Some subscribers to Phys-L might be interested in a post "Do
Undergraduates Comprehend "Concept"? [Hake (2010b)]. The abstract
reads:
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ABSTRACT: In response to my post "Re: Algebra based/calculus based
laboratory"[Hake (2010a) regarding the suitability of the same
conceptual labs for both algebra and calculus-based introductory
physics courses, a POD subscriber wrote to me:
"Do you know of any study that has been done to evaluate the average
undergraduate's comprehension of 'concept'?"
Students' comprehension of "concept" has recently been considered by
Gupta, Hammer, & Redish (2010) in "The Case for Dynamic Models of
Learners' Ontologies in Physics." They wrote (paraphrasing):
"Chi et al. have contended that a reason for students' difficulties
in learning physics is that they think about concepts as *things*
rather than as *processes*, and that there is a significant barrier
between these two ontological categories. We contest this view,
arguing that expert and novice reasoning often and productively
traverses ontological categories."
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Hake, R.R. 2010b. "Do Undergraduates Comprehend "Concept"?" online on
the OPEN! AERA-L archives at <http://tinyurl.com/ydge6w5>. Post of 11
Apr 2010 17:20:09-0700 to AERA-L, Net-Gold, and POD. The abstract and
link to the complete post are also: being transmitted to various
discussion lists.