Picturing electricity, investigating models of electric current

Abstract

This research study investigated the mental pictures students have for constructing their concepts of electric current in a simple DC circuit. A pre-assessment survey was created and given to undergraduate students in an introductory physics course. This survey was designed as an extension to prior research of a similar nature that had students draw and write a description about the electrical activity inside a wire used to light a bulb with a battery. The findings from the survey showed that many students did not use charged particles to depict electric current flowing in the wire and that energetic motion was symbolized in both open as well as closed circuits. Results from the undergrad surveys also showed little difference in the types of models made by students with prior exposure to physics course work during secondary schooling or those without previous coursework.