A Two-Tier Multiple Choice Questions to Diagnose Thermodynamic Misconception of Thai and Laos Students

The objective of this study was to diagnose misconceptions of Thai and Lao students in thermodynamics by using a two-tier multiple-choice test. Two-tier multiple choice questions consisted of the first tier which is a content-based question and the second tier which is a reasoning-based question. Data of student understanding was collected by using 10 two-tier multiple-choice questions. Thai participants were first-year students (N = 57) taking a fundamental physics course at Chiang Mai University in 2012. Lao participants were Lao high school students in Grade 11 (N = 57) and Grade 12 (N = 83) in Muengnern high school in Xayaboury province of Lao PDR. Each question consists of the first tier question which is a content-based question and the second tier, a reasoning-based question. We found that most students who answered correctly did not choose correct reasons. The results showed that the two-tier multiple choice questions were effective in diagnosing student misconceptions.