Results from the Astronomy Diagnostic Test National Project

Deming, G. L.

doi:10.3847/aer2001005

Cited by 35 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The different class formats show overlap, which we interpret to be indicative of a more homogeneous population. This result is not particularly surprising because the database contains only information about introductory astronomy students at the college/university level, making the population much more homogeneous than the populations in the original Hake study (Deming 2002;Hufnagel 2002). …”

Section: Homogeneity Of the Class Formatsmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…In the original ADT study (Deming 2002;Hufnagel 2002), instructors were asked to rate on a scale from 1 to 11 the extent to which they thought that the different parts of their course (reading, lecture, homework, activities, and lab) aligned with the items on the ADT. The alignment does not indicate what fraction of the course was actually spent on topics covered on the ADT.…”

Section: Course Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It should be noted that this study is not similar to the Hake (1998) study in the sense that we do not make a distinction between interactive engagement and traditional lecture-based formats. There is not enough information in the database or other materials (Deming 2002) to suggest that the different course formats have true interactive engagement elements in them. Although we do not discount such an option, it is not an a priori assumption in this study.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analysis of the Astronomy Diagnostic Test

Brogt¹,

Sabers²,

Prather³

et al. 2007

Astronomy Education Review

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Seventy undergraduate class sections were examined from the database of Astronomy Diagnostic Test (ADT) results of Deming and Hufnagel to determine if course format correlated with ADT normalized gain scores. Normalized gains were calculated for four different classroom scenarios: lecture, lecture with discussion, lecture with lab, and lecture with both lab and discussion. Statistical analysis shows that there are no significant differences in normalized gain among the self-reported classroom formats. Prerequisites related to mathematics courses did show differences in normalized gain. Of all reported course activities, only the lecture and the readings for the course correlate significantly with the normalized gain. This analysis suggests that the ADT may not have enough sensitivity to measure differences in the effectiveness of different course formats because of the wide range of topics that the ADT addresses with few questions. Different measures of gain and their biases are discussed. We argue that the use of the normalized gain is not always warranted because of its strong bias toward high pretest scores.

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Section: Homogeneity Of the Class Formatsmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Course Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analysis of the Astronomy Diagnostic Test

Brogt¹,

Sabers²,

Prather³

et al. 2007

Astronomy Education Review

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“…The FCI has been used over the past decade by physicists at several institutions of higher learning to assess the effectiveness of different teaching methods (Hake, 1998). Similar multiple-choice exams have been developed for astronomy (Astronomy Diagnostic Test [Zeilik et al, 1997;Deming, 2002;Hufnagel, 2002;Zeilik, 2003]) and chemistry (ConcepTests: http://chem.wisc.edu/∼concept/).Efforts to create similar standardized tests in biology are now under way. A group headed by Michael Klymkowsky at the University of Colorado at Boulder has been creating concept tests to cover "introductory, genetics, molecular, cellular, and developmental biology" (Klymkowsky et al, 2003).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Hierarchical Biology Concept Framework: A Tool for Course Design

Khodor¹,

Halme²,

Walker³

2004

CBE

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A typical undergraduate biology curriculum covers a very large number of concepts and details. We describe the development of a Biology Concept Framework (BCF) as a possible way to organize this material to enhance teaching and learning. Our BCF is hierarchical, places details in context, nests related concepts, and articulates concepts that are inherently obvious to experts but often difficult for novices to grasp. Our BCF is also cross-referenced, highlighting interconnections between concepts. We have found our BCF to be a versatile tool for design, evaluation, and revision of course goals and materials. There has been a call for creating Biology Concept Inventories, multiple-choice exams that test important biology concepts, analogous to those in physics, astronomy, and chemistry. We argue that the community of researchers and educators must first reach consensus about not only what concepts are important to test, but also how the concepts should be organized and how that organization might influence teaching and learning. We think that our BCF can serve as a catalyst for community-wide discussion on organizing the vast number of concepts in biology, as a model for others to formulate their own BCFs and as a contribution toward the creation of a comprehensive BCF. INTRODUCTIONThe idea of a Concept Inventory as an assessment tool dates back to 1992, when the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) was developed to measure students' conceptual understanding of motion and force . A major accomplishment of this work was to create a multiple-choice test in which the erroneous answers diagnose the misconceptions held by students about particular concepts. The FCI has been used over the past decade by physicists at several institutions of higher learning to assess the effectiveness of different teaching methods (Hake, 1998). Similar multiple-choice exams have been developed for astronomy (Astronomy Diagnostic Test [Zeilik et al., 1997;Deming, 2002;Hufnagel, 2002;Zeilik, 2003]) and chemistry (ConcepTests: http://chem.wisc.edu/∼concept/).Efforts to create similar standardized tests in biology are now under way. A group headed by Michael Klymkowsky at the University of Colorado at Boulder has been creating concept tests to cover "introductory, genetics, molecular, cellular, and developmental biology" (Klymkowsky et al., 2003). Before these tests can be useful for a variety of courses and institutions, there needs to be agreement as to which concepts are important. Bio2010: Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists, a report produced by the National Research Council (NRC, 2002), provides support for this effort, in stating that "understanding the unity and diversity of life requires mastery of a set of fundamental concepts" (Recommendation 1.1). Lists of biology concepts important for high school students can be found in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Project 2061 report Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy and the NRC report National Science Education Standards (AAAS, 198...

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“…The use of the Abridged-LPCI could therefore broaden the demographics of previous studies. The Abridged-LPCI can be alongside the Astronomy Diagnostic Test (ADT) as described in Hufnagel et al (2000) and Hufnagel (2002), Zeilik and Morris (2003), and Deming (2002) which was also developed for use with college students. The LPCI as well as the Abridged-LPCI are measuring similar space science topics as the ADT.…”

Section: Instruments For Future Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulating Science: Using a Computer to Facilitate Conceptual Change for Moon Phases

Alexander¹

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The teaching of lunar phases to pre-service elementary teachers is important since lunar phases and the relationship of the earth-moon-sun system are specifically stated in the national science education reform documents. Moreover, Benchmarks for Science Literacy (Benchmarks) (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993), National Science Education Content Standards (NSES) (National Research Council, 1996), as well as Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (National Research Council, 2013) give specific recommendations for making use of physical models to help students understand the geometry of the sun-earth-moon system that is critical for understanding phases of the moon. Each of these documents view concepts of lunar phases as foundational for understanding the sun-earth-moon system. Additionally, these national reform documents have been modified by many states to serve as a basis for their state science education standards.Pre-service elementary teachers' conceptions of shape, sequence, and scientific understanding of the cause of moon phases improve both statistically and substantively after inquiry-based, conceptual change instructional intervention based on a computer simulation. More specifically, planetarium software was found useful to facilitate a constructivist approach to science education where the students constructed their own understanding of lunar phases by the use of this inquiry-based, conceptual change approach. Gains in conceptual understanding were measured by a semi-structured interview protocol as well as the LPCI and an Abridged-LPCI that is a version of the LPCI that includes only the questions that align directly with the interview protocol.The Abridged-LPCI results correlate better than the LPCI with the semi-structured interview protocol. Although there were statistically significant correlations, they were not practically significant. Student interviews, as well as student daily written reflections, provided data that helped to illuminate the conceptual change process and are not available from forced-choice instruments.Additionally, there are no statistical or substantive differences in achievement between students who collect moon observation data in a whole class setting versus those who collect this data working with the computer simulation in pairs. In general, the factors measured from the writing of student reflections were not significantly correlated with measures of conceptual gains although they can provide insights into the learning process.And finally, the Styrofoam™ ball (scientific model) activity was found to be a significant instructional component that positively impacted improvement of scientific conceptions of moon phases. Only 2 of 12 possible correlations between student reflection and LPCI were statistically significantly positively correlated and none of the 12 possible correlations for the Abridged-LPCI were statistically significantly correlated with student reflections, although they were not practically significant.Moreover, ...

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Results from the Astronomy Diagnostic Test National Project

Cited by 35 publications

References 2 publications

Analysis of the Astronomy Diagnostic Test

Analysis of the Astronomy Diagnostic Test

A Hierarchical Biology Concept Framework: A Tool for Course Design

Simulating Science: Using a Computer to Facilitate Conceptual Change for Moon Phases

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