PERC 2025 Abstract Detail Page
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| Abstract Title: | Toward a Concept Inventory for Energy Band Theory: Insights from Textbooks and Graduate Exam Syllabi |
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| Abstract Type: | Contributed Poster Presentation |
| Abstract: | Energy band theory is a central topic in upper-division solid state physics and underpins semiconductors and material science research. However, no validated concept inventory is currently available to measure students' conceptual understandings of this topic. As an initial step toward assessment development, this study reports a content analysis of four widely used textbooks--two in English and two in Chinese--aimed at identifying core concepts in energy band theory across sources. Results revealed five key concept categories, common across all texts: foundational approximations, Bloch's theorem, the nearly free electron model, the tight-binding model, and symmetry operators. We validated these categories by comparing them against graduate entrance exam syllabi from three major Chinese universities. The convergence between textbook content and national curricular expectations supports these five concept categories as the focus for assessment. This work lays the foundation for future development of a research-based concept inventory for upper-level solid state physics. |
| Session Time: | Poster Session C |
| Poster Number: | C-20 |
| Contributed Paper Record: | Contributed Paper Information |
| Contributed Paper Download: | Download Contributed Paper |
Author/Organizer Information | |
| Primary Contact: |
Guofu Ma the Ohio State University Columbus, OH 43221 Phone: 7189095625 |
| Co-Author(s) and Co-Presenter(s) |
Lin Ding, the Ohio State University |
