Diagnosing Alternative Conceptions of Fermi Energy among Undergraduate Students

Autor/inn/en	Sharma, Sapna; Ahluwalia, Pardeep Kumar
Titel	Diagnosing Alternative Conceptions of Fermi Energy among Undergraduate Students
Quelle	In: European Journal of Physics, 33 (2012) 4, S.883-895 (13 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0143-0807
DOI	10.1088/0143-0807/33/4/883
Schlagwörter	Physics; Test Construction; Misconceptions; Undergraduate Students; Delphi Technique; College Science; Energy; Scientific Concepts; Science Instruction; Knowledge Level; Statistics; Test Validity; Test Reliability; Pretests Posttests; Spreadsheets; Educational Technology + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Physik; Testaufbau; Missverständnis; Delphi-Methode; Energie; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Wissensbasis; Statistik; Testvalidität; Testreliabilität; Spread sheet; Spredsheets; Spreadsheet; Tabellenkalkulation; Unterrichtsmedien
Abstract	Physics education researchers have scientifically established the fact that the understanding of new concepts and interpretation of incoming information are strongly influenced by the preexisting knowledge and beliefs of students, called epistemological beliefs. This can lead to a gap between what students actually learn and what the teacher expects them to learn. In a classroom, as a teacher, it is desirable that one tries to bridge this gap at least on the key concepts of a particular field which is being taught. One such key concept which crops up in statistical physics/solid-state physics courses, and around which the behaviour of materials is described, is Fermi energy ([epsilon][subscript F]). In this paper, we present the results which emerged about misconceptions on Fermi energy in the process of administering a diagnostic tool called the Statistical Physics Concept Survey developed by the authors. It deals with eight themes of basic importance in learning undergraduate solid-state physics and statistical physics. The question items of the tool were put through well-established sequential processes: definition of themes, Delphi study, interview with students, drafting questions, administration, validity and reliability of the tool. The tool was administered to a group of undergraduate students and postgraduate students, in a pre-test and post-test design. In this paper, we have taken one of the themes i.e. Fermi energy of the diagnostic tool for our analysis and discussion. Students' responses and reasoning comments given during interview were analysed. This analysis helped us to identify prevailing misconceptions/learning gaps among students on this topic. How spreadsheets can be effectively used to remove the identified misconceptions and help appreciate the finer nuances while visualizing the behaviour of the system around Fermi energy, normally sidestepped both by the teachers and learners, is also presented in this paper. (Contains 2 tables and 7 figures.) (As Provided).
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Update	2017/4/10