Validation of a coupled, multiple response assessment for upper-division thermal physics
2022; American Physical Society; Volume: 18; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1103/physrevphyseducres.18.020116
ISSN2469-9896
AutoresKatherine D. Rainey, Michael Vignal, Bethany R. Wilcox,
Tópico(s)Heat Transfer and Optimization
ResumoCurrently there are no assessment instruments available for upper-division thermal physics, though several introductory assessments are currently available. Notably missing from these introductory assessment are items targeting statistical mechanics. This leaves a gap in the content that can be assessed by upper-division thermal physics faculty. In this paper, we present a new, upper-division thermal physics assessment that explicitly addresses both classical thermodynamics and statistical mechanics: The Upper-level Statistical and Thermodynamics Evaluation for Physics (U-STEP). We piloted the U-STEP in multiple classes across various institutions during three semesters, and collected over 600 student responses in total. Here, we present multiple measures of validity and reliability for the U-STEP. We utilized classical test theory to determine item difficulties and discriminations, and differential item functioning to identify potential bias in assessment items that can manifest as performance gaps between different genders and races. The completed U-STEP will be the first upper-division thermal physics assessment available, and one of the first standardized physics assessments to explicitly address identification of possible item bias during the development process.Received 1 February 2022Accepted 10 August 2022DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.18.020116Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.Published by the American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasAssessmentProfessional TopicsUpper undergraduate studentsPhysics Education Research
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