2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

WIP: A Scoping Review of Concept Inventories in Engineering Education

Abstract

Whether students have a good understanding of basic engineering concepts can affect their ability to master engineering content and develop correct understanding of the advanced concepts they will encounter in upper engineering classrooms. Hence, being able to assess students’ knowledge of basic contents has significant implications for the success of engineering pedagogy and learning at all levels of engineering programs. For example, instructors are better prepared to tailor their instruction to address conceptual misunderstanding or misconception if they can gauge what students know or what students have misconceived about the topics they encounter as they learn in engineering classrooms. Several past studies have identified concept inventories (CIs) as valuable tools for assessing students' understanding of fundamental engineering concepts. These inventories have been used in assessing the effectiveness of teaching methods and curricula in engineering classes.

Researchers have developed various Cls for measuring or assessing various engineering concepts. Because several CIs have been created within, and for the engineering education community over the years, there has been very little accounting of the various CIs that have been developed within the engineering education discipline. Without a purposeful curation of existing CIs, it is likely that instructors who may need these CIs may be unaware of their existence. Instructors may also be unfamiliar with necessary information about the psychometric properties of such instruments. This situation creates a notable knowledge gap in the literature that may require a scoping review that provides a comprehensive and systematic evaluation of these instruments. Hence, a scoping review and a systematic review of CIs of engineering concepts is urgently needed to establish the expanse of CIs in current engineering education literature. Such a review could provide valuable insights for engineering instructors and researchers seeking the most suitable assessments for their courses and the overall enhancement of teaching quality. The objective of this WIP study is to conduct a scoping review of the extant literature on engineering education to identify the various types of Cl that have been developed and used in engineering education. This review will systematically identify and synthesize relevant literature to identify a diverse range of concept inventories used in engineering disciplines. The review will highlight and evaluate extant concept inventories, identifying how they have been used in the assessment of student learning. Also, challenges and limitations to implementing concept inventories in engineering education will be examined. Findings from this review will also provide valuable insights for engineering educators, curriculum developers, and researchers, contributing to the advancement of engineering education.