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Exploratory factor analysis of the QMCA
written by Adam Quaal, Gina Passante, Steven J. Pollock, and Homeyra R. Sadaghiani
This investigation is situated within an ongoing project which seeks to understand student thinking in upper-division introductory quantum mechanics courses. Recently, the Quantum Mechanics Concept Assessment (QMCA) was revised to include additional items in spin-basis contexts to reflect the rising prevalence of the "spins-first" instructional paradigm. In this work, we utilize exploratory factor analysis to group items on the QMCA based on common variance. Student responses were collected from several large institutions over the 2018-2019 academic year, with the three largest institutions following a "spins-first" curriculum. In interpreting our factor structure, we focus on the placement of isomorphic questions and the original concept framework of the QMCA, as well as a tentative interpretation of factor groupings. We conclude by discussing how these groupings may be further investigated, as well as implications for subsequent iterations of the QMCA and research on student thinking in these two contexts.
Physics Education Research Conference 2020
Part of the PER Conference series
Virtual Conference: July 22-23, 2020
Pages 406-411
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Education - Basic Research
- Assessment
= Conceptual Assessment
= Instruments
- Research Design & Methodology
= Evaluation
= Statistics
= Validity
Quantum Physics
- General
- Spin and Finite Dimensional Systems
= Two-Level System
- Upper Undergraduate
- Reference Material
= Research study
PER-Central Type Intended Users Ratings
- PER Literature
- Researchers
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Format:
application/pdf
Mirror:
https://doi.org/10.1119/perc.2020…
Access Rights:
Free access
License:
This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the published article's author(s), title, proceedings citation, and DOI.
Rights Holder:
American Association of Physics Teachers
DOI:
10.1119/perc.2020.pr.Quaal
NSF Numbers:
1626280
1626594
1626482
Keyword:
PERC 2020
Record Creator:
Metadata instance created August 27, 2020 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:
August 31, 2020 by Bruce Mason
Last Update
when Cataloged:
September 1, 2020
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Record Link
AIP Format
A. Quaal, G. Passante, S. Pollock, and H. Sadaghiani, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, 2020, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15517&DocID=5365).
AJP/PRST-PER
A. Quaal, G. Passante, S. Pollock, and H. Sadaghiani, Exploratory factor analysis of the QMCA, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, 2020, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15517&DocID=5365>.
APA Format
Quaal, A., Passante, G., Pollock, S., & Sadaghiani, H. (2020, July 22-23). Exploratory factor analysis of the QMCA. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference. Retrieved December 4, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15517&DocID=5365
Chicago Format
Quaal, A, G. Passante, S. Pollock, and H. Sadaghiani. "Exploratory factor analysis of the QMCA." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, July 22-23, 2020. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15517&DocID=5365 (accessed 4 December 2024).
MLA Format
Quaal, Adam, Gina Passante, Steven Pollock, and Homeyra Sadaghiani. "Exploratory factor analysis of the QMCA." Physics Education Research Conference 2020. Virtual Conference: 2020. 406-411 of PER Conference. 4 Dec. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15517&DocID=5365>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{ Author = "Adam Quaal and Gina Passante and Steven Pollock and Homeyra Sadaghiani", Title = {Exploratory factor analysis of the QMCA}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2020}, Pages = {406-411}, Address = {Virtual Conference}, Series = {PER Conference}, Month = {July 22-23}, Year = {2020} }
Refer Export Format

%A Adam Quaal %A Gina Passante %A Steven Pollock %A Homeyra Sadaghiani %T Exploratory factor analysis of the QMCA %S PER Conference %D July 22-23 2020 %P 406-411 %C Virtual Conference %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15517&DocID=5365 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2020 %O July 22-23 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Quaal, Adam %A Passante, Gina %A Pollock, Steven %A Sadaghiani, Homeyra %D July 22-23 2020 %T Exploratory factor analysis of the QMCA %B Physics Education Research Conference 2020 %C Virtual Conference %P 406-411 %S PER Conference %8 July 22-23 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15517&DocID=5365


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