The Development of a Concept Inventory for Engineering Graphics

A concept inventory is an instrument that helps identify concepts that students do not understand, and identify which misconceptions are the most prevailing. Concept Inventories can also be used in course design to identify potential topics and aid in assessment. Misconceptions can be deep-seated ideas and therefore challenging to overcome in terms of learning. The use of a quality inventory in engineering graphics may help address such matters. Presently, there exists no nationally normed and validated instrument that can be used in engineering graphics courses to assess misconceptions and competencies. In a previous project, a Delphi Study was used to help identify fundamental topics in the area of engineering graphics. The research team collaborated to produce items that attempted to address these concepts. Piloting these initial items helped improve the item stems and provided a starting point on the formation of distractors. Revised items were compiled into a trial instrument, from which data is being collected at the time of paper submission. Analysis will be conducted on the results of the trial instruments and further refinement will occur.