1500 - Network Analysis of the FCI and the FMCE

Abstract

Network analytic techniques such as Modified Module Analysis (MMA) and Modified Module Analysis – Partial (MMA-P) are powerful new tools which can identify coherent patterns of student responses to physics conceptual instruments. MMA and MMAP are used to analyze large datasets by forming networks of responses then using community detection algorithms to identify sets of responses that are consistently selected together. These techniques were applied to 4000 student responses to the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) and the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE) both prior to and post instruction. These studies identified a coherent set of non-Newtonian misconceptions in both the FCI and the FMCE. They also revealed communities of isomorphic items, issues with item-blocking, and items not functioning as intended within the instruments.