Academic Journal
Development and Validation of the Moon Phases Concept Inventory for Middle School
| Taitara: | Development and Validation of the Moon Phases Concept Inventory for Middle School |
|---|---|
| Ngā kaituhi: | Chastenay, Pierre (ORCID |
| Puna: | Physical Review Physics Education Research. Jul-Dec 2020 16(2). |
| Whakarāpopotonga: | We present the development and validation of a new assessment tool, the Moon Phases Concept Inventory for Middle School (MPCI-MS), a concept inventory about the phases of the moon targeting students aged 10 to 14 years old. Items in the questionnaire are based on a careful examination of the concept domain of phases of the moon, ideas and concepts necessary to understand the mechanism of lunar phases, as chosen by a panel of seven professional astronomers. Questions and multiple-choice answers were tested for readability with 5th grade students, tested for reading level, and submitted to a second panel of professional astronomers to check for face and construct validity of the items. The MPCI-MS was tested with N = 296 students from grade 5 in elementary school to secondary 2 (M[subscript age] = 10.2 to 14.1). One item about global perspective on lunar phases had to be removed because of poor psychometric properties. The revised MPCI-MS has a post-test Cronbach alpha score of 0.786 and good overall psychometric properties: the mean difficulty index for the MPCI-MS pretest is 0.47, and 0.61 for the post-test; mean point-biserial correlation (post-test) is 0.376. Test-retest without instruction at one-week interval showed high test-retest reliability [M[subscript pre] = 13.696, M[subscript post] = 14.523; t(45) = 1.315, p = 0.192]. We conclude that the MPCI-MS is a reliable and valid instrument that can discriminate between novices and experts, and can be used to assess 10 to 14 year-old students' learning gains on the topic of lunar phases. The final version of MPCI-MS is a 19-item instrument, including two new questions about eclipses, that takes between 15 and 25 min for students to complete. |
| Reo: | English |
| Wāteatanga: | American Physical Society. One Physics Ellipse 4th Floor, College Park, MD 20740-3844. Tel: 301-209-3200; Fax: 301-209-0865; e-mail: assocpub@aps.org; Web site: http://prst-per.aps.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 14 |
| Rā whakaputa: | 2020 |
| Momo tuhinga: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Junior High Schools Middle Schools Secondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Test Construction, Test Validity, Astronomy, Scientific Concepts, Middle School Students, Early Adolescents, Psychometrics, Test Reliability, Science Tests, Lunar Research, Foreign Countries, Test Items, Knowledge Level, Difficulty Level |
| Ngā kupu matawhenua: | Canada (Montreal) |
| DOI: | 10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.16.020107 |
| ISSN: | 2469-9896 |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2020 |
| Tau Tautohu: | EJ1264211 |
| ISSN: | 2469-9896 |
| DOI: | 10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.16.020107 |
| Pātengi raraunga: | ERIC |
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