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Performance Prediction and Enhancement in an Introductory Physics Course for Engineers
Author(s) -
Thomas Edward W.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of engineering education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.896
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 2168-9830
pISSN - 1069-4730
DOI - 10.1002/j.2168-9830.1993.tb00093.x
Subject(s) - mathematics education , class (philosophy) , course (navigation) , test (biology) , intervention (counseling) , academic achievement , computer science , engineering , artificial intelligence , mathematics , psychology , paleontology , psychiatry , biology , aerospace engineering
Abstract Performance in an introductory physics course for engineers is examined. Class performance is compared with the results of a diagnostic test taken at the start of a course and with performance in preceding classes. The best predictor of performance is found to be prior achievement; the diagnostic tests of basic skills is a poor predictor. It was demonstrated that repeated execution of a particular physics word problem leads to enhanced success and decreased failure; failure decreases by approximately 50% at each exposure. But the improved success on a particular word problem does not translate to a generally improved performance on all problems of its type. An intervention strategy based on repeated performance of “skills” problems does however translate into improved class performance and results in a 30 % decrease in the number of students who achieve unacceptable grades.