Evaluating student ability to draw conclusions from measurement data

Abstract

In this study, we surveyed students from a calculus-based and an algebra-based introductory physics courses at a liberal arts college about their ability to draw conclusions from measurement data. Both courses are taught in studio mode and use the Workshop Physics curriculum. The survey was administered online before and after instruction on measurement uncertainty. In the survey, students considered two experiments that differ only by one setup. Students were first asked to make predictions about the experimental outcomes as to whether or not the outcomes agree with each other, and then were given data to analyze and draw conclusions. We evaluate the extent to which instruction impacts student ability to draw conclusions as well as reasoning about measurement uncertainty. We use the framework of point and set paradigms to characterize student reasoning. The set paradigm emphasizes a measurement distribution rather than a single measurement; it is considered more expert-like.