Revealing Students' Misconceptions

Student misconceptions have been identified in a range of subjects taught at university, for example: cardiovascular phenomena (Michael et al., 2002); chemistry (Taber, 2000); astronomy (Zeilik et al., 1999); special relativity (Scherr, 2007); quantum mechanics (Brookes & Etkina, 2007); electrical circuits (Engelhardt & Beichner, 2004); materials engineering (Krause et al., 2003); statistical reasoning (Hirsch & O'Donnell, 2001); java programming (Fleury, 2000); and even school-level material where trainee teachers have been found to hold misconceptions (Graeber et al., 1989; Trundle et al., 2007). It is, of course, the nature of misconceptions that those holding a misconception do not realise that their understanding is incorrect. Given the prevalence of misconceptions in university education as identified in the literature, it is important to consider ways to support students in overcoming their misconceptions in order that their learning may proceed smoothly. The OLMlets open learner model software was developed for this purpose.