Comparing two types of diagnostic items to evaluate understanding of heat and temperature concepts

Hye-Eun Chu; A. L. Chandrasegaran; David F. Treagust

Comparing two types of diagnostic items to evaluate understanding of heat and temperature concepts

Hye-Eun Chu, A. L. Chandrasegaran, David F. Treagust

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to investigate an efficient method to assess year 8 (age 13-14) students' conceptual understanding of heat and temperature concepts. Two different types of instruments were used in this study: Type 1, consisting of multiple-choice items with open-ended justifications; and Type 2, consisting of two-tier multiple-choice items. Each of the instruments was administered to two separate cohorts of 173 and 143 year 8 students of similar achievement. The findings indicated that the students were better able to show their understanding in the two-tier multiple-choice items. Hence, based on this investigation, two-tier multiple-choice items may be more suitable for evaluating year 8 students' understanding of science concepts.

Original language	English
Article number	EJ1174745
Pages (from-to)	107-116
Number of pages	10
Journal	School Science Review
Volume	99
Issue number	368
Publication status	Published - Mar 2018

Keywords

diagnostic assessment tools
heat and temperature concept
Conceptual understanding

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https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/328381815.pdfLicence: Unspecified

Cite this

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title = "Comparing two types of diagnostic items to evaluate understanding of heat and temperature concepts",

abstract = "The purpose of this research was to investigate an efficient method to assess year 8 (age 13-14) students' conceptual understanding of heat and temperature concepts. Two different types of instruments were used in this study: Type 1, consisting of multiple-choice items with open-ended justifications; and Type 2, consisting of two-tier multiple-choice items. Each of the instruments was administered to two separate cohorts of 173 and 143 year 8 students of similar achievement. The findings indicated that the students were better able to show their understanding in the two-tier multiple-choice items. Hence, based on this investigation, two-tier multiple-choice items may be more suitable for evaluating year 8 students' understanding of science concepts.",

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N2 - The purpose of this research was to investigate an efficient method to assess year 8 (age 13-14) students' conceptual understanding of heat and temperature concepts. Two different types of instruments were used in this study: Type 1, consisting of multiple-choice items with open-ended justifications; and Type 2, consisting of two-tier multiple-choice items. Each of the instruments was administered to two separate cohorts of 173 and 143 year 8 students of similar achievement. The findings indicated that the students were better able to show their understanding in the two-tier multiple-choice items. Hence, based on this investigation, two-tier multiple-choice items may be more suitable for evaluating year 8 students' understanding of science concepts.

AB - The purpose of this research was to investigate an efficient method to assess year 8 (age 13-14) students' conceptual understanding of heat and temperature concepts. Two different types of instruments were used in this study: Type 1, consisting of multiple-choice items with open-ended justifications; and Type 2, consisting of two-tier multiple-choice items. Each of the instruments was administered to two separate cohorts of 173 and 143 year 8 students of similar achievement. The findings indicated that the students were better able to show their understanding in the two-tier multiple-choice items. Hence, based on this investigation, two-tier multiple-choice items may be more suitable for evaluating year 8 students' understanding of science concepts.

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KW - heat and temperature concept

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JO - School Science Review

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ER -

Comparing two types of diagnostic items to evaluate understanding of heat and temperature concepts

Abstract

Keywords

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The impact of short-cycle formative assessments on students' conceptual understanding and beliefs of learning among academically lower achieving secondary school students in science

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Comparing two types of diagnostic items to evaluate understanding of heat and temperature concepts

Abstract

Keywords

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Other files and links

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The impact of short-cycle formative assessments on students' conceptual understanding and beliefs of learning among academically lower achieving secondary school students in science

Cite this