The relation of representational competence and conceptual knowledge in female and male undergraduates
OPEN ACCESS
Author / Producer
Date
2023-06-21
Publication Type
Journal Article
ETH Bibliography
yes
Citations
Altmetric
OPEN ACCESS
Data
Rights / License
Abstract
Background
Representational competence is commonly considered a prerequisite for the acquisition of conceptual knowledge, yet little exploration has been undertaken into the relation between these two constructs. Using an assessment instrument of representational competence with vector fields that functions without confounding topical context, we examined its relation with N = 515 undergraduates’ conceptual knowledge about electromagnetism.
Results
Applying latent variable modeling, we found that students’ representational competence and conceptual knowledge are related yet clearly distinguishable constructs (manifest correlation: r = .54; latent correlation: r = .71). The relation was weaker for female than for male students, which could not be explained by measurement differences between the two groups. There were several students with high representational competence and low conceptual knowledge, but only few students with low representational competence and high conceptual knowledge.
Conclusions
These results support the assumption that representational competence is a prerequisite, yet insufficient condition for the acquisition of conceptual knowledge. We provide suggestions for supporting learners in building representational competence, and particularly female learners in utilizing their representational competence to build conceptual knowledge.
Permanent link
Publication status
published
External links
Editor
Book title
Journal / series
Volume
10 (1)
Pages / Article No.
44
Publisher
SpringerOpen
Event
Edition / version
Methods
Software
Geographic location
Date collected
Date created
Subject
Conceptual understanding; Representational competence; Multiple external representations; Latent variable modeling; Gender
Organisational unit
03815 - Vaterlaus, Andreas / Vaterlaus, Andreas
Notes
Funding
204987 - Conceptual Understanding of Electromagnetism Supported by Augmented Reality Experiments (SNF)