Conceptual assessment tool for advanced undergraduate electrodynamics

As part of ongoing investigations into student learning in advanced undergraduate courses, we have developed a conceptual assessment tool for upper-division electrodynamics (E&M II): the Colorado UppeR-division ElectrodyNamics Test (CURrENT). This is a free response, postinstruction diagnostic with 6 multipart questions, an optional 3-question preinstruction test, and accompanying grading rubrics. The instrument’s development was guided by faculty-consensus learning goals and research into common student difficulties. It can be used to gauge the effectiveness of transformed pedagogy, and to gain insights into student thinking in the covered topic areas. We present baseline data representing 500 students across 9 institutions, along with validity, reliability, and discrimination measures of the instrument and scoring rubric.

Figure 1

Problem statement for Q4 of the CURrENT, and related excerpts from the scoring rubric.

Figure 2

Histogram of CURrENT completion times for a subset of 79 students at CU Boulder.

Figure 3

Histogram of total scores on the CURrENT ($N=500$).

Figure 4

Comparison of aggregate results on individual questions and total score, for courses that have been characterized as either “traditional” or “transformed” (see text for discussion). Error bars represent the standard error of the mean.

Figure 5

CURrENT post-test scores across 9 institutions ($N=500$ students); there were 4 standard lecture courses (S1–S4) and 12 PER transformed courses (P1–P8). Courses are not listed chronologically. Error bars represent the standard error of the mean; the two dashed lines represent averages across the two types of courses, either traditional or transformed (see Sec. 6c for discussion).