A Review and Comparison of Diagnostic Instruments to Identify Students’ Misconceptions in Science

Derya Kaltakci Gurel; Ali Eryilmaz; Lillian C. McDermott

doi:10.12973/eurasia.2015.1369a

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Derya Kaltakci Gurel ¹ ^* , Ali Eryilmaz ², Lillian C. McDermott ³

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¹ Kocaeli University
² Middle East Technical University
³ University of Washington
^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Different diagnostic tools have been developed and used by researchers to identify students' conceptions. The present study aimed to provide an overview of the common diagnostic instruments in science to assess students' misconceptions. Also the study provides a brief comparison of these common diagnostic instruments with their strengths and weaknesses. A total of 273 articles published (from the year 1980 to 2014) in main journals were investigated thoroughly through document analysis method. The study reveals interviews (53%), open-ended tests (34%), multiple-choice tests (32%) and multiple tier tests (13%) as the most commonly used diagnostic tools. However, each tool has some advantages as well as disadvantages over the others that should be kept in mind in their usages. A careful user of a diagnostic instrument such as a classroom teacher or a researcher would be aware of the diagnostic instruments and selects the most effective one for his/her purposes.

Keywords

science education
misconceptions
diagnostic instruments

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1369a

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2015 - Volume 11 Issue 5, pp. 989-1008

Publication date: 29 Oct 2015

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APA

Kaltakci Gurel, D., Eryilmaz, A., & McDermott, L. C. (2015). A Review and Comparison of Diagnostic Instruments to Identify Students’ Misconceptions in Science. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 11(5), 989-1008. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1369a

Vancouver

Kaltakci Gurel D, Eryilmaz A, McDermott LC. A Review and Comparison of Diagnostic Instruments to Identify Students’ Misconceptions in Science. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2015;11(5):989-1008. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1369a

AMA

Kaltakci Gurel D, Eryilmaz A, McDermott LC. A Review and Comparison of Diagnostic Instruments to Identify Students’ Misconceptions in Science. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2015;11(5), 989-1008. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1369a

Chicago

Kaltakci Gurel, Derya, Ali Eryilmaz, and Lillian C. McDermott. "A Review and Comparison of Diagnostic Instruments to Identify Students’ Misconceptions in Science". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2015 11 no. 5 (2015): 989-1008. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1369a

Harvard

Kaltakci Gurel, D., Eryilmaz, A., and McDermott, L. C. (2015). A Review and Comparison of Diagnostic Instruments to Identify Students’ Misconceptions in Science. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 11(5), pp. 989-1008. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1369a

MLA

Kaltakci Gurel, Derya et al. "A Review and Comparison of Diagnostic Instruments to Identify Students’ Misconceptions in Science". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 11, no. 5, 2015, pp. 989-1008. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1369a