A Multi-phase development of the Electric Circuit Concepts Diagnostic tool: Phase I

University Of Georgia Research Foundation Inc, Athens GA

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national interest by creating a novel web-based diagnostic feedback tool to enhance teaching and learning about electrical engineering circuits. All engineering students nationwide, regardless of their intended engineering specialization, are required to enroll in a course on electrical circuits. Many students enter engineering classrooms with misconceptions about engineering concepts. These misconceptions must be overcome since the ability to learn requires the student to build upon accurate prior knowledge. Some instructors rely on multiple choice tests called concept inventories to identify students’ misconceptions. They hope to glean information from students’ concept inventory scores and adjust their teaching approaches to better meet the learning needs for that specific student cohort. However, instructors who require students to complete concept inventories may not benefit fully from using them. For example, instructors may lack skills to interpret concept inventory results or may not have time to adjust their teaching to reflect the students' learning needs. Furthermore, it can be difficult to determine whether results from concept inventories indicate that a student does not yet know the concept or has misconceptions about it. Such differentiation is important because gaining new knowledge and correcting misconceptions require different teaching and learning approaches. The goal of this project is to overcome some concept inventory limitations by developing an augmented concept inventory tool called the Electric Circuit Concepts Diagnostic (ECCD). The ECCD will be a novel web-based diagnostic feedback tool that uses computer-based testing and automated assessment to measure prior knowledge across broader content areas. As a result, the ECCD has the potential to deliver knowledge diagnostic capabilities beyond those of existing electric circuit concept inventories. Project objectives include: (i) provision of an immediate and multi-purpose feedback system for reporting about students’ prior knowledge regarding circuits and electricity; (ii) differentiation, with a high probability of accuracy, between a lack of prior knowledge and misconceptions; and (iii) use of a scheme of multidimensional knowledge profiles to report on students’ prior knowledge and misconceptions. To achieve these objectives, the project team will integrate the affordances of cognitive diagnostic modeling, multi-tier testing frameworks, and computer-assisted testing to realize project objectives. The inclusion of metacognition in the proposed work is novel and could contribute to the growing literature on use of metacognition in engineering education as well as the promotion of skills for lifelong learning. The work may also serve as a framework for developing value-added concept inventories in other engineering fields and STEM domains beyond engineering. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.