The Impact of Just-In-Time Prompts in Student Usage of Unit Checking
Open Access
Author:
Driesbach, Ashley
Area of Honors:
Physics
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Eric Hudson, Thesis Supervisor Stewart Anthony Mallory, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
introductory physics dimensional analysis unit checking physics education research
Abstract:
The use of dimensional checking of answers is inherently useful in introductory physics courses, but only if students are able and choose to implement this kind of check. An analysis of homework answers from introductory physics courses showed that many students submit responses with incorrect dimensions on their assignments, and these responses cannot possibly be correct. There have been interventions created to mediate this issue, but they often require significant class time and effort. We propose a simpler and less time-intensive approach - ‘just in time’ prompting of dimension checks embedded into homework. To test this intervention’s effectiveness, students were randomly assigned variations of homework questions that were either modified with a prompt or left as they usually would be and were then asked if they had checked their dimensions at any point while solving the problem. It is still unclear if this intervention works and how effective it could be, as it was more effective for some problems than others. Though some positive impact was observed, future research regarding the effects of this ‘just in time’ prompting could be beneficial for students in introductory physics courses.
