Conceptual Coherence and Dominant Misconceptions in the Concept of Force among Higher Education Students through the Administration of the Force Concept Inventory

Abstract

The paper reported here is a part of a larger 8000 student survey to determine the common misconceptions regarding Newtonian mechanics among Bhutanese students. The force concept inventory was used as a diagnostic instrument to probe students’ misconceptions regarding the concept of force in physics. The objective of the research was to determine the extent to which student scores demonstrated conceptual coherence, Newtonian thinking, and identify dominant misconceptions. Data was collected from university students majoring in physics (N = 40), year I and year IV pre-service teachers (N=155), by administering the questionnaire face-to-face. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics. Results suggests that students are not able to consistently apply Newtonian mechanics, and none have reached the Newtonian thinking threshold. Dominant misconceptions were identified in relation to kinematics, Newton’s first, second, and third laws of motion, superimposition principle, and kinds of force. Pre-service teacher educators, university lecturers, and curriculum developers should invest time and resources in identifying and addressing the misconceptions.