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ERIC Number: EJ1160483
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2469-9896
EISSN: N/A
Assessing Students' Conceptual Knowledge of Electricity and Magnetism
McColgan, Michele W.; Finn, Rose A.; Broder, Darren L.; Hassel, George E.
Physical Review Physics Education Research, v13 n2 p020121-1-020121-19 Jul-Dec 2017
We present the Electricity and Magnetism Conceptual Assessment (EMCA), a new assessment aligned with second-semester introductory physics courses. Topics covered include electrostatics, electric fields, circuits, magnetism, and induction. We have two motives for writing a new assessment. First, we find other assessments such as the Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment and the Conceptual Survey on Electricity and Magnetism not well aligned with the topics and content depth of our courses. We want to test introductory physics content at a level appropriate for our students. Second, we want the assessment to yield scores and gains comparable to the widely used Force Concept Inventory (FCI). After five testing and revision cycles, the assessment was finalized in early 2015 and is available online. We present performance results for a cohort of 225 students at Siena College who were enrolled in our algebra- and calculus-based physics courses during the spring 2015 and 2016 semesters. We provide pretest, post-test, and gain analyses, as well as individual question and whole test statistics to quantify difficulty and reliability. In addition, we compare EMCA and FCI scores and gains, and we find that students' FCI scores are strongly correlated with their performance on the EMCA. Finally, the assessment was piloted in an algebra-based physics course at George Washington University (GWU). We present performance results for a cohort of 130 GWU students and we find that their EMCA scores are comparable to the scores of students in our calculus-based physics course.
American Physical Society. One Physics Ellipse 4th Floor, College Park, MD 20740-3844. Tel: 301-209-3200; Fax: 301-209-0865; e-mail: assocpub@aps.org; Web site: http://prst-per.aps.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New York; District of Columbia
Grant or Contract Numbers: AST0847430