Recurrency of alternative conceptions about electrical current in simple circuits

Abstract This paper describes recent results obtained with 32 students from the Middle School regarding alternative conceptions about electric current in simple circuits. A 14-item test developed at IF-UFRGS was used and validated after application to engineering students from the same university in 1989. In the present experiment, 7 students were selected for clinical interviews, from the standard of answers in the written test. The results of the written test were compared to those obtained at UFRGS and analyzed in the context of the international literature relevant to the topic. The recurrence of alternative conceptions, as observed in the present investigation, has already been widely reported by authors from different countries on different continents. The clinical interviews allowed a more detailed investigation of this phenomenon and signaled the need for new didactic approaches in the teaching of electrical circuits.

摘要 本研究针对32名中学生展开，旨在探究其对简单电路中电流的相异构想（alternative conception）。本研究采用巴西南里奥格兰德联邦大学物理学院（IF-UFRGS）开发的14道试题，该试题于1989年在该校工程专业学生中施测并完成效度验证。在本次实验中，研究人员依据笔试答题表现，选取7名学生开展临床访谈。研究将本次笔试结果与UFRGS此前的测试结果进行对比，并结合该领域相关国际文献展开分析。本次研究中观测到的相异构想反复出现的现象，此前已被不同大洲多国的研究者广泛报道。临床访谈使得研究能够对该现象展开更细致的探究，同时也表明在电路教学领域亟需采用全新的教学方法。