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Testing Students’ Understanding of Vector Concepts
written by
Pablo Barniol and Genaro Zavala
After four years of research we designed a 20-item multiple choice vector concept test (Test of Understanding of Vectors, TUV). In this article we analyze: 1) the reliability and discriminatory power of the test, and 2) students' understanding of the vector concepts evaluated in the test. The final version of the test was administered in English to 423 students who were finishing an Electricity and Magnetism course at a large private Mexican university. In the first part of the article, we show results indicating that the TUV is a reliable assessment tool. In the second part, we examine students' overall performance on the test and analyze the results of the five most difficult items for students: geometric interpretation of dot product, calculation of dot product of two vectors written in unit-vector notation, graphic representation of a unit vector, calculation of the direction of a vector written in unit-vector notation, and graphical subtraction of vector in 2D.
Physics Education Research Conference 2013
Part of the PER Conference series Portland, OR: July 17-18, 2013 Pages 65-68
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Record Link
<a href="https://www.per-central.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=13098">Barniol, Pablo, and Genaro Zavala. "Testing Students’ Understanding of Vector Concepts." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2013, Portland, OR, July 17-18, 2013.</a>
AIP Format
P. Barniol and G. Zavala, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2013, Portland, OR, 2013, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13098&DocID=3633).
AJP/PRST-PER
P. Barniol and G. Zavala, Testing Students’ Understanding of Vector Concepts, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2013, Portland, OR, 2013, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13098&DocID=3633>.
APA Format
Barniol, P., & Zavala, G. (2013, July 17-18). Testing Students’ Understanding of Vector Concepts. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2013, Portland, OR. Retrieved December 5, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13098&DocID=3633
Chicago Format
Barniol, Pablo, and Genaro Zavala. "Testing Students’ Understanding of Vector Concepts." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2013, Portland, OR, July 17-18, 2013. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13098&DocID=3633 (accessed 5 December 2024).
MLA Format
Barniol, Pablo, and Genaro Zavala. "Testing Students’ Understanding of Vector Concepts." Physics Education Research Conference 2013. Portland, OR: 2013. 65-68 of PER Conference. 5 Dec. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13098&DocID=3633>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{
Author = "Pablo Barniol and Genaro Zavala",
Title = {Testing Students’ Understanding of Vector Concepts},
BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2013},
Pages = {65-68},
Address = {Portland, OR},
Series = {PER Conference},
Month = {July 17-18},
Year = {2013}
}
Refer Export Format
%A Pablo Barniol %A Genaro Zavala %T Testing Students' Understanding of Vector Concepts %S PER Conference %D July 17-18 2013 %P 65-68 %C Portland, OR %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13098&DocID=3633 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2013 %O July 17-18 %O application/pdf
EndNote Export Format
%0 Conference Proceedings %A Barniol, Pablo %A Zavala, Genaro %D July 17-18 2013 %T Testing Students' Understanding of Vector Concepts %B Physics Education Research Conference 2013 %C Portland, OR %P 65-68 %S PER Conference %8 July 17-18 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13098&DocID=3633 Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.
Citation Source Information
The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual. The AJP/PRST-PER presented is based on the AIP Style with the addition of journal article titles and conference proceeding article titles. The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References. The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation. The MLA Style presented is based on information from the MLA FAQ. This resource is stored in a shared folder. You must login to access shared folders. Testing Students’ Understanding of Vector Concepts:Know of another related resource? Login to relate this resource to it. |
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