Force Concept Inventory Research Articles

Force Concept Inventory-based multiple-choice test for investigating students’ representational consistency

This study investigates students' ability to interpret multiple representations consistently (i.e., representational consistency) in the context of the force concept. For this purpose we developed the Representational Variant of the Force Concept Inventory (R-FCI), which makes use of nine items from the 1995 version of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI). These original FCI items were redesigned using various representations (such as motion map, vectorial and graphical), yielding 27 multiple-choice items concerning four central concepts underpinning the force concept: Newton's first, second, and third laws, and gravitation. We provide some evidence for the validity and reliability of the R-FCI; this analysis is limited to the student population of one Finnish high school. The students took the R-FCI at the beginning and at the end of their first high school physics course. We found that students' $(n=168)$ representational consistency (whether scientifically correct or not) varied considerably depending on the concept. On average, representational consistency and scientifically correct understanding increased during the instruction, although in the post-test only a few students performed consistently both in terms of representations and scientifically correct understanding. We also compared students' $(n=87)$ results of the R-FCI and the FCI, and found that they correlated quite well.

Transforming common-sense beliefs into Newtonian thinking through Just-In-Time Teaching

To determine whether teaching an introductory physics course with a traditional lecture style or with Just-in-Time teaching (a student-centered, interactive-engagement style) will help students to better understand Newtonian concepts, such as Newton's Third Law, 222 students in introductory physics courses taught by traditional lecture styles and Just-in-Time teaching at North Georgia College State University over the span of five semesters were examined using the Force Concept Inventory as a pretest and a post-test. Overall, the gains favor the Just-in-Time teaching method with a $37.6\mathrm{%}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2.0\mathrm{%}$ gain compared to the $17.9\mathrm{%}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2.5\mathrm{%}$ seen in traditional lecture classes. When analyzing only those gains pertaining to the Newton's Third Law questions, the results again favor the Just-in-Time teaching method with a gain of $50.8\mathrm{%}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}4.1\mathrm{%}$ while the traditional lecture classes only saw a gain of $6.6\mathrm{%}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}5.2\mathrm{%}$. We also employed a new method of analysis which was a BIT Coding method created to quickly identify students' understanding of Newton's Third Law questions. This study shows that students in courses that are taught using the Just-in-Time teaching strategy better understand Newton's Third Law after instruction than do students in traditional lecture courses.

Comparison of the effectiveness of collaborative groups and peer instruction in a large introductory physics course for science majors

We report on an experiment comparing examinations of concepts using slightly modified peer instruction (MPI) interventions with a conceptual conflict strategy based on collaborative groups (CG). Four interventions were utilized in two sections of an introductory physics course for science students. Both instructors and strategies were alternated in the two classes so that instructor dependence could be factored out and so that each class could serve as both an experimental and a control group. The gain on the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) used as a pre- and post-test is essentially the same in both classes. The instructors were experienced in use of MPI, but this was the first time that these instructors had used a collaborative group activity in their classes and only used it for the two interventions in each class described in this paper. CG appears to be more effective as a teaching method than PI. It also should be noted that the effectiveness of both teaching methods seems to be instructor independent as long as the instructors followed the same protocol.

Rasch model based analysis of the Force Concept Inventory

The Force Concept Inventory (FCI) is an important diagnostic instrument which is widely used in the field of physics education research. It is therefore very important to evaluate and monitor its functioning using different tools for statistical analysis. One of such tools is the stochastic Rasch model, which enables construction of linear measures for persons and items from raw test scores and which can provide important insight in the structure and functioning of the test (how item difficulties are distributed within the test, how well the items fit the model, and how well the items work together to define the underlying construct). The data for the Rasch analysis come from the large-scale research conducted in 2006-07, which investigated Croatian high school students' conceptual understanding of mechanics on a representative sample of 1676 students (age 17--18 years). The instrument used in research was the FCI. The average FCI score for the whole sample was found to be $(27.7\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.4)\mathrm{%}$, indicating that most of the students were still non-Newtonians at the end of high school, despite the fact that physics is a compulsory subject in Croatian schools. The large set of obtained data was analyzed with the Rasch measurement computer software WINSTEPS 3.66. Since the FCI is routinely used as pretest and post-test on two very different types of population (non-Newtonian and predominantly Newtonian), an additional predominantly Newtonian sample ($N=141$, average FCI score of 64.5%) of first year students enrolled in introductory physics course at University of Zagreb was also analyzed. The Rasch model based analysis suggests that the FCI has succeeded in defining a sufficiently unidimensional construct for each population. The analysis of fit of data to the model found no grossly misfitting items which would degrade measurement. Some items with larger misfit and items with significantly different difficulties in the two samples of students do require further examination. The analysis revealed some problems with item distribution in the FCI and suggested that the FCI may function differently in non-Newtonian and predominantly Newtonian population. Some possible improvements of the test are suggested.

Razonamiento Científico y Conocimientos Conceptuales de Mecánica: Un Diagnóstico de Alumnos de Primer Ingreso a Licenciaturas en Ingeniería

This work presents a diagnosis of the extent of scientific reasoning of five groups of freshmen in engineering, through the application of Lawson’s classroom test of scientific reasoning. The Force Concept Inventory was applied to assess their level of conceptual knowledge in mechanics. The application of Force Concept Inventory showed low percentages of correct answers in all subjects, especially those related to Newton's Second Law. Also, the scores of the selection test EXANI-II implemented by the National Center for Higher Education Assessment in Mexico were analyzed. In this case, the scores obtained in the mathematical logic reasoning index and the scores of the physics test were also low.

Effects of Problem-Based Learning on University Students’ Epistemological Beliefs About Physics and Physics Learning and Conceptual Understanding of Newtonian Mechanics

This study investigated the effects of problem-based learning on students’ beliefs about physics and physics learning and conceptual understanding of Newtonian mechanics. The study further examines the relationship between students’ beliefs about physics and their conceptual understanding of mechanics concepts. Participants were 124 Turkish university students (PBL = 55, traditional = 69) enrolled in a calculus-based introductory physics class. Students’ beliefs about physics and physics learning and their physics conceptual understanding were measured with the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) and the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), respectively. Repeated measures analysis of variance of how PBL influence beliefs and conceptual understanding were performed. The PBL group showed significantly higher conceptual learning gains in FCI than the traditional group. PBL approach showed no influence on students’ beliefs about physics; both groups displayed similar beliefs. A significant positive correlation was found between beliefs and conceptual understanding. Students with more expert-like beliefs at the beginning of the semester were more likely to obtain higher conceptual understanding scores at the end of the semester. Suggestions are presented regarding the implementation of the PBL approach.

The effect of interactive lecture experiments on student academic achievement and attitudes towards physics

This paper examines the effects of computer-based Interactive Lecture Experiments (ILEs) in a large introductory physics course on student academic achievement and attitudes towards physics. ILEs build on interactive lecture demonstrations by requiring students to analyze data during and after lecture demonstrations. Academic achievement was measured using the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) and final examinations' grades; and student attitudes were measured using a Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS). FCI results showed a general positive shift (about average for an interactive course) but could not detect improvements in student understanding of specific topics addressed by ILEs. However, open-ended questions on the final exam showed differences between sections on topics that were addressed by ILEs. Attitude survey results showed a negative shift in student attitudes over the semester, which is a typical result for an introductory physics course. This finding suggests that ILE pedagogy alone is insufficient to significantly improve student attitudes toward science. The study also revealed possible improvements to implementing ILEs such as working in groups, ongoing feedback for students, and linking assessment to pedagogical practices.

What course elements correlate with improvement on tests in introductory Newtonian mechanics?

In an MIT calculus-based introductory Newtonian mechanics course, we study the effectiveness of various instructional course elements: electronic and written homeworks, collaborative group problems, and class participation. We measure effectiveness by the slope of the regression line between a student’s score (used as a proxy for participation) on a particular course element and his normalized gain on various assessment instruments. These instruments were the MIT final exam comprised mainly of multipart problems demanding analytic responses and two widely used standard physics tests that emphasize conceptual knowledge: the Force Concept Inventory and the Mechanics Baseline Test. The results show that interactive course elements are associated with higher gains on assessment instruments: doing interactive electronic homework administered by myCyberTutor correlated with large gains on the final exam producing a learning effect of 1.8±0.4 standard deviations on the final examination score. myCyberTutor and collaborative group problem solving correlated with gains on the more conceptual tests. We also report surveys that demonstrate that students have had an increasingly favorable opinion of myCyberTutor over the four terms of its use.

Comparing the force and motion conceptual evaluation and the force concept inventory

In this paper we compare and contrast student's pretest/post-test performance on the Halloun-Hestenes force concept inventory (FCI) to the Thornton-Sokoloff force and motion conceptual evaluation (FMCE). Both tests are multiple-choice assessment instruments whose results are used to characterize how well a first term, introductory physics course promotes conceptual understanding. However, the two exams have slightly different content domains, as well as different representational formats; hence, one exam or the other might better fit the interests of a given instructor or researcher. To begin the comparison, we outline how to determine a single-number score for the FMCE and present ranges of normalized gains on this exam. We then compare scores on the FCI and the FMCE for approximately 2000 students enrolled in the Studio Physics course at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute over a period of eight years (1998--2006) that encompassed significant evolution of the course and many different instructors. We found that the mean score on the FCI is significantly higher than the mean score on the FMCE, however there is a very strong relationship between scores on the two exams. The slope of a best fit line drawn through FCI versus FMCE data is approximately 0.54, and the correlation coefficient is approximately $r=0.78$, for preinstructional and postinstructional testings combined. In spite of this strong relationship, the assessments measure different normalized gains under identical circumstances. Additionally, students who scored well on one exam did not necessarily score well on the other. We use this discrepancy to uncover some subtle, but important, differences between the exams. We also present ranges of normalized gains for the FMCE in a variety of instructional settings.

Correlations among knowledge structures, force concept inventory, and problem-solving behaviors

The modeling instruction pedagogy for the teaching of physics has been proven to be quite effective at increasing the conceptual understanding and problem-solving abilities of students to a much greater extent than that of nonmodeling students. Little research has been conducted concerning the cognitive and metacognitive skills that modeling students develop that allow for these increases. Two studies were designed to answer the following question: In what ways do the knowledge structures, metacognitive skills, and problem-solving abilities differ between modeling and nonmodeling students? In study 1, the knowledge structures developed by two groups of high school physics students taught using differing pedagogies (modeling instruction in physics and traditional methods) were determined using a card-sort task. The student's knowledge structures were then correlated with the scores they obtained on two measures: the force concept inventory (FCI) and a problem-solving task (PS task) developed for this study. The modeling students had a more expertlike knowledge structure, while the nonmodeling students produced structures that were novicelike. In addition, the expert score correlated highly with performance on both the FCI and PS task scores demonstrating that a higher expert score predicted a higher value on each of these measures while a higher surface feature score predicted a lower score on both of these measures. In study 2, a verbal protocol design allowed for a detailed study of the problem-solving and metacognitive skills utilized by the two groups. It was determined that the skills utilized by the modeling instruction students were more expertlike. In addition, the modeling students produced significantly fewer physics errors while catching and repairing a greater percentage of their errors.

Misconceptions of Turkish Pre-Service Teachers about Force and Motion

The purpose of this study was to diagnose the misconceptions held by pre-service physics teachers about force and motion. The secondary aim of the study was to detect whether misconceptions vary according to gender, educational level, and culture. The study was conducted with 79 student-teachers attending to one of the largest faculties of education in Turkey. Force Concept Inventory (FCI) was used to diagnose student-teachers’ misconceptions. FCI is a conceptual test consisting of 29 multiple choice items. Each wrong choice for each question reflects a specific misconception about the force and motion concepts. Data from the study was analyzed by using frequencies, t-test, and ANOVA for making comparisons according to gender and years of education. Results of the study showed that student-teachers of physics hold very strong misconceptions about impetus and active force. No significant differences were found between male and female students’ scores on the concept test. The results also showed that misconceptions about force and motion decreased through the years of education. However, they did not disappear completely. Findings of the study are very similar to the other research findings conducted on the subject in other countries. Student-teachers’ conceptions about Newton’s Third Law, on the other hand, were significantly better than those observed in other research done in other countries such as the US and Finland.

Building, Using, and Maximizing the Impact of Concept Inventories in the Biological Sciences: Report on a National Science Foundation–sponsored Conference on the Construction of Concept Inventories in the Biological Sciences

The meeting "Conceptual Assessment in the Biological Sciences" was held March 3-4, 2007, in Boulder, Colorado. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation and hosted by University of Colorado, Boulder's Biology Concept Inventory Team, the meeting drew together 21 participants from 13 institutions, all of whom had received National Science Foundation funding for biology education. Topics of interest included Introductory Biology, Genetics, Evolution, Ecology, and the Nature of Science. The goal of the meeting was to organize and leverage current efforts to develop concept inventories for each of these topics. These diagnostic tools are inspired by the success of the Force Concept Inventory, developed by the community of physics educators to identify student misconceptions about Newtonian mechanics. By working together, participants hope to lessen the risk that groups might develop competing rather than complementary inventories.

The effect of multiple internal representations on context-rich instruction

We discuss n-coding, a theoretical model of multiple internal mental representations. The n-coding construct is developed from a review of cognitive and imaging data that demonstrates the independence of information processed along different modalities such as verbal, visual, kinesthetic, logico-mathematic, and social modalities. A study testing the effectiveness of the n-coding construct in classrooms is presented. Four sections differing in the level of n-coding opportunities were compared. Besides a traditional-instruction section used as a control group, each of the remaining three sections were given context-rich problems, which differed by the level of n-coding opportunities designed into their laboratory environment. To measure the effectiveness of the construct, problem-solving skills were assessed as conceptual learning using the force concept inventory. We also developed several new measures that take students’ confidence in concepts into account. Our results show that the n-coding construct is useful in designing context-rich environments and can be used to increase learning gains in problem solving, conceptual knowledge, and concept confidence. Specifically, when using props in designing context-rich problems, we find n-coding to be a useful construct in guiding which additional dimensions need to be attended to.

Evaluation Novelty in Modeling-Based and Interactive Engagement Instruction

A calculus-based introductory physics course, which is based on the Matter and Interactions curriculum of Chabay and Sherwood (2002), has been taught at Purdue University. Characteristic of this course is its emphasis on modeling. Therefore, I would like to investigate the effects of modeling-based instruction and interactive engagement on students’ physics understanding. For this reason, The Force Concept Inventory (FCI) (Hake, 1992) as pre-and post-test was used to evaluate students learning and understanding following a newly developed approach to teaching mechanics in an introductory physics course. The results lead that it can be concluded that the modelingbased interactive teaching method helps students to improve their understanding and learning physics.

The Force Concept Inventory as a Measure of Students Conceptual Coherence

The Force Concept Inventory (FCI) is a multiple choice test designed to monitor students’ understanding of the conceptual domain of force and related kinematics (Hestenes et al. Physics Teacher 30:141–158 1992; Halloun et al., 1995, Online at http://modeling.asu.edu/RE the data provide evidence that the FCI can be used to evaluate students’ conceptual coherence—especially contextual coherence—of the force concept.

The effects of students' reasoning abilities on conceptual understandings and problem-solving skills in introductory mechanics

The purpose of this study was to determine if there are relationships among freshmen/first year students' reasoning abilities, conceptual understandings and problem-solving skills in introductory mechanics. The sample consisted of 165 freshmen science education prospective teachers (female = 86, male = 79; age range 17–21) who were enrolled in an introductory physics course. Data collection was done during the fall semesters in two successive years. At the beginning of each semester, the force concept inventory (FCI) and the classroom test of scientific reasoning (CTSR) were administered to assess students' initial understanding of basic concepts in mechanics and reasoning levels. After completing the course, the FCI and the mechanics baseline test (MBT) were administered. The results indicated that there was a significant difference in problem-solving skill test mean scores, as measured by the MBT, among concrete, formal and postformal reasoners. There were no significant differences in conceptual understanding levels of pre- and post-test mean scores, as measured by FCI, among the groups. The Benferroni post hoc comparison test revealed which set of reasoning levels showed significant difference for the MBT scores. No statistical difference between formal and postformal reasoners' mean scores was observed, while the mean scores between concrete and formal reasoners and concrete and postformal reasoners were statistically significantly different.

Engineering Education Research Aids Instruction

Discipline-based education research seeks to marry deep knowledge of the discipline with similarly deep knowledge of learning and pedagogy (1, 2) and may encourage college and university faculty members to bring more rigor to classroom instruction. For example, the physics-based education research community has used tools such as the Force Concept Inventory (3) to determine that students taught with interactive teaching techniques developed from discipline-based education research [such as Peer Instruction (4, 5)] better understand the concepts of Newtonian physics than do students taught in a lecture-based format. Within the engineering community, the ultimate aims of such research include the creation of education programs that attract more, and more diverse, students to the study of engineering; retain more of the students who are enrolled; deepen students' understanding of engineering concepts; broaden students' appreciation of engineering's role in meeting the needs of a global society; and better prepare students for further study or professional practice. In pursuing these aims, research in engineering education looks beyond questions solely devoted to teaching, learning, and assessment; it also examines issues associated with faculty rewards (6) and the organizational dynamics of engineering departments (7, 8).

Concepts of force and frictional force: the influence of preconceptions on learning acrossdifferent levels

Students’ understanding regarding force and frictional force was probed by administering aforce concept inventory (FCI) and a frictional force concept inventory (FFCI) which wasfollowed by practical activities to investigate the application aspect of the concepts in realsituations. Analysis of the two audio-video recorded interviews and responses to crossquestions in the interview reveal a significant gap between the expected and actual learningoutcomes.

Innovative Training of In-service Teachers for Active Learning: A Short Teacher Development Course Based on Physics Education Research

In this contribution we describe a short development course for in-service physics teachers. The course structure and materials are based on the results of educational research, and its main objective is to provide in-service teachers with a first contact with the active learning strategy “Tutorials in Introductory Physics,” developed by the Physics Education Research Group at the University of Washington. The course was organized in a constructivist, active learning environment, so that teachers have first to experience, as regular students, the whole Tutorial sequence of activities: Tutorial pre-test, Tutorial, and Tutorial Homework. After each Tutorial, teachers reflect on, and recognize their own students’ learning difficulties, discussing their teaching experiences with their colleagues in small collaborative groups first and the whole class later. Finally they read and discuss specific Physics Education Research literature, where these learning difficulties have been extensively studied by researchers. At the beginning and at the end of the course the participants were given the conceptual multiple-choice test Force Concept Inventory (FCI). The pre-/post-instruction FCI data were presented as a practical example of the use of a research-based test widely used in educational research and in formative assessment processes designed to improve instruction.

The effects of students' cognitive styles on conceptual understandings and problem‐solving skills in introductory mechanics

The purpose of this study was to determine if there are relationship among freshmen students' Field depended or field independent (FD/FI) cognitive style, conceptual understandings, and problem solving skills in mechanics. The sample consisted of 213 freshmen (female = 111, male = 102; age range 17–21) who were enrolled in an introductory physics course required for science education prospective teachers. Data collection was done during the fall semesters in three successive years. At the beginning of each semester the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) and the Group Embedded Figure Test (GEFT) were administered to assess students' initial understanding of basic concepts in mechanics and FD/FI tendency of students, respectively. After completion of the course, the FCI and the Mechanics Base Line Test (MBT) were administered. The results indicated that students conceptual understanding were not statistically related to their FD/FI cognitive styles for both pre and post results. However, their problem‐solving skills were statistically related to their FD/FI cognitive style. The findings of the present and previous studies are compared, and the possible effects of the present studies on previous studies on teaching, learning and assessment for introductory mechanics are discussed.