The relation of representational competence and conceptual knowledge in female and male undergraduates

Background Representational competence is commonly considered a prerequisite for the acquisition of conceptual knowledge, yet little exploration has been undertaken into the relation between these two constructs. Using an assessment instrument of representational competence with vector fields that f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International Journal of STEM Education 2023-12, Vol.10 (1), p.44-44, Article 44
Main Authors: Edelsbrunner, Peter A., Malone, Sarah, Hofer, Sarah I., Küchemann, Stefan, Kuhn, Jochen, Schmid, Roman, Altmeyer, Kristin, Brünken, Roland, Lichtenberger, Andreas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
College students
Competence
Conceptual understanding
Disproportionate Representation
Education
Educational Technology
Electromagnetism
Females
Fields (mathematics)
Gender
Gender Differences
Knowledge
Knowledge Level
Latent variable modeling
Magnets
Males
Mathematics Education
Multiple external representations
Prerequisites
Representational competence
Science Education
Scientific Concepts
STEM education
Students
Undergraduate Students
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Summary:Background Representational competence is commonly considered a prerequisite for the acquisition of conceptual knowledge, yet little exploration has been undertaken into the relation between these two constructs. Using an assessment instrument of representational competence with vector fields that functions without confounding topical context, we examined its relation with N  = 515 undergraduates’ conceptual knowledge about electromagnetism. Results Applying latent variable modeling, we found that students’ representational competence and conceptual knowledge are related yet clearly distinguishable constructs (manifest correlation: r  = .54; latent correlation: r  = .71). The relation was weaker for female than for male students, which could not be explained by measurement differences between the two groups. There were several students with high representational competence and low conceptual knowledge, but only few students with low representational competence and high conceptual knowledge. Conclusions These results support the assumption that representational competence is a prerequisite, yet insufficient condition for the acquisition of conceptual knowledge. We provide suggestions for supporting learners in building representational competence, and particularly female learners in utilizing their representational competence to build conceptual knowledge.
ISSN:2196-7822
2196-7822
DOI:10.1186/s40594-023-00435-6