ConcepTests in Introductory Physics: What Do Students Get Out of Them?

Presentation Date: 

Tuesday, January 18, 2000

Location: 

American Association of Physics Teachers Winter 2000 Meeting (Kissimmee, FL)

Presentation Slides: 

ConcepTests (conceptual questions asked during class) are designed to allow the students to think about material that has just been presented, as well as to help the instructor assess students' understanding. Ideally, roughly half of the class answers a ConcepTest correctly on their own; after next discussing their answers with their fellow students, many more agree on the correct answer. We report on students' ability, long after a ConcepTest is asked in class, to explain the answer to a free-response exam question different from the ConcepTest, but involving the same underlying ideas. Students were tested on graded exams and on an ungraded ""practice exam"" given prior to the final. Preliminary results show a substantial increase from the number of students answering the ConcepTest correctly on their own to the number correctly answering the exam question, indicating that students learn the ideas behind the ConcepTests and are able to generalize them.