Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) of students’ understanding of vector subtraction

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written by Tianren Wang and Eleanor C. Sayre

In this paper, we report on the impact that slight changes in question format have on student response to one-dimensional vector subtraction tasks. We use Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) analysis to analyze students' responses on six very similar questions which vary in context (physics or mathematics), vector alignment (both pointing to the right or opposed), and operation (left-right subtraction or right-left subtraction). Responses on all questions are generally correct and do not vary by instructional week or even by course. Context and specific operation do not show significant differences. Vector alignment is significantly different, indicating that perception or heuristic thinking is a bigger cause of failure than conceptual deficit. The emphasis in this paper is an introduction to likelihood estimation.

Physics Education Research Conference 2010
Part of the PER Conference series
Portland, Oregon: July 21-22, 2010
Volume 1289, Pages 329-332

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Published: August 24, 2010

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education Foundations - Assessment Education Practices - Pedagogy = Heuristics Mathematical Tools - Vector Algebra	- Lower Undergraduate	- Reference Material = Report = Research study

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Mirror:: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3515236
Access Rights:: Limited free access and
Available for purchase; A preprint of the work is available. A hard copy of the PERC 2010 proceedings is available for purchase from the AIP.
Restriction:: © 2010 American Institute of Physics
DOI:: 10.1063/1.3515236
NSF Number:: 0941378
PACSs:: 01.40.Fk; 01.30.Cc
Keywords:: maximum likelihood estimation, PERC 2010, vectors
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created November 10, 2010 by Alea Smith
Record Updated:: May 1, 2013 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update when Cataloged:: August 24, 2010
Other Collections:: The PER-Central

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=10496">Wang, Tianren, and Eleanor Sayre. "Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) of students’ understanding of vector subtraction." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, July 21-22, 2010.</a>

AIP Format

T. Wang and E. Sayre, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, 2010, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10496&DocID=1952).

AJP/PRST-PER

T. Wang and E. Sayre, Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) of students’ understanding of vector subtraction, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, 2010, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10496&DocID=1952>.

APA Format

Wang, T., & Sayre, E. (2010, July 21-22). Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) of students’ understanding of vector subtraction. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon. Retrieved April 4, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10496&DocID=1952

Chicago Format

Wang, Tianren, and Eleanor Sayre. "Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) of students’ understanding of vector subtraction." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, July 21-22, 2010. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10496&DocID=1952 (accessed 4 April 2025).

MLA Format

Wang, Tianren, and Eleanor Sayre. "Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) of students’ understanding of vector subtraction." Physics Education Research Conference 2010. Portland, Oregon: 2010. 329-332 Vol. 1289 of PER Conference. 4 Apr. 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10496&DocID=1952>.

BibTeX Export Format

@inproceedings{ Author = "Tianren Wang and Eleanor Sayre", Title = {Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) of students’ understanding of vector subtraction}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2010}, Pages = {329-332}, Address = {Portland, Oregon}, Series = {PER Conference}, Volume = {1289}, Month = {July 21-22}, Year = {2010} }

Refer Export Format

%A Tianren Wang %A Eleanor Sayre %T Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) of students' understanding of vector subtraction %S PER Conference %V 1289 %D July 21-22 2010 %P 329-332 %C Portland, Oregon %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10496&DocID=1952 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2010 %O July 21-22 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Wang, Tianren %A Sayre, Eleanor %D July 21-22 2010 %T Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) of students' understanding of vector subtraction %B Physics Education Research Conference 2010 %C Portland, Oregon %V 1289 %P 329-332 %S PER Conference %8 July 21-22 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10496&DocID=1952

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