1999), o de asignar a los estudiantes metodologías superficiales o inferencias y generalizaciones acríticas (FINEGOLD;GORSKY, 1991;GIL;CARRASCOSA, 1990;HEW-Algunas reflexiones sobre la distancia entre ... SON, 1990;OLIVA MARTÍNEZ, 1996;VIENNOT, 1985). Estos tipos de trabajos -muy abundantes en la literatura en didáctica de las ciencias -han pretendido encontrar regularidades en las respuestas erróneas de los estudiantes, o detectar esquemas alternativos de pensamiento propios de mentes no expertas en temas científicos; o, incluso, encontrar heurísticos frecuentes en estudiantes, conducentes a respuestas erróneas (TALANQUER, 2006(TALANQUER, , 2010.…”

Section: Desde El Enfoque De La Investigación En Educación Químicaunclassified

Algunas reflexiones sobre la distancia entre "hablar química" y "comprender química"

Galagovsky

Bekerman

Giacomo

et al. 2014

Ciênc. educ. (Bauru)

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Resumen: Una clase de química puede ser considerada como un espacio de comunicación entre el docente experto y los estudiantes novatos, donde los lenguajes utilizados son la interfase explícita y observable del intercambio comunicativo. En el presente trabajo se muestra con dos ejemplos cómo la diversidad de lenguajes químicos en lugar de favorecer la comprensión de los estudiantes, puede actuar como fuente de obstáculos que dificultan la comunicación en el aula. Así mismo, se analizará con otros dos ejemplos cómo el discurso con el que se enseña la disciplina también es potencial generador de errores en los estudiantes, cuando ellos construyen sus modelos mentales idiosincrásicos a partir de un discurso recortado y simplificado, desde las mejores intenciones de realizar buenas transposiciones didácticas. Se plantea que un enfoque de análisis de la situación de aula como un encuentro comunicativo entre experto y novato conduce a una necesaria diferenciación entre "hablar química" y "comprender química".Palabras clave: Enseñanza de química. Comunicación. Discurso. Didáctica. Aprendizaje. Abstract:A class of chemistry can be considered as a forum for communication between the expert teacher and novice students, where the languages used are explicit and observable interface of a communicative exchange. In this paper we show, with two examples, how the diversity of chemical languages, instead of promoting student understanding, it can act as a source of barriers to communication in the classroom. Also, will be discussed in two examples how the speech with which the discipline is taught is also generating potential errors in students when they build their idiosyncratic mental models from a cut and simplified speech from the best intentions of make good didactic transpositions. It is argued that an approach to analysis of the situation in the classroom as a communicative encounter between expert and novice leads to a necessary distinction between "talking chemistry" and "understanding chemistry."

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Readiness to change the conception that ?motion-implies-force?: A comparison of 12-year-old and 16-year-old students

Palmer

Flanagan

1997

Sci. Ed.

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Several investigators have reported difficulties in changing the alternative conceptions which high school students hold about aspects of mechanics. It has been suggested that students should be introduced to mechanics at a younger age because as they get older they become less willing or less able to change their ideas. To test this proposal, the present study was designed to find out whether older students were less ready to change their conceptions than younger students. Individual interviews were carried out with 63 students in year 6 (ages 11–12) and 66 students in year 10 (ages 15–16). Those students who held the alternative conception that “motion‐implies‐force” were asked to read a refutational text. This text was “student‐centered” in that it was not presented as the correct answer, but rather as just another possible alternative which the student could consider. Immediate and delayed posttests, and the metacognitive responses of the students, showed that conceptual change had occurred in 35% of the year 6 group and 44% of the year 10 group who had read the text (although the difference in percentages was not significant). Therefore, there was no evidence to suggest that conceptual change is more difficult for older students. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Students’ concepts of force as applied to related physical systems: A search for consistency

Cited by 70 publications

References 15 publications

Using cluster analysis to identify patterns in students’ responses to contextually different conceptual problems

Using cluster analysis to identify patterns in students’ responses to contextually different conceptual problems

Algunas reflexiones sobre la distancia entre "hablar química" y "comprender química"

Readiness to change the conception that ?motion-implies-force?: A comparison of 12-year-old and 16-year-old students

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