Development and Use of a Conceptual Survey in Introductory Quantum Physics

Autor/inn/en	Wuttiprom, Sura; Sharma, Manjula Devi; Johnston, Ian D.; Chitaree, Ratchapak; Soankwan, Chernchok
Titel	Development and Use of a Conceptual Survey in Introductory Quantum Physics
Quelle	In: International Journal of Science Education, 31 (2009) 5, S.631-654 (24 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0950-0693
Schlagwörter	Physics; Comprehension; Test Construction; Student Surveys; Multiple Choice Tests; College Students; Test Reliability; Foreign Countries; Science Education; Science Instruction; Scientific Concepts; College Science; Science Tests; Australia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Physik; Verstehen; Verständnis; Testaufbau; Schülerbefragung; Multiple choice examinations; Multiple-choice tests, Multiple-choice examinations; Multiple-Choice-Verfahren; Collegestudent; Testreliabilität; Ausland; Naturwissenschaftliche Bildung; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Australien
Abstract	Conceptual surveys have become increasingly popular at many levels to probe various aspects of science education research such as measuring student understanding of basic concepts and assessing the effectiveness of pedagogical material. The aim of this study was to construct a valid and reliable multiple-choice conceptual survey to investigate students' understanding of introductory quantum physics concepts. We examined course syllabi to establish content coverage, consulted with experts to extract fundamental content areas, and trialled open-ended questions to determine how the selected content areas align with students' difficulties. The questions were generated and trialled with different groups of students. Each version of the survey was critiqued by a group of discipline and teaching experts to establish its validity. The survey was administered to 312 students at the University of Sydney. Using the data from this sample, we performed five statistical tests (item difficulty index, item discrimination index, item point biserial coefficient, KR-21 reliability test, and Ferguson's delta) to evaluate the test's reliability and discriminatory power. The result indicates that our survey is a reliable test. This study also provided data from which preliminary findings were drawn on students' understandings of introductory quantum physics concepts. The main point is that questions which require an understanding of the standard interpretations of quantum physics are more challenging for students than those grouped as non-interpretative. The division of conceptual questions into interpretive and non-interpretive needs further exploration. (Contains 5 figures and 4 tables.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10