PERC 2011 Abstract Detail Page
Previous Page |
New Search |
Browse All
| Abstract Title: |
Time-dependent Interpretation of Correct Responses to Multiple-Choice Questions |
| Abstract: |
Students' reasoning regarding electric field concepts was
analyzed by pre- and post-instruction responses to two related questions
on the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism; both
multiple-choice responses and written explanations were examined.
Although nearly half of all students gave correct pre-instruction
responses on one of the questions, their written explanations made it
clear that many either based their correct answers on vague or
inconsistent "intuitive" thinking, or they simply guessed. These
explanations, along with inconsistent responses on the related question,
showed that most correct pretest answers on this item were not
genuinely indicative of conceptual understanding. By contrast, most
correct post-instruction responses to the same question were accompanied
by acceptable explanations, as well as by matching correct responses on
the related item. Thus the same (correct) response on a particular
multiple-choice question had dramatically different interpretations
regarding students' thinking depending on whether it had been given pre-
or post-instruction. |
| Abstract Type: |
Gallery Session Poster
|
| Poster Gallery Session: |
Multiple Assessments of Multiple-choice Assessments
|
Author/Organizer Information |
| Primary Contact: |
David E. Meltzer
Arizona State University
|
|
