Examining student performance in an introductory Physics for engineering course: A quantitative case study.

ORAL

Abstract

The Force Concept Inventory (FCI) has been analyzed and studied in various ways with regards to students' understanding of basic physics concepts. We present normalized learning gains and effect size calculations of FCI scores, taken in the context of large-scale classes in a 4-year public university and course instruction that incorporates elements of Just-In-Time teaching and active learning components. In addition, we will present here a novel way of using FCI pre- and post-test as a predictor of students' performance on midterm and final exams. Utilizing a taxonomy table of physics concepts, we will look at student performance broken down by topic, while also examining possible correlations between FCI post-test scores and other course assessments.

Authors

  • Diego Valente

    Univ of Connecticut - Storrs, University of Connecticut

  • Amit Savkar

    Univ of Connecticut - Storrs, University of Connecticut

  • Fridah Mokaya

    Univ of Connecticut - Storrs, University of Connecticut

  • James Wells

    Keck Science Department of Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, and Scripps Colleges