New insights into student understanding of electric circuits

New insights into student understanding of electric circuits have emerged from an ongoing investigation by the Physics Education Group at the University of Washington. The investigation is part of a larger effort to develop and refine research-based instructional materials on electric circuits for several different student populations.\footnote{{\it Physics by Inquiry}, L.C. McDermott and the Physics Education Group at the University of Washington, Wiley (1996).}$^{,}$\footnote{{\it Tutorials in Introductory Physics}, L.C. McDermott, P.S. Shaffer and the Physics Education Group at the University of Washington, Prentice Hall (2002).} The insights gained from this research have strong implications for instruction in a variety of contexts, including introductory physics courses and special physics courses for preservice and inservice teachers.