Developing an Outcomes Assessment Instrument for Identifying Engineering Student Misconceptions in Thermal and Transport Sciences

该项目正在创建一个结果评估工具，以确定工程学学生在热力学、流体力学、传热学和传质学等热学和运输科学课程中的误解。该工具专注于关于基本分子水平和原子水平现象的误解，包括热、光、扩散、化学反应和电，这些现象在显著方面与可观察到的宏观因果行为不同。通过调查经验丰富的工程学教师发现的重要学生误解通过学生访谈得到验证，包括在仿照成功的误解工具(如原力概念清单)的多项选择铅笔和纸上的工具。该仪器正在进行现场测试，以证明其有效性和可靠性，以及它在课程级和项目级评估学生在热学和交通科学主题上的误解方面的有用性。该工具的设计允许进行前测试(在课程或课程开始时)和后测试(在课程或课程结束时)，以衡量学生心理模型发展的变化。

This project is creating an outcomes assessment instrument to identify engineering student misconceptions in thermal and transport science courses, such as thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and mass transfer. The instrument focuses on misconceptions concerning fundamental molecular-level and atomic-level phenomena, including heat, light, diffusion, chemical reactions, and electricity, which differ in significant ways from observable, macroscopic causal behavior.Important student misconceptions identified by surveying experienced engineering faculty are validated through student interviews for inclusion in a multiple-choice pencil-and-paper instrument patterned after successful misconception instruments such as the Force Concept Inventory. The instrument is being field tested to demonstrate its validity and reliability and its usefulness for both course-level and program-level assessment of student misconceptions in thermal and transport science topics. The instrument is designed to allow for pre-testing (at the beginning of a course or curriculum) and post-testing (at the end of a course or curriculum) to measure changes in student mental model development.