Validation of the thermal concept evaluation test for Greek university students' misconceptions of thermal concepts

Although students are expected to finish school having a solid understanding of scientific concepts, they graduate from universities maintaining their former misconceptions in several fields, like physics. This study aims at validating the Thermal Concept Evaluation (TCE) test for university student...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of science education 2021-01, Vol.43 (2), p.247-273
Main Authors: Stylos, Georgios, Sargioti, Aikaterini, Mavridis, Dimitrios, Kotsis, Konstantinos T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
College Freshmen
College students
Concept Formation
Education authorities
Educational Attainment
Foreign Countries
Gender Differences
Heat
Higher education
Item response theory
Majors (Students)
Misconceptions
Mothers
Performance Factors
Physics
physics education
Predictor Variables
Science education
Science Interests
Scientific Literacy
Self Efficacy
Sociodemographics
Test Validity
Tests
Thermodynamics
University students
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Summary:Although students are expected to finish school having a solid understanding of scientific concepts, they graduate from universities maintaining their former misconceptions in several fields, like physics. This study aims at validating the Thermal Concept Evaluation (TCE) test for university student's misconceptions of thermal concepts in everyday contexts. The test was administered to 643 first-year students from six different tertiary education departments in Greece. Item Response Theory (IRT) was used in order to validate and adjust the instrument to the Greek population of students and estimate the discriminating power of items. This assessment found that the majority of students held alternative conceptions about thermal concepts. Socio-demographic and academic variables have impact on students' performance.
ISSN:0950-0693
1464-5289
DOI:10.1080/09500693.2020.1865587