Date of Award
5-2010
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Program
Curriculum & Instruction
Department
Curriculum and Instruction
Major Professor
Gill, Ivan
Second Advisor
Germain-McCarthy, Yvelyne
Third Advisor
Thoreson, Amy Claire
Fourth Advisor
Seab, C. Greg
Fifth Advisor
Kieff, Judith
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to inform instruction by increasing the body of knowledge regarding the relationship between college physics students' knowledge about models in science and their conceptual understanding with regard to electricity and magnetism. The data for this study was obtained through the administration of two instruments: Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism, a multiple choice assessment, and Student Understanding of Models in Science, a Likert-scale survey. Both traditional statistics and an innovative technique called Model Analysis were used to analyze the data. Analysis of the data revealed that there is a relationship between student understanding of models in science and conceptual understanding of electricity and magnetism topics. However, the results of this study also suggest that without specific instruction on models in science, overall understanding of models in science does not improve after a traditional electricity and magnetism course. Additionally, this study demonstrated that not only does student conceptual understanding of electricity and magnetism topics improve after a traditionally taught electricity and magnetism course, but also, students demonstrate more sophistication in their understanding of some electricity and magnetism topics. In the latter case, students showed improvement in their application of the expert rather than the naïve or null model of electricity and magnetism topics.
Recommended Citation
Philippi, Kristen Haber, "An Examination of Student Understanding of the Use of Models in Science and Conceptual Understanding of Electricity and Magnetism" (2010). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 1114.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1114
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.