Assessment is the primary means of feedback between students and instructors. However, to effectively use assessment, the ability to interpret collected information is essential. We present insights into three unique, important avenues of assessment in the physics classroom and laboratory. First, we examine students’ performance on conceptual surveys. The goal of this research project is to better utilize the information collected by instructors when they administer the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) to students as a pre-test and post-test of their conceptual understanding of Newtonian mechanics. We find that ambiguities in the use of the normalized gain, g, may influence comparisons among individual classes. Therefore, we propose using stratagrams, graphical summaries of the fraction of students who exhibit “Newtonian thinking,” as a clearer, more informative method of both assessing a single class and comparing performance among classes. Next, we examine students’ expressions of confusion when they initially encounter new material. The goal of this research project is to better understand what such confusion actually conveys to instructors about students’ performance and engagement. We investigate the relationship between students’ self-assessment of their confusion over material and their performance, confidence in reasoning, pre-course self-efficacy and several other measurable characteristics of engagement. We find that students’ expressions of confusion are negatively related to initial performance, confidence and self-efficacy, but positively related to final performance when all factors are considered together. Finally, we examine students’ exhibition of scientific reasoning abilities in the instructional laboratory. The goal of this research project is to explore two inquiry-based curricula, each of which proposes a different degree of scaffolding. Students engage in sequences of these laboratory activities during one semester of an introductory physics course. We find that students who participate in the less scaffolded activities exhibit marginally stronger scientific reasoning abilities in distinct exercises throughout the semester, but exhibit no differences in the final, common exercises. Overall, we find that, although students demonstrate some enhanced scientific reasoning skills, they fail to exhibit or retain even some of the most strongly emphasized skills. / Physics

This article focuses on the results of a research about teaching General Physics concepts to college students, and stresses the relevance of evaluating this kind of knowledge. Between 2009 and 2011, 4,535 students from the Pontifical Catholic University of Perú went through an evaluation process using the Force Concept Inventory test. The data results showed no significant improvement in the students’ learning process after having learned the concepts of force and motion, matters included in Physics 1 and Physics 2. The hardest concept to learn was Newton’s second law. Furthermore, a relevant amount of the students evaluated found no relation between learning these concepts and passing the courses. / Este artículo sintetiza el análisis de los resultados de un estudio acerca de la enseñanza de conceptos de Física en alumnos universitarios y la utilidad de evaluar este tipo de conocimientos. Entre los años 2009 y 2011, 4535 alumnos de la Universidad Católica han sido evaluados con la prueba Force Concept Inventory (FCI) a. Los resultados indican que los conocimientos de fuerza y movimiento se implantan entre los cursos de Física 1 y Física 2, y no se encuentra una mejora significativa después. El concepto con mayor dificultad de aprendizaje es la segunda ley de Newton. Además, existe un importante número de alumnos para los cuales no hay relación entre la ganancia de conceptos y la aprobación del curso.

Studien syftade på att undersöka elevers tankeprocesser när de ställs framför fysikaliska problem, med ett särskilt fokus på samspelet mellan vetenskapligt tänkande och vardagsföreställningar. Kvalitativa tekniker valdes som forskningsmetod då elevers tankeprocesser är svåra att klassificera på ett kvantitativt sätt. Totalt 15 elever valdes ur två klasser på det sista året av en italiensk gymnasieskola och intervjuades. Intervjuerna var semistrukturerade och utgick ifrån frågor från Force Concept Inventory som diskuterades muntligt med eleverna. Intervjuerna spelades in och analyserades för att försöka hitta mönster och få insikter om elevernas tankeprocesser. Studiens resultat pekade på att vetenskapligt tänkande och vardagsföreställningar kan samexistera och stå i konflikt under en och samma uppgifts lösning, men att elever oftast tacklar fysikaliska problem antingen på ett sätt eller det andra. Samspel mellan de två tankesätten är därför mer sällsynt. Ett ytterligare möjligt mönster hittades i eleverna uttryck och ordval, som verkades vara relaterade till deras tankeprocesser.

I detta arbete undersöktes och jämfördes begreppskoherens och attityd till fysik blandelever på fysik- respektive naturvetenskapsprogrammet vid gymnasieskolanPolhemskolan i Lund. Begreppskoherensen undersöktes med Force Concept Inventorysom är ett omdiskuterat flervalstest från USA som ska mäta studentersbegreppskoherens för kraftbegreppet inom den klassiska mekaniken. Eftersom mångaundersökningar visar att intresset för fysik minskar undersöktes också elevernas attitydtill fysik med ett svenskt test av Likertmodell.Undersökningarna gjordes på elever som precis börjat åk 1 och på äldre elever som lästkursen Fysik A inom båda programmen. Resultatet av undersökningarna är att elevernapå fysikprogrammet har större begreppskoherens för kraftbegreppet än eleverna pånaturvetenskapsprogrammet och att begreppskoherensen höjs efter Fysik A. Attitydentill fysik är dessutom mer positiv på fysikprogrammet men eleverna pånaturvetenskapsprogrammet har större spridning i attityd. Slutsatsen är attPolhemskolans fysikprogram har lyckats locka de elever som det är tänkt för. / In this paper the conceptual coherence and towards physics among students in thephysics and science program at Polhemskolan in Lund were measured and compared.The conceptual coherence was measured with the Force Concept Inventory, a muchdebated multiple choice test from USA that is supposed to measure students’ conceptualcoherence for the concept of force in classical mechanics. Since many studies show thatthe interest in physics is declining the students’ attitude towards physics was alsomeasured with an attitude test of Likert model.The study is done among students that just started year one and older students that havehad instruction in physics at the Swedish correspondence to high school. The result ofthe study is that the students at the physics program have a higher conceptual coherencefor the concept of force than the students at the science program and that the coherence4is improved with the physics course Fysik A. The attitude towards physics is morepositive at the physics program but the attitudes among the students at the scienceprogram are more widely scattered. The conclusion is that the physics program atPolhemskolan has succeeded in attracting the students it is meant for.

Previous studies have shown that many students have misconceptions about basic concepts in physics which persist after instruction. It has been concluded that one of the challenges lies in the teaching methodology. To address this, Georgia State University (GSU) has begun teaching studio algebra-based physics. Although many institutions have implemented studio physics, most have done so in calculus-based sequences. Additionally, the unique environment of GSU’s population as a diverse, urban research institution is considered. The effectiveness of the studio approach for this demographic in an algebra-based introductory physics course was assessed. This five-semester pilot study presents demographic survey results and compares the results of student pre- and post-tests using the Force Concept Inventory (FCI). FCI results show that 1) the studio approach yields higher learning gains than the conventional course, 2) there are significant performance differences among ethnic groups, and 3) a gender gaps exists regardless of instructional method.

This dissertation presents a series of neuroimaging investigations and achievements that strive to deepen and broaden our understanding of human problem solving and physics learning. Neuroscience conceives of dynamic relationships between behavior, experience, and brain structure and function, but how neural changes enable human learning across classroom instruction remains an open question. At the same time, physics is a challenging area of study in which introductory students regularly struggle to achieve success across university instruction. Research and initiatives in neuroeducation promise a new understanding into the interactions between biology and education, including the neural mechanisms of learning and development. These insights may be particularly useful in understanding how students learn, which is crucial for helping them succeed. Towards this end, we utilize methods in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), as informed by education theory, research, and practice, to investigate the neural mechanisms of problem solving and learning in students across semester-long University-level introductory physics learning environments. In the first study, we review and synthesize the neuroimaging problem solving literature and perform quantitative coordinate-based meta-analysis on 280 problem solving experiments to characterize the common and dissociable brain networks that underlie human problem solving across different representational contexts. Then, we describe the Understanding the Neural Mechanisms of Physics Learning project, which was designed to study functional brain changes associated with learning and problem solving in undergraduate physics students before and after a semester of introductory physics instruction. We present the development, facilitation, and data acquisition for this longitudinal data collection project. We then perform a sequence of fMRI analyses of these data and characterize the first-time observations of brain networks underlying physics problem solving in students after university physics instruction. We measure sustained and sequential brain activity and functional connectivity during physics problem solving, test brain-behavior relationships between accuracy, difficulty, strategy, and conceptualization of physics ideas, and describe differences in student physics-related brain function linked with dissociations in conceptual approach. The implications of these results to inform effective instructional practices are discussed. Then, we consider how classroom learning impacts the development of student brain function by examining changes in physics problem solving-related brain activity in students before and after they completed a semester-long Modeling Instruction physics course. Our results provide the first neurobiological evidence that physics learning environments drive
the functional reorganization of large-scale brain networks in physics students. Through this collection of work, we demonstrate how neuroscience studies of learning can be grounded in educational theory and pedagogy, and provide deep insights into the neural mechanisms by which students learn physics.

School science education prepares learners to study science at a higher level, prepares them to follow a career in science and to become scientific literate citizens. It is the responsibility of the educator to ensure the learners’ conceptual framework is developed to the extent that secures success at higher level studies. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of conceptual change teaching strategies on the conceptual development of grade 11 learners on Newton’s second law of motion. The two strategies employed were the cognitive conflict strategy and the development of ideas strategy. A sequential explanatory mixed-method research design was used during this study. The qualitative data were used to elucidate the quantitative findings. The quantitative research consisted of a quasi-experimental design consisting of a single-group pre-test–post-test method. During the qualitative part of the research a phenomenological research approach was utilised to gain a better understanding of participants’ learning experiences during the intervention. The quantitative research made use of an adapted version of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI). The data collected from the pre-test were used to inform the intervention. The intervention was videotaped and the video analysis or qualitative data analysis was done. After the intervention the post-test was written by the learners. Hake’s average normalised learning gain <g> from pre- to post-scores was analysed to establish the effectiveness of the intervention. The two sets of results (quantitative and qualitative) were integrated. Information from the qualitative data analysis was used to support and explain the quantitative data. The quantitative results indicate that there was an improvement in the students’ force conception from their initial alternative conceptions, such as that of an internal force. Especially the learners’ understanding of contact forces and Newton’s first law of motion yielded significant improvement. The qualitative data revealed that the understanding of Newton’s second law of motion by the learners who partook in this study did improve, since the learners immediately recognised the mistakes made when confronted with the anchor concept. The cognitive conflict teaching strategy was effective in establishing the anchor concept of force which proved to be useful as bridging concept in the development of ideas teaching strategy. The data from both datasets revealed that the cognitive conflict teaching strategy for the initial part of the intervention was effective. It was evident that for development of the idea teaching strategy the two data sets revealed mixed results. Recommendations were made for future research and implementation of conceptual development teaching strategies. / MEd (Natural Sciences Education), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

School science education prepares learners to study science at a higher level, prepares them to follow a career in science and to become scientific literate citizens. It is the responsibility of the educator to ensure the learners’ conceptual framework is developed to the extent that secures success at higher level studies. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of conceptual change teaching strategies on the conceptual development of grade 11 learners on Newton’s second law of motion. The two strategies employed were the cognitive conflict strategy and the development of ideas strategy. A sequential explanatory mixed-method research design was used during this study. The qualitative data were used to elucidate the quantitative findings. The quantitative research consisted of a quasi-experimental design consisting of a single-group pre-test–post-test method. During the qualitative part of the research a phenomenological research approach was utilised to gain a better understanding of participants’ learning experiences during the intervention. The quantitative research made use of an adapted version of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI). The data collected from the pre-test were used to inform the intervention. The intervention was videotaped and the video analysis or qualitative data analysis was done. After the intervention the post-test was written by the learners. Hake’s average normalised learning gain <g> from pre- to post-scores was analysed to establish the effectiveness of the intervention. The two sets of results (quantitative and qualitative) were integrated. Information from the qualitative data analysis was used to support and explain the quantitative data. The quantitative results indicate that there was an improvement in the students’ force conception from their initial alternative conceptions, such as that of an internal force. Especially the learners’ understanding of contact forces and Newton’s first law of motion yielded significant improvement. The qualitative data revealed that the understanding of Newton’s second law of motion by the learners who partook in this study did improve, since the learners immediately recognised the mistakes made when confronted with the anchor concept. The cognitive conflict teaching strategy was effective in establishing the anchor concept of force which proved to be useful as bridging concept in the development of ideas teaching strategy. The data from both datasets revealed that the cognitive conflict teaching strategy for the initial part of the intervention was effective. It was evident that for development of the idea teaching strategy the two data sets revealed mixed results. Recommendations were made for future research and implementation of conceptual development teaching strategies. / MEd (Natural Sciences Education), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014