Survey of physics reasoning on uncertainty concepts in experiments: an assessment of measurement uncertainty for introductory physics labs

TL;DR

This paper introduces SPRUCE, a research-based assessment tool designed to evaluate students' understanding of measurement uncertainty in introductory physics labs, addressing a gap in existing evaluation methods.

Contribution

The paper details the development of SPRUCE, a validated pre-post assessment instrument for measuring students' reasoning on measurement uncertainty in physics labs.

Findings

SPRUCE effectively identifies student strengths and challenges.

Pilot testing informed refinement of assessment items.

The tool provides actionable feedback for instructors.

Abstract

Measurement uncertainty is a critical feature of experimental research in the physical sciences, and the concepts and practices surrounding measurement uncertainty are important components of physics lab courses. However, there has not been a broadly applicable, research-based assessment tool that allows physics instructors to easily measure students' knowledge of measurement uncertainty concepts and practices. To address this need, we employed Evidence-Centered Design to create the Survey of Physics Reasoning on Uncertainty Concepts in Experiments (SPRUCE). SPRUCE is a pre-post assessment instrument intended for use in introductory (first- and second-year) physics lab courses to help instructors and researchers identify student strengths and challenges with measurement uncertainty. In this paper, we discuss the development of SPRUCE's assessment items guided by Evidence-Centered Design, focusing on how instructors' and researchers' assessment priorities were incorporated into the assessment items and how students' reasoning from pilot testing informed decisions around item answer options. We also present an example of some of the feedback an instructor would receive after implementing SPRUCE in a pre-post fashion, along with a brief discussion of how that feedback could be interpreted and acted upon.