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ERIC Number: EJ1200351
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2375-2696
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Using Concept Inventories to Measure Understanding
Sands, David; Parker, Mark; Hedgeland, Holly; Jordan, Sally; Galloway, Ross
Higher Education Pedagogies, v3 n1 p173-182 2018
Measuring understanding is notoriously difficult. Indeed, in formulating learning outcomes the word 'understanding' is usually avoided, but in the sciences, developing understanding is one of the main aims of instruction. Scientific knowledge is factual, having been tested against empirical observation and experimentation, but knowledge of facts alone is not enough. There are also models and theories containing complex ideas and interrelationships that must be understood, and considerable attention has been devoted across a range of scientific disciplines to measuring understanding. This case study will focus on one of the main tools employed: the concept inventory and in particular the Force Concept Inventory (FCI). The success of concept inventories in physics has spawned concept inventories in chemistry, biology, astronomy, materials science and maths, to name a few. We focus here on the FCI and ask how useful concept inventories are for evaluating learning gains. Finally, we report on recent work by the authors to extend conceptual testing beyond the multiple-choice format.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A