Students enter E&M with a higher initial Newton's Third Law response (66%) than they exited Mechanics, most likely due to a winnowing effect¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 2010 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2015: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? E&M students enter with 66% initial response, significantly higher than their Mechanics exit, which the authors attribute most likely to weaker students leaving the sequence before E&M. → Clark 2010

Evidence¶

Clark 2010¶

Clark, J. W., Sayre, E. C., and Franklin, S. V. (2010). Fluctuations in Student Understanding of Newton's 3rd Law. arXiv preprint. https://arxiv.org/abs/1009.0260 doi:10.48550/arxiv.1009.0260

q2 · i? · associational · r1

Observational comparison of entry response in E&M versus Mechanics exit. Mechanics failure rates average around 25%, with an additional ~17% exiting between Mechanics and E&M, so E&M entrants are the top 62% of Mechanics students.

"Nevertheless, students enter with an initial response of 66%, significantly higher than they exited Mechanics. This has two potential explanations. Most likely is a winnowing effect, with the weakest students leaving the sequence before reaching E&M."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Correct responses to Newton's Third Law questions rose while forces were taught, peaked at the end of that instruction and fell back toward chance by the end of the quarter — related
• Instruction on scalar electric potential produces a pronounced dip in correct vector-based Newton's Third Law responses in E&M — related
• Current instruction affects previously learned knowledge (interference), calling into question the accuracy of any single assessment — related
• The interference dip disappears once instruction returns to vector-based topics such as magnetic fields — related