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Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research
written by Risto Leinonen, Mervi A. Asikainen, and Pekka E. Hirvonen
As has been shown by previous research, students may possess various misconceptions in the area of thermal physics. In order to help them overcome misconceptions observed prior to instruction, we implemented a one-hour lecture-based intervention in their introductory thermal physics course. The intervention was held after the conventional lectures and homework sessions, and it consisted of three phases: individual working, hinting, and peer discussion. To probe students' conceptual understanding before, during, and after the intervention, use was made of a diagnostic test related to the multiphased process of an ideal gas [D.?E. Meltzer, Am. J. Phys. 72, 1432 (2004)]. The students' conceptions were monitored by analyzing the explanations they provided and by recording the peer discussions of five voluntary pairs. The intervention helped students to realize the flaws in their explanations and increased the proportion of their scientific explanations, the increase being statistically significant in five tasks out of seven. When the same themes were addressed in a post-test, it was shown that the level of accurate explanations remained almost constant after the intervention, and hence it could be deduced that the impact had not been short-lived. In comparison with earlier studies conducted with the same material, our intervention produced a better learning outcome, the difference being 15–20 percentage points. In addition, the number of misconceptions on the part of the students was smaller in our study, although with individual exceptions. Hence, we conclude that the intervention was successful and that similar interventions could also be designed and implemented in other areas of physics.
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Free access
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This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.
Rights Holder:
American Physical Society
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.9.020112
PACSs:
01.40.gb
51.30.+i
05.70.Ce
Record Creator:
Metadata instance created December 18, 2013 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:
April 16, 2015 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update
when Cataloged:
September 12, 2013
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AIP Format
R. Leinonen, M. Asikainen, and P. Hirvonen, , Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 9 (2), 020112 (2013), WWW Document, (https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.9.020112).
AJP/PRST-PER
R. Leinonen, M. Asikainen, and P. Hirvonen, Overcoming students’ misconceptions concerning thermal physics with the aid of hints and peer interaction during a lecture course, Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 9 (2), 020112 (2013), <https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.9.020112>.
APA Format
Leinonen, R., Asikainen, M., & Hirvonen, P. (2013, September 12). Overcoming students’ misconceptions concerning thermal physics with the aid of hints and peer interaction during a lecture course. Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res., 9(2), 020112. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.9.020112
Chicago Format
Leinonen, R, M. Asikainen, and P. Hirvonen. "Overcoming students’ misconceptions concerning thermal physics with the aid of hints and peer interaction during a lecture course." Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 9, no. 2, (September 12, 2013): 020112, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.9.020112 (accessed 28 March 2024).
MLA Format
Leinonen, Risto, Mervi Asikainen, and Pekka Hirvonen. "Overcoming students’ misconceptions concerning thermal physics with the aid of hints and peer interaction during a lecture course." Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 9.2 (2013): 020112. 28 Mar. 2024 <https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.9.020112>.
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@article{ Author = "Risto Leinonen and Mervi Asikainen and Pekka Hirvonen", Title = {Overcoming students’ misconceptions concerning thermal physics with the aid of hints and peer interaction during a lecture course}, Journal = {Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res.}, Volume = {9}, Number = {2}, Pages = {020112}, Month = {September}, Year = {2013} }
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%A Risto Leinonen %A Mervi Asikainen %A Pekka Hirvonen %T Overcoming students' misconceptions concerning thermal physics with the aid of hints and peer interaction during a lecture course %J Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. %V 9 %N 2 %D September 12, 2013 %P 020112 %U https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.9.020112 %O application/pdf

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%0 Journal Article %A Leinonen, Risto %A Asikainen, Mervi %A Hirvonen, Pekka %D September 12, 2013 %T Overcoming students' misconceptions concerning thermal physics with the aid of hints and peer interaction during a lecture course %J Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. %V 9 %N 2 %P 020112 %8 September 12, 2013 %U https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.9.020112


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