Showing the dynamics of student thinking as measured by the FMCE

Self Cite

Research-based assessment instruments (RBAIs) are ubiquitous throughout both physics instruction and physics education research. The vast majority of analyses involving student responses to RBAI questions have focused on whether or not a student selects correct answers and using correctness to measure growth. This approach often undervalues the rich information that may be obtained by examining students' particular choices of incorrect answers. In the present study, we aim to reveal some of this valuable information by quantitatively determining the relative correctness of various incorrect responses. To accomplish this, we propose an assumption that allow us to define relative correctness: students who have a high understanding of Newtonian physics are likely to answer more questions correctly and also more likely to choose better incorrect responses, than students who have a low understanding. Analyses using item response theory align with this assumption, and Bock's nominal response model allows us to uniquely rank each incorrect response. We present results from over 7,000 students' responses to the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation.

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Quantitatively ranking incorrect responses to multiple-choice questions using item response theory

Smith

Louis

Ricci

et al. 2020

Self Cite

“…IRCs are simplified versions of the item characteristics curves found in nominal item response theory [21]. Essentially, these are simple constructions that plot the response percentage of selection options versus the total scores achieved by the students.…”

Section: Item Response Curves and Item Response Difference Curvesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the preinstruction and postinstruction non-Newtonian world views as measured by the Force Concept Inventory

Eaton

Vavruska

Willoughby

2019

Implementing targeted instructional techniques requires an understanding of the initial alternative world views students possess. These alternative world views can be measured using validated conceptual inventories combined with factor analysis methodologies. Using exploratory factor analysis and network module analysis, Scott and Schumayer and Brewe, Bruun, and Bearden identified the most prevalent and "rigid" of these world views which remained in the postinstruction student responses to the Force Concept Inventory. This paper seeks to identify the alternative world views that exist for students before and after instruction through the use of factor analysis applied to pre-and postinstruction responses from 19 727 matched, student responses. Using the distractor taxonomy proposed by Hestenes, Wells, and Swackhamer, the prevalent alternative world views of these students are characterized and analyzed. We find that the pre-instruction and postinstruction coherent alternative world views are similar, suggesting they are learned by the students prior to instruction. Using a modified version of item response curves, it was found that the active force misconception is the most rigid of the misconceptions found pre-and postinstruction, and shows minor growth in these response rates at the end of instruction. The results of this study are consistent with what experienced instructors observe when determining what physics preconceptions incoming students have. This study's agreement, combined with the results of Scott and Schumayer and Brewe, Bruun, and Bearden, strengthens the physics education research community's suggestions for improving physics instruction when using only anecdotal or qualitative evidence.

“…"Coin Toss -Acceleration" items (items [27][28][29] ask students to select the acceleration of a coin tossed in the air. "Newton III" items (items [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39] ask students about the forces during a variety of interactions between cars and trucks. "Velocity Graph" items (items [40][41][42][43] ask students to select the graph which correctly represents the velocity of a toy car moving on a horizontal surface.…”

Section: A the Fmce Instrumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the structure of misconceptions in the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation with modified module analysis

Wells

Henderson

Traxler

et al. 2020

Investigating student learning and understanding of conceptual physics is a primary research area within Physics Education Research (PER). Multiple quantitative methods have been employed to analyze commonly used mechanics conceptual inventories: the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) and the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE). Recently, researchers have applied network analytic techniques to explore the structure of the incorrect responses to the FCI identifying communities of incorrect responses which could be mapped on to common misconceptions. In this study, the method used to analyze the FCI, Modified Module Analysis (MMA), was applied to a large sample of FMCE pretest and post-test responses (Npre = 3956, Npost = 3719). The communities of incorrect responses identified were consistent with the item groups described in previous works. As in the work with the FCI, the network was simplified by only retaining nodes selected by a substantial number of students. Retaining nodes selected by 20% of the students produced communities associated with only four misconceptions. The incorrect response communities identified for men and women were substantially different, as was the change in these communities from pretest to post-test. The 20% threshold was far more restrictive than the 4% threshold applied to the FCI in the prior work which generated similar structures. Retaining nodes selected by 5% or 10% of students generated a large number of complex communities. The communities identified at the 10% threshold were generally associated with common misconceptions producing a far richer set of incorrect communities than the FCI; this may indicate that the FMCE is a superior instrument for characterizing the breadth of student misconceptions about Newtonian mechanics. *