Using interviews to identify student misconceptions in dynamics

There is substantial evidence that most students graduating with engineering degrees do not possess basic scientific knowledge. Assessments of conceptual understanding have shown repeatedly that students are unable to answer qualitative questions about even the most fundamental physical phenomena. One approach to correcting this lack of knowledge is based on addressing what Michelene Chi calls misconceptions. Misconceptions are the set of students' preexisting beliefs about physical phenomena which are persistent and preclude more correct understandings. The purpose of this study is to begin to identify some of the misconceptions held by students in engineering dynamics through individual clinical interviews with a small group of students who received A's or B's in a recently completed dynamics course. By asking students open-ended conceptual questions researchers are able to observe misconceptions in action. The interviews were analyzed qualitatively to discover patterns of thought in each individual student. Although specific misconceptions cannot be identified from the small number of interviews performed, trends in student responses can be used in future interviews to more thoroughly uncover errors in student reasoning.