Abstract:

Differences between students, in terms of academic origin and at the level of knowledge they have when they access to the first courses of university degrees, have being observed last years. These are some of the problems which the teachers should usually face to when teaching the matter of physics, especially if these degrees are involved in the field of science and engineering. The low motivation and importance that the students give to this subject imply additional inconveniences, since they cannot see the need and usefulness of studying basic subjects. Thus, the lecturers must develop different strategies which allow us to equalize the initial knowledge level of students as well as to show them the usefulness of these subjects in their career advancement.

In the present work, a test of previous knowledge was made to students in order they can realize the initial level they have and the level will be demanded at the end of the course. The final objective of this activity was to motivate them to improve their study. This experience was developed in the matter of Physics I in the Degrees in Automation and Industrial Electronics Engineering and in the Degree in Electrical Engineering, both of them provided in the Polytechnic University College, as well as in the matter of Physics in the Degree in Nautic and Maritime Transport, provided in the School of Nautical Science and Marine Engineering. All the matters belong to the curriculum offered in the University of A Coruña (UDC) in the group of basic subjects of 6 ECTS credits and they are lessoned in the first quarter of the first course.

The level test was made in the first classroom after the presentation of the subject. It was common to both subjects and, it covered skills belonging to part of the subjects matters. It was anonymous, and only the academic provenance was requested to the students from one of these options: bachelor, professional training, past courses (repeaters students) or others. The test results were compared attending to both variables: the academic origin and their previous knowledge. Thus, the teacher got information on the initial knowledge of the classroom members and about the development of the different parts of the matter achieved for students from different origins.

The level test was repeated at the end of the course, after having attended the whole matter. The teaching along the course was developed in a similar way in the three degrees mentioned. The same learning material was used in both subjects and the schedule was the same as far as possible.

Improvements were observed in all the questions presented in the test. In addition, these were greater in those issues that at the beginning had given the worst results. Regarding provenance, there are clear differences: the students from the professional training studies showed the less initial level but they were who achieve the highest performance. At the end of the term, after having teached the whole matter, the totality of the student’s level was equalized. Moreover, this effect was observed in all the cases regardless the degree pursued.

Keywords:

Level Test, Learning Assessment, Physics.