Developed by Saalih Allie, Andy Buffler, Loveness Kaunda, Bob Campbell, and Fred Lubben
| Purpose | To probe students understanding of measurement and uncertainty using open-ended sample discussions. |
|---|---|
| Format | Short answer |
| Duration | 30 min |
| Focus | Lab skills (data collection, data processing, data comparison) |
| Level | Intro college |
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Silver ValidationThis is the second highest level of research validation, corresponding to at least 5 of the validation categories below.
Research Validation Summary
Based on Research Into:
- Student thinking
Studied Using:
- Student interviews
- Expert review
- Appropriate statistical analysis
Research Conducted:
- At multiple institutions
- By multiple research groups
- Peer-reviewed publication
The 9 content questions or "probes" on the PMQ were based on similar probes from the PACKS study (Lubben and Millar 1994).The PMQ was tested with over 100 students at one university. The coding scheme was developed iteratively by a group of physics education experts. A subset of 20 students were interviewed about their written answers. The PMQ has been used with over 500 students at two universities, and the results are published in four peer-reviewed publications and one dissertation.
References
- S. Allie, A. Buffler, L. Kaunda, B. Campbell, and F. Lubben, First-Year Physics Students' Perceptions of the Quality of Experimental Measurements, Int. J. Sci. Educ. 20 (4), 447 (1998).
- A. Buffler, S. Allie, and F. Lubben, The development of first year physics students' ideas about measurement in terms of point and set paradigms, Int. J. Sci. Educ. 23 (11), 1137 (2001).
- R. Lippmann, Students' Understanding of Measurement and Uncertainty in the Physics Laboratory: Social construction, underlying concepts, and quantitative analysis, Doctoral Dissertation, University of Maryland, 2003.
- F. Lubben, B. Campbell, A. Buffler, and S. Allie, Point and Set Reasoning in Practical Science Measurement by Entering University Freshmen, Sci. Educ. 85 (4), 311 (2001).
- T. Volkwyn, First year students' understanding of measurements in physics laboratory work, University of Cape Town (2005).
- T. Volkwyn, S. Allie, A. Buffler, and F. Lubben, Impact of a conventional introductory laboratory course on the understanding of measurement, Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 4 (1), 010108 (2008).
- J. Wilson, B. Pollard, J. Aiken, M. Caballero, and H. Lewandowski, Classification of open-ended responses to a research-based assessment using natural language processing, Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 18 (1), 010141 (2022).
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| Typical Results |
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Summary of coded responses to question 4 (AN probe) from Allie et al. 1998, which contains similar tables of coded results for questions 1, 2, 5, 6, 7.
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The original version of the PMQ, version 1, we released in 1998. There is a newer version of the PMQ, version E, which was released in 2008, eliminates three questions from v1 (questions 4, 7 and 8) and has two new questions, (questions 7 and 8 in vE).
