Web-based feedback on conceptual understanding of physics for science and engineering first year students

A good grounding in introductory physics is essential in many science and engineering courses. Many of the students coming into these courses do not have a physics background, and those that do often have poor understanding because of incorrect physics preconceptions. Traditional teaching methods may do little to promote good physics learning or change misconceptions for many of these students. Testing Conceptual Understanding in Physics (TCUP) is funded by the Committee for University Teaching and Staff Development, and is a project that aims to provide timely feedback on the conceptual understanding of students studying first-year physics. The approach is to provide automatic assessment via an easy to operate browser-based computer managed testing system. To promote effective learning, individual students will receive formative feedback regarding their level of conceptual understanding in each key area of physics covered in their particular course. Statistical information will also be available to the instructor to help assess the performance of the class in each of these key areas.