Introduction to concept inventories for medical physics education.

Concept inventories are multiple choice exams designed with the intention to test core concepts on specific subjects and evaluate common misconceptions. These tests serve as a useful tool in the classroom to assess value added by the instructor's educational methods and to better understand how students learn. They can provide educators with a method to evaluate their current teaching strategies and to make modifications that enhance student learning and ultimately elevate the quality of medical physics education. The use of concept inventories in introductory college physics courses revealed important gaps in conceptual understanding of physics by undergraduate students and motivated a shift of physics teaching towards more effective methods, such as active learning techniques. The goal of this review is to introduce medical physicists to concept inventories as educational evaluation tools and discuss potential applications to medical physics education by development through multi-institutional collaboration.

Another look at the core concepts of physiology: revisions and resources.

In 2011, we published a description of 15 core concepts of physiology, and in 2017 we described how core concepts could be used to teach physiology. On the basis of publications and conference presentations, it is clear that the core concepts, conceptual frameworks, and the homeostasis concept inventory have been used by faculty in many ways to improve and assess student learning and align instruction and programs. A growing number of colleagues focus their teaching on physiology core concepts, and some core concepts have been used as explicit themes or organizing principles in physiology or anatomy and physiology textbooks. The core concepts published in 2011 were derived from inputs from a diverse group of physiology instructors and articulated what this group of instructors expressed a decade ago. On the basis of current feedback from the physiology teaching community as a consequence of the use of core concepts in teaching and learning, we have revisited these concepts and made revisions to address issues that have emerged. In this article, we offer revised definitions and explanations of the core concepts, propose an additional core concept ("physical properties of matter" which combines two previous concepts), and describe three broad categories for the revised core concepts. Finally, we catalog published resources for each of the core concepts that provide instructors tools to focus facilitation of student learning on goals (learning outcomes), activities and assessments to enable students to develop and apply their understanding of the core concepts of physiology.

Phys-MAPS: a programmatic physiology assessment for introductory and advanced undergraduates.

We describe the development of a new, freely available, online, programmatic-level assessment tool, Measuring Achievement and Progress in Science in Physiology, or Phys-MAPS ( http://cperl.lassp.cornell.edu/bio-maps ). Aligned with the conceptual frameworks of Core Principles of Physiology, and Vision and Change Core Concepts, Phys-MAPS can be used to evaluate student learning of core physiology concepts at multiple time points in an undergraduate physiology program, providing a valuable longitudinal tool to gain insight into student thinking and aid in the data-driven reform of physiology curricula. Phys-MAPS questions have a modified multiple true/false design and were developed using an iterative process, including student interviews and physiology expert review to verify scientific accuracy, appropriateness for physiology majors, and clarity. The final version of Phys-MAPS was tested with 2,600 students across 13 universities, has evidence of reliability, and has no significant statement biases. Over 90% of the physiology experts surveyed agreed that each Phys-MAPS statement was scientifically accurate and relevant to a physiology major. When testing each statement for bias, differential item functioning analysis demonstrated only a small effect size (<0.008) of any tested demographic variable. Regarding student performance, Phys-MAPS can also distinguish between lower and upper division students, both across different institutions (average overall scores increase with each level of class standing; two-way ANOVA, P < 0.001) and within each of three sample institutions (each ANOVA, P ≤ 0.001). Furthermore, at the level of individual concepts, only evolution and homeostasis do not demonstrate the typical increase across class standing, suggesting these concepts likely present consistent conceptual challenges for physiology students.

Faculty Performance on the Genomic Nursing Concept Inventory.

PURPOSE: To use the newly developed Genomic Nursing Concept Inventory (GNCI) to evaluate faculty understanding of foundational genomic concepts, explore relative areas of strength and weakness, and compare the results with those of a student sample. DESIGN: An anonymous online survey instrument consisting of demographic or background items and the 31 multiple-choice questions that make up the GNCI was completed by 495 nursing faculty from across the United States in the fall of 2014. METHODS: Total GNCI score and scores on four subcategories (genome basics, mutations, inheritance, genomic health) were calculated. Relationships between demographic or background variables and total GNCI score were explored. FINDINGS: The mean score on the GNCI was 14.93 (SD = 5.31), or 48% correct; topical category scores were highest on the inheritance and genomic health items (59% and 58% correct, respectively), moderate on the mutations items (54% correct), and lowest on the genome basics items (33% correct). These results are strikingly similar to those of a recent study of nursing students. Factors associated with a higher total score on the GNCI included higher self-rated proficiency with genetic/genomic content, having a doctoral degree, having taken a genetics course for academic credit or continuing education, and having taught either a stand-alone genetic/genomic course or lecture content as part of nursing or related course. Self-rated proficiency with genetic/genomic content was fair or poor (70%), with only 7% rating their proficiency as very good or excellent. CONCLUSIONS: Faculty knowledge of foundational genomic concepts is similar to that of the students they teach and weakest in the areas related to basic science information. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Genomics is increasingly relevant in all areas of clinical nursing practice, and the faculty charged with educating the next generation of nurses must understand foundational concepts. Faculty need to be proactive in seeking out relevant educational programs that include basic genetic/genomic concepts.

Econ-assessments.org: Automated Assessment of Economics Skills.

Standard assessments can give instructors reliable objective measures of student skills at the beginning and end of a term. We describe seven standard assessments that we have developed for commonly taught economics courses, and introduce a new website, econ-assessments.org, that allows instructors worldwide to set up any of our assessments for their students. Instructors get a link to their chosen assessment that can be shared with students, and students take the timed assessment when they follow the link. At the end of the test-taking period, instructors receive a report that summarizes performance in aggregate and by learning goal.

Active methods in electricity and magnetism courses: Influence of degree, academic level and gender on student performance.

The performance of first-year students in electromagnetism (E&M) courses of different engineering degrees at a Spanish public university was measured using the Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment (BEMA), a standard research-based instrument to assess students' understanding after attending introductory courses in electricity and magnetism. In all cases, Flipped classroom (FC) built on information and communications technology was used. The objective of this paper is to analyse if the gain in the BEMA pre and post-test results is influenced by several factors such as the degree, the students' academic grade, and gender. Moreover, as some studies have shown that the students' retention of the concepts was significantly stronger in active learning than in traditional approaches, a third BEMA test was performed by the students to analyse the long-term retention gain dependence on the same factors. Students from different engineering degree programs were asked to complete two BEMA tests during the course and a third one after a few months. ANOVA tests were used to analyse the existence of significant differences in gain between student degree programs, student academic level and student gender. Results have shown no differences in the BEMA performance by degree program, but significant differences were found by academic level and gender. Retention did not depend on the degree course but on the academic level. Mean gain value by academic level, and gender was obtained and concluded that the best students presented the best gain results and that gain depends on the students' gender: males outperformed females in the BEMA tests, although there were no significant differences in the course grades. It is thus necessary to understand these differences and to implement measures in daily teaching work to improve women's performance.

Do low-tech active-learning exercises influence biomechanics student's epistemology of learning?

Some students have negative perceptions of group work common in several active learning (AL) pedagogies. This study documented the potential change in student beliefs (epistemology) of learning biomechanical concepts over an introductory biomechanics course implementing low-tech AL exercises. Fifty-eight students in two biomechanics courses agreed to participate and completed a pre- and post-test consisting of the Biomechanics Concept Inventory (BCI3) version 3 and additional questions on their perceptions about group work and the nature of learning in biomechanics. Low-tech AL exercises resulted in a large (d > 0.8) mean improvement in student learning compared previous data on lecture alone. This improvement in learning of biomechanical concepts with AL may be unrelated to student perceptions of working with other students, the nature of biomechanical knowledge or learning. There was inconsistent evidence that student perceptions can be changed over a biomechanics course implementing low-tech AL exercises, with significant reductions in positive attitudes on one question and no difference on another from pre- to post-test. While the majority of students had positive perceptions about working with other students, some had negative perceptions, and how these perceptions changed over the term was not systematic with addition of low-tech AL exercises.

Experiential Learning in a Biomedical Device Engineering Course: Proposal Development and Raw Research Data-Based Assignments.

There is a need for novel teaching approaches to train biomedical engineers that are conversant across disciplines and have the technical skills to address interdisciplinary scientific and technological challenges. Here, we describe a graduate-level miniaturized biomedical device engineering course that has been taught over the last decade in in-person, remote, and hybrid formats. The course employs experiential learning components, including a proposal development and review that mimic the National Institutes of Health process and technical assignments that use raw research data to simulate a research experience. The effectiveness of the course was measured via pre-/post-course concept inventory surveys as well as course evaluations with targeted questions on the learning instruments. Statistical comparison of pre-/post-course survey scores suggests that the course was effective in students achieving the learning objectives, and comparison of relative increase in pre-/post-course survey scores across different instruction formats (i.e., in-person, remote, hybrid) showed minimal difference, suggesting that the teaching elements are readily transferrable to remote instruction. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43683-022-00094-z.

How Well Do High-Achieving Undergraduate Students Understand School Algebra?

The aim of this research is to investigate how well high-achieving students entering tertiary-level education in Ireland understand school algebra. As part of a larger project, a 31-item test was developed to assess first-year undergraduate students' understanding of basic algebraic concepts. The test was administered online to students studying at least one mathematics module at tertiary level and received 327 responses. In this article, we study how the subset of high-achieving undergraduates in our sample performed on the test. The results demonstrated a very high level of understanding among students, as befits their level of study and prior achievement relative to the difficulty of the test. However, one subsection of the test stood out as being disproportionately difficult for these students. The section focused on valid solutions of equations and inequalities. The items in question are described in detail in this article as is the associated data. Our analysis shows that this topic is an area of concern even for high-achieving undergraduates and so deserves further attention. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of this research and details of the larger project.

L'objectif de cette recherche est d'étudier le niveau de compréhension de l'algèbre scolaire d'étudiants performants qui accèdent au niveau tertiaire d'enseignement en Irlande. Dans le cadre d'un projet plus vaste, on a élaboré un test de 31 questions pour évaluer la compréhension des concepts algébriques fondamentaux par les étudiants du premier cycle. On a soumis le test en ligne à des étudiants inscrits à au moins un module de mathématiques au niveau tertiaire et nous avons reçu 327 réponses. Dans cet article, nous examinons parmi notre échantillon les résultats obtenus par le sous-ensemble d'étudiants du premier cycle performants. Par rapport à la difficulté du test, les données indiquent un très haut niveau de compréhension parmi les étudiants, conformément à leur niveau d'étude et leurs résultats antérieurs. Cependant, une sous-section du test s'est avérée plus difficile de façon disproportionnée pour ces étudiants. Cette section portait sur les solutions valides d'équations et d'inéquations. Dans cet article, on décrit en détail les éléments en question ainsi que les données qui leur sont associées. Notre analyse montre que ce sujet est préoccupant, même pour les étudiants de premier cycle performants, et qu'il mérite donc une attention particulière. Nous concluons par un débat sur les implications de cette recherche et les détails associés au projet plus vaste.

Identifying the core concepts of pharmacology education.

Pharmacology education currently lacks an agreed knowledge curriculum. Evidence from physics and biology education indicates that core concepts are useful and effective structures around which such a curriculum can be designed to facilitate student learning. Building on previous work, we developed a novel, criterion-based method to identify the core concepts of pharmacology education. Five novel criteria were developed, based on a literature search, to separate core concepts in pharmacology from topics and facts. Core concepts were agreed to be big ideas, enduring, difficult, applicable across contexts, and useful to solve problems. An exploratory survey of 33 pharmacology educators from Australia and New Zealand produced 109 terms, which were reduced to a working list of 26 concepts during an online workshop. Next, an expert group of 12 educators refined the working list to 19 concepts, by applying the five criteria and consolidating synonyms, and added three additional concepts that emerged during discussions. A confirmatory survey of a larger group resulted in 17 core concepts of pharmacology education. This list may be useful for educators to evaluate existing curricula, design new curricula, and to inform the development of a concept inventory to test attainment of the core concepts in pharmacology.

Defining and unpacking the core concepts of pharmacology education.

Pharmacology education currently lacks a research-based consensus on which core concepts all graduates should know and understand, as well as a valid and reliable means to assess core conceptual learning. The Core Concepts in Pharmacology Expert Group (CC-PEG) from Australia and New Zealand recently identified a set of core concepts of pharmacology education as a first step toward developing a concept inventory-a valid and reliable tool to assess learner attainment of concepts. In the current study, CC-PEG used established methodologies to define each concept and then unpack its key components. Expert working groups of three to seven educators were formed to unpack concepts within specific conceptual groupings: what the body does to the drug (pharmacokinetics); what the drug does to the body (pharmacodynamics); and system integration and modification of drug-response. First, a one-sentence definition was developed for each core concept. Next, sub-concepts were established for each core concept. These twenty core concepts, along with their respective definitions and sub-concepts, can provide pharmacology educators with a resource to guide the development of new curricula and the evaluation of existing curricula. The unpacking and articulation of these core concepts will also inform the development of a pharmacology concept inventory. We anticipate that these resources will advance further collaboration across the international pharmacology education community to improve curricula, teaching, assessment, and learning.

Aiming for the Bullseye: Targeted activities decrease misconceptions related to enzyme function for undergraduate biochemistry students.

Biochemistry curricula present a particular challenge to undergraduate students with abstract concepts which can lead to misconceptions that impede learning. In particular, these students have difficulty understanding enzyme structure and function concepts. Targeted learning activities and three-dimensional (3D) physical models are proposed to help students challenge these misconceptions and increase conceptual understanding. Here we assessed such pedagogical tools using the Enzyme-Substrate Interactions Concept Inventory (ESICI) to measure (mis)conceptual changes from Pre- to Post- time points in a single semester undergraduate biochemistry course. A Control group of students engaged with the active learning activities without the 3D physical models and students in the Intervention group utilized these activities with the 3D physical models. At the Post- time point both groups had higher, yet similar ESICI scores of the same magnitude as the highest scoring group from the national sample. Concomitantly, many misconception markers decreased compared to the national sample, although some of these differed between the Control and Intervention groups. Based on this assessment, both pedagogical approaches successfully increased conceptual understanding and targeted many of the misconceptions measured by the ESICI, however, several misconceptions persisted. Surprisingly, the students who used the 3D physical models did not demonstrate a further decrease in the misconception markers. Additionally, psychometric evaluation of the ESICI with our sample recommends the revision of several questions to improve the validity of this assessment. We also offer suggestions to improve instruction and pedagogical tools with further avenues for research on learning.

The effect of course format on student learning in introductory biomechanics courses that utilise low-tech active learning exercises.

Low-tech active learning (AL) exercises in face-to-face (F2F) undergraduate biomechanics courses improve student learning vs. lecture alone. This study compared learning of biomechanics concepts with AL implemented in two course formats (hybrid: HB vs. F2F). Additional aims were to investigate if student perceptions of learning epistemology and learning factors were related to course format. Students (n = 110) in four introductory biomechanics courses (two F2F, two HB) completed the 24-question Biomechanics Concept Inventory (BCI) at the beginning and the end of the course to determine their learning of biomechanical concepts. An additional eight questions were given with the post-test to determine student perceptions of the AL exercises and their epistemology of learning. Learning in the HB format was equivalent to the F2F course format when both implement AL in these students. Student perceptions of AL were generally positive and learning scores consistent with previous research on AL in biomechanics. There were mixed results of the effect of course format with one significant difference of three ratings of the nature of learning biomechanics and one significant difference of four ratings of AL by students. These results should be replicated and potential interactions with student perceptions and characteristics explored.

Toward a Neurobiological Basis for Understanding Learning in University Modeling Instruction Physics Courses.

Modeling Instruction (MI) for University Physics is a curricular and pedagogical approach to active learning in introductory physics. A basic tenet of science is that it is a model-driven endeavor that involves building models, then validating, deploying, and ultimately revising them in an iterative fashion. MI was developed to provide students a facsimile in the university classroom of this foundational scientific practice. As a curriculum, MI employs conceptual scientific models as the basis for the course content, and thus learning in a MI classroom involves students appropriating scientific models for their own use. Over the last 10 years, substantial evidence has accumulated supporting MI's efficacy, including gains in conceptual understanding, odds of success, attitudes toward learning, self-efficacy, and social networks centered around physics learning. However, we still do not fully understand the mechanisms of how students learn physics and develop mental models of physical phenomena. Herein, we explore the hypothesis that the MI curriculum and pedagogy promotes student engagement via conceptual model building. This emphasis on conceptual model building, in turn, leads to improved knowledge organization and problem solving abilities that manifest as quantifiable functional brain changes that can be assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We conducted a neuroeducation study wherein students completed a physics reasoning task while undergoing fMRI scanning before (pre) and after (post) completing a MI introductory physics course. Preliminary results indicated that performance of the physics reasoning task was linked with increased brain activity notably in lateral prefrontal and parietal cortices that previously have been associated with attention, working memory, and problem solving, and are collectively referred to as the central executive network. Critically, assessment of changes in brain activity during the physics reasoning task from pre- vs. post-instruction identified increased activity after the course notably in the posterior cingulate cortex (a brain region previously linked with episodic memory and self-referential thought) and in the frontal poles (regions linked with learning). These preliminary outcomes highlight brain regions linked with physics reasoning and, critically, suggest that brain activity during physics reasoning is modifiable by thoughtfully designed curriculum and pedagogy.

The longitudinal effects of STEM identity and gender on flourishing and achievement in college physics.

BACKGROUND: Drawing on social identity theory and positive psychology, this study investigated women's responses to the social environment of physics classrooms. It also investigated STEM identity and gender disparities on academic achievement and flourishing in an undergraduate introductory physics course for STEM majors. One hundred sixty undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory physics course were administered a baseline survey with self-report measures on course belonging, physics identification, flourishing, and demographics at the beginning of the course and a post-survey at the end of the academic term. Students also completed force concept inventories, and physics course grades were obtained from the registrar. RESULTS: Women reported less course belonging and less physics identification than men. Physics identification and grades evidenced a longitudinal bidirectional relationship for all students (regardless of gender) such that when controlling for baseline physics knowledge: (a) students with higher physics identification were more likely to earn higher grades; and (b) students with higher grades evidenced more physics identification at the end of the term. Men scored higher on the force concept inventory than women; although no gender disparities emerged for course grades. For women, higher physics (versus lower) identification was associated with more positive changes in flourishing over the course of the term. High-identifying men showed the opposite pattern: negative change in flourishing was more strongly associated with high identifiers than low identifiers. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, this study underlines gender disparities in physics both in terms of belonging and physics knowledge. It suggests that strong STEM identity may be associated with academic performance and flourishing in undergraduate physics courses at the end of the term, particularly for women. A number of avenues for future research are discussed.

A national comparison of biochemistry and molecular biology capstone experiences.

Recognizing the increasingly integrative nature of the molecular life sciences, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) recommends that Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) programs develop curricula based on concepts, content, topics, and expected student outcomes, rather than courses. To that end, ASBMB conducted a series of regional workshops to build a BMB Concept Inventory containing validated assessment tools, based on foundational and discipline-specific knowledge and essential skills, for the community to use. A culminating activity, which integrates the educational experience, is often part of undergraduate molecular life science programs. These "capstone" experiences are commonly defined as an attempt to measure student ability to synthesize and integrate acquired knowledge. However, the format, implementation, and approach to outcome assessment of these experiences are quite varied across the nation. Here we report the results of a nation-wide survey on BMB capstone experiences and discuss this in the context of published reports about capstones and the findings of the workshops driving the development of the BMB Concept Inventory. Both the survey results and the published reports reveal that, although capstone practices do vary, certain formats for the experience are used more frequently and similarities in learning objectives were identified. The use of rubrics to measure student learning is also regularly reported, but details about these assessment instruments are sparse in the literature and were not a focus of our survey. Finally, we outline commonalities in the current practice of capstones and suggest the next steps needed to elucidate best practices.