Uncovering the Undergraduate Physiotherapy Students’ Conceptual Understanding Levels and Misconceptions of Simple Electric Circuits from 2018 to 2023

Year 2024, Volume: 18 Issue: 2, 404 - 429, 27.12.2024

Kübra Özmen

https://doi.org/10.17522/balikesirnef.1530869

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate undergraduate physiotherapy students' conceptual understanding levels of simple electric circuits and the misconceptions they brought to introductory physics courses, over five years, from 2018 to 2023. This retrospective study adopted an exploratory research methodology. Using purposive sampling, undergraduate students majoring in physiotherapy and rehabilitation and attending the Physics II course at a private university from 2018 to 2023 were selected as participants. In total, the results of the Simple Electric Circuit Diagnostic Test (SECDT) voluntarily taken by 296 students (209 females and 87 males) aged 18 to 22 were included in the study. The students' responses in the SECDT were analyzed using MS Excel and further analysis with IBM PASW18. The researcher calculated the frequency of each misconception category by adding up the students' responses to all questions related to that category. The independent samples Kruskal Wallis test with post-hoc analysis (pairwise comparisons) was conducted to determine whether student groups in different academic years were statistically different regarding SECDT scores. The results showed that students held five common misconceptions over five years: clashing current model, short circuit misconception, power supply as constant current source model, sequential reasoning, and local reasoning. Moreover, the study revealed a peak in 2021-2022 regarding students having better conceptual understanding levels than other years. Five-year data showed that minimal changes have occurred, and that prevalent misconceptions did not change over time. These findings can help educators when designing their courses, explicitly focusing on these misconceptions to promote a better conceptual understanding of electricity.

Keywords

Physics for non-physicists, non-physics science majors, conceptual understanding levels, health sciences, misconception, physiotherapy, simple electric circuits

Ethical Statement

This retrospective research was conducted in accordance with ethical principles and rules. It was approved by the Başkent University Institutional Review Board and Ethics Committee (Project no: KA23/284).

Project Number

KA23/284

Fizyoterapi Lisans Öğrencilerinin Basit Elektrik Devrelerine İlişkin Kavramsal Anlama Düzeylerinin ve Kavram Yanılgılarının 2018-2023 Döneminde İncelenmesi

Abstract

Bu çalışmanın amacı, 2018-2023 yılları arasında, fizyoterapi lisans öğrencilerinin basit elektrik devreleri ile ilgili kavramsal anlama düzeyleri ile fizik derslerine getirdikleri kavram yanılgılarının ortaya çıkartılmasıdır. Bu retrospektif çalışmada açıklayıcı bir araştırma metodolojisi benimsenmiştir. Katılımcılar, amaca uygun örnekleme yöntemi kullanılarak, 2018-2023 yılları arasında bir vakıf üniversitesinde Fizik II dersine kayıt olan fizyoterapi ve rehabilitasyon lisans öğrencilerinden seçilmiştir. Yaşları 18 ila 22 arasında değişen toplam 296 öğrenci (209 kadın ve 87 erkek) tarafından gönüllü olarak doldurulan Basit Elektrik Devreleri Tanı Testi (BEDTT) sonuçları çalışmaya dahil edilmiştir. Öğrencilerin BEDTT'ye verdikleri yanıtlar MS Excel programı kullanılarak analiz edilmiş ve IBM PASW18 programı ile ileri analizler yapılmıştır. Her bir kavram yanılgısı kategorisinin frekansı, öğrencilerin o kategoriyle ilgili tüm sorulara verdikleri yanıtları toplayarak hesaplanmıştır. Farklı akademik yıllarda oluşturulan öğrenci gruplarının BEDTT puanları açısından istatistiksel olarak farklı olup olmadığını belirlemek için bağımsız örneklem Kruskal Wallis testi ve post hoc analizi (ikili karşılaştırmalar) yapılmıştır. Sonuçlar, öğrencilerin beş yıl boyunca beş ortak kavram yanılgısına sahip olduğunu göstermiştir: Bunlar, çarpışan akımlar modeli, kısa devre kavram yanılgısı, sabit akım kaynağı olan güç kaynağı modeli, sıralı muhakeme (akıl yürütme) ve bölgesel muhakeme modelleridir. Ayrıca, çalışma 2021-2022 yıllarında öğrencilerin diğer yıllara kıyasla daha iyi bir kavramsal anlama düzeyine sahip olduklarını ortaya koymuştur. Beş yıllık veri, genel olarak kavram yanılgılarının çok az değiştiğini, yaygın kavram yanılgılarının ise zaman içinde aynı kaldığını göstermiştir. Bu bulgular göz önünde bulundurularak, eğitimcilerin derslerini tasarlarken özellikle bu kavram yanılgılarına odaklanarak elektrik konusunun kavramsal olarak daha iyi anlaşılmasını sağlamalarına yardımcı olabileceği düşünülmektedir.

Keywords

Fizikçi olmayanlar için fizik, fizik dışı bilim dalları, sağlık bilimleri, kavramsal anlama düzeyi, kavram yanılgısı, fizyoterapi, basit elektrik devreleri

Project Number

KA23/284

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