Thesis
An investigation of students' conceptual understanding in related sophomore to graduate-level engineering and mechanics courses
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2007
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/105114
Abstract
There is substantial evidence that many students graduating with engineering degrees do not possess a robust understanding of fundamental physical phenomena. One theoretical 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. Studies of students' conceptual understanding in engineering are rare, but researchers in the field of physics education have established a functional methodology for identifying and addressing misconceptions. The purpose of this study is to identify some key misconceptions in the field of engineering mechanics, while adapting the physic education methodology to engineering, and expanding it to address misconceptions holistically, as suggested by constructivist learning theories. Interviews with students from sophomore-, junior-, senior- and graduate-level mechanics and steel design courses revealed that students' conceptual understanding of stress and bending phenomena is not significantly different at the sophomore-level than the graduatelevel. Students generally expressed beliefs that stress flows like a liquid away from loadings, even when performing analyses or using equations that directly contradicted this belief.
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Details
- Title
- An investigation of students' conceptual understanding in related sophomore to graduate-level engineering and mechanics courses
- Creators
- Devlin Bradford Montfort
- Contributors
- Shane Brown (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; Pullman, Wash. :
- Identifiers
- 99900525117801842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis