Concept Inventories as a Complement to Learning Progressions

Concept inventories and learning progressions are both incomplete frameworks, but alignment between them allowed conclusions to be drawn about the validity of a learning progression. It also identified gaps in measuring student understanding about acids and bases in the various inventories.

Engaging science academics with evidence based practices: Use of concept inventories in chemistry and physics across eight universities

There is ongoing research on how to improve student engagement and attainment in STEM in higher education, with active learning recognised as a feasible approach for several decades now. However, the uptake of active learning, and other evidence-based approaches, is inconsistent. This paper reports on one aspect of an Australian Government funded Fellowship; the specific scholarly practice of the use of concept inventories, widely associated with active learning, to engage academics in evidence-based practices in STEM disciplines. The ultimate aim was to equip lecturers with the tools to measure student attainment. In close collaboration with academics, pre- and post-tests were administered to students in a total of 12 different courses, constituting over 3000 individual student questionnaires collected across eight Australian Universities. We report on the implementation focusing on; engaging staff, the types of concept survey results made visible to staff not generally accustomed to seeing such results, and tentatively offer the possibility of national data on learning gains. Results show that the majority of lecturers engaged and continued the use of concept inventories. Our study demonstrates that concerted use of concept inventories might lead to increased uptake of evidence-based approaches with potential for improved teaching and learning in STEM disciplines.

Reflections on core concepts for undergraduate physiology programs

Undergraduate education should help students build a deep, conceptual understanding of their discipline, not merely compel them to acquire factual knowledge. The core concepts for physiology (described in 2011), conceptual frameworks, and conceptual assessments are available to focus undergraduate physiology education on helping students understand and apply principles that govern and describe physiological processes. We review the context in which physiology core concepts were identified by a community of physiology educators. We explain the structure of conceptual frameworks and concept inventories and their benefit. We describe how core concepts have been used in physiology courses and departments, as communicated in publications, through presentations at physiology and biology education meetings, and within the Physiology Majors Interest Group (P-MIG). Finally, we share our recommendations and hopes for the next decade.