Development of an inventory for alternative conception among students in chemistry

Abstract

A chemistry concept inventory (Chemical Concept Inventory 3.0/CCI 3.0) has been developed for assessing students learning and identifying the alternative conceptions that students may have in general chemistry. The conceptions in question are assumed to be mainly learned in school and to a less degree in student’s daily life. The inventory presented here aims at functioning as a tool for adjusting teaching practices in chemistry and is mainly designed for assessing the learning outcome during university general chemistry courses. Used as a pre-test the inventory may also give information about student’s starting point when entering university’s first year chemistry courses.The inventory also aims at functioning as a tool for adjusting teaching practices in chemistry. It has been administered as a pre- and post-test in general chemistry courses at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), and evaluated using different statistical tests, focusing both on item analysis and the on the entire test. The results indicate that the concept inventory is a reliable and discriminating tool in the present context.