Design and Validation of a Test for Representational Fluency of 9th Grade Students in Physics and Mathematics: The Case of Linear Functions

Autor/inn/en	Ceuppens, Stijn; Deprez, Johan; Dehaene, Wim; De Cock, Mieke
Titel	Design and Validation of a Test for Representational Fluency of 9th Grade Students in Physics and Mathematics: The Case of Linear Functions
Quelle	In: Physical Review Physics Education Research, 14 (2018) 2, S.020105-1 (19 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2469-9896
DOI	10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.14.020105
Schlagwörter	Secondary School Students; Mathematics Tests; Test Construction; Foreign Countries; Physics; Multiple Choice Tests; Graphs; Mathematical Formulas; Tables (Data); Error Patterns; Gender Differences; Test Validity; Testing; Test Items; Difficulty Level; Belgium + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Sekundarschüler; Testaufbau; Ausland; Physik; Multiple choice examinations; Multiple-choice tests, Multiple-choice examinations; Multiple-Choice-Verfahren; Grafische Darstellung; Mathematische Formel; Tabelle; Fehlertyp; Geschlechterkonflikt; Testvalidität; Testdurchführung; Testen; Test content; Testaufgabe; Schwierigkeitsgrad; Belgien
Abstract	This study reports on the development, validation, and administration of a 48-item multiple-choice test to assess students' representational fluency of linear functions in a physics context (1D kinematics) and a mathematics context. The test includes three external representations: graphs, tables, and formulas, which result in six possible representational transitions between them. Moreover, four linear function types are included: negative "y" intercept and positive slope, zero "y" intercept and positive slope, positive "y" intercept and negative slope, and positive "y" intercept and positive slope. The test is administered to 385 students aged 14-15 in the 9th grade from 13 schools in Flanders (Belgium) and--after validation--is analyzed by means of generalized estimating equations (GEE). The results show a significant main effect for all design factors and a significant interaction effect between representational transition and function type, as well as additional interaction effects with the gender of the respondents. Furthermore, representational transitions which include a formula prove to be significantly more difficult; in particular for the directly proportional function type, the transition to a formula stands out from the analysis. Mean accuracies in physics are significantly lower compared to mathematics. Function types with negative values for either "y" intercept or slope also result in significantly lower mean accuracies indicating the difficulty students have with negative numbers in linear functions. A distractor analysis of the incorrect answers chosen by the students reveals three distinct dominant errors: concept switching, sign switching, and switching of the directly proportional function type and the function type with positive "y" intercept and positive slope. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	American Physical Society. One Physics Ellipse 4th Floor, College Park, MD 20740-3844. Tel: 301-209-3200; Fax: 301-209-0865; e-mail: assocpub@aps.org; Web site: http://prst-per.aps.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01