Use of the Thermal Concept Evaluation to Focus Instruction

Luera, Gail R.; Otto, Claudia; Zitzewitz, P. W.

doi:10.1119/1.2173324

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…This concept inventory was developed by Shelley Yeo and Marjan Zadnik at Curtin University in Perth (Australia) in 2001 and it was, according to the authors, "specifically designed to assess a wide range of beliefs or understandings about thermodynamic concepts held by students aged from 15 to 18. " (Despite this authors' note, some researchers (Alwan, 2011;Luera, Otto & Zitzewitz, 2006) later used TCE in their university-oriented research.) The inventory consists of 26 multiplechoice questions typically inspired by common, everyday situations (in the household, at school, on a trip, etc.…”

Section: Research Toolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grammar School Students’ Misconceptions Concerning Thermal Phenomena

Kácovský

2015

JBSE

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This study describes a research focused on grammar school students’ misconceptions in the context of common, everyday thermal phenomena. Almost 500 Czech grammar school students from 24 classes were asked to fill in the reduced version of the Thermal Concept Evaluation in order to measure the asset of traditional instruction in eliminating scientifically incorrect ideas; the reached normalized gain of 0.23 signalizes poor effectiveness of instruction as a whole. In some areas, Czech students’ results were quite poor (questions dealing with phase transitions), while other ones turned out to be surprisingly good in comparison with foreign studies (e.g. perception of “cold” as a scientifically disproved concept). Besides questions regarding thermal phenomena, the test included four statements designed for studying possible relationships between students’ scores and their attitudes. Those who declared “fondness for physics” showed better results both in the pre-test and the post-test; however, the normalized gain turned out to be independent of the attitudes established. Key words: heat and temperature, grammar school students, misconceptions, Thermal Concept Evaluation, thermal phenomena.

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Section: Research Toolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grammar School Students’ Misconceptions Concerning Thermal Phenomena

Kácovský

2015

JBSE

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“…These findings, albeit with physics students, demonstrate the range of mental models held by individuals about the same phenomena of heat and heat transfer. These studies also provide evidence to suggest that mental models are persistent and resistant to change even after formal schooling: Australian, American and Korean school and university leavers still favoured the mental models they held prior to studying the subject; these were unchanged after formal education and preexisting models coexisted alongside the learned scientific models [42,43,44].…”

Section: Mental Models Of Heatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental models: Exploring how people think about heat flows in the home

Goodhew

Pahl

Goodhew

et al. 2017

Energy Research & Social Science

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To achieve energy efficiency targets, the behaviour of building occupants is critical in counteracting or enhancing efficiency measures. Yet behaviour and decisions are construed through the lens of the mental models that occupants hold. We used a mental models methodology to extend previous research in order to elicit occupants' (N= 25) wider models around how they believe heat operates in their home. The research aim was to analyse the stories of heating, to reveal beliefs that occupants use when 'operating' their buildings. Twenty-five participants were asked to relate how they imagined (i) how their thermostat operated, (ii) how quickly their home heated up, (iii) where heat goes to when the heat source is switched off, (iv) how insulation works, (v) how heat flows around the home. We document the variety of mental models and specific features, e.g. how a high internal temperature can stem from a goal to feel warm fast, that when occupants use 'technical' vocabulary they may be imagining a different process from 'experts', how people use analogies such as wetsuits and weather patterns. We discuss the implications for energy efficiency. The stories of building users around how they operate their heating systems reveal assumptions that influence behaviour and can inform future communications.

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“…What is noteworthy is the marginal change in student performance on these questions after instruction. Looking at normalized gains as a measure of improvement, as is done in much of the conceptual change literature (Bao, 2006;Coletta & Phillips, 2005;Hake, 1998;Luera, Otto, & Zitzewitz, 2006), the overall instrument shows a normalized gain of only 10%. That is, a semester of instruction in the relevant undergraduate transport course produced only approximately 10% of the possible improvement in students' ability to answer questions about these fundamental concepts.…”

Section: (July 2012) 3 Journal Of Engineering Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of the Heat and Energy Concept Inventory: Preliminary Results on the Prevalence and Persistence of Engineering Students' Misconceptions

Prince

Vigeant

Nottis

2012

J of Engineering Edu

110

112

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BACKGROUNDStudents frequently hold a number of misconceptions related to temperature, heat and energy. There is not currently a concept inventory with sufficiently high internal reliability to assess these concept areas for research purposes. Consequently, there is little data on the prevalence of these misconceptions amongst undergraduate engineering students. PURPOSE (HYPOTHESIS)This work presents the Heat and Energy Concept Inventory (HECI) to assess prevalent misconceptions related to: (1) Temperature vs. Energy, (2) Temperature vs. Perceptions of Hot and Cold, (3) Factors that affect the Rate vs. Amount of Heat Transfer and (4) Thermal Radiation. The HECI is also used to document the prevalence of misconceptions amongst undergraduate engineering students. DESIGN/METHODItem analysis, guided by classical test theory, was used to refine individual questions on the HECI. The HECI was used in a one group, pre-test-post-test design to assess the prevalence and persistence of targeted misconceptions amongst a population of undergraduate engineering students at diverse institutions. RESULTSInternal consistency reliability was assessed using Kuder-Richardson Formula 20; values were 0.85 for the entire instrument and ranged from 0.59 to 0.76 for the four subcategories of the HECI. Student performance on the HECI went from 49.2% to 54.5% after instruction. Gains on each of the individual subscales of the HECI, while generally statistically significant, were similarly modest. CONCLUSIONSThe HECI provides sufficiently high estimates of internal consistency reliability to be used as a research tool to assess students' understanding of the targeted concepts. Use of the instrument demonstrates that student misconceptions are both prevalent and resistant to change through standard instruction. KEYWORDS: concept inventory, heat, misconception INTRODUCTIONIn their seminal work "How People Learn" (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000) the authors emphasize the critical role in teaching of building from students' current conceptual framework. Since learning may be viewed as a process in which students fit new ideas 412 413 101 (July 2012) 3 Journal of Engineering Education into their existing mental structures, a flawed conceptual framework hinders students' ability to integrate and understand what is being taught. Part of effective instruction, therefore, entails engaging students in ways that uncover their existing conceptual frameworks, and then repairing any misconceptions. Traditional instruction often bypasses these steps, with the result that students leave their courses with many of their misconceptions intact. Decades of research in the sciences demonstrate the modest levels of conceptual change fostered in many classrooms (Center for Development and Learning, 2000;Deslauriers, Schelew, & Wieman, 2011;Lightman & Sadler, 1993;Sahin, 2010;Smith, diSessa, & Roschelle, 1993;Suping, 2003) and more limited studies in engineering indicate a similar pattern (Krause, Decker, & Griffin, 2003;Miller et al., 2006;Steif, Dollar, & D...

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Use of the Thermal Concept Evaluation to Focus Instruction

Cited by 9 publications

References 1 publication

Grammar School Students’ Misconceptions Concerning Thermal Phenomena

Grammar School Students’ Misconceptions Concerning Thermal Phenomena

Mental models: Exploring how people think about heat flows in the home

Development of the Heat and Energy Concept Inventory: Preliminary Results on the Prevalence and Persistence of Engineering Students' Misconceptions

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