Conceptual questions or conceptual problems in

science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...

(STEM)

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

are questions that can be answered based only on the knowledge of relevant

concepts Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs. They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by sev ...

, rather than performing extensive calculations. They contrast with most homework and exam problems in science and engineering that typically require plugging in numerical values into previously discussed formulas. Such "plug-and-chug" numerical problems can often be solved correctly by just matching the pattern of the problem to a previously discussed problem and changing the numerical inputs, which requires significant amounts of time to perform the calculations but does not test or deepen the understanding of how the concepts and formulas should work together. Conceptual questions, therefore, provide a good complement to conventional numerical problems because they need minimal or no calculations and instead encourage the students to engage more deeply with the underlying concepts and how they relate to formulas. Conceptual problems are often formulated as multiple-choice questions, making them easy to use during in-class discussions, particularly when utilizing

active learning Active learning is "a method of learning in which students are actively or experientially involved in the learning process and where there are different levels of active learning, depending on student involvement." states that "students partici ...

peer instruction Peer instruction is an evidence-based, interactive teaching method popularized by Harvard Professor Eric Mazur in the early 1990s. Originally used in many schools, including introductory undergraduate physics classes at Harvard University, peer ins ...

, and

audience response Audience response is a type of interaction associated with the use of audience response systems, to create interactivity between a presenter and its audience. Systems for co-located audiences combine wireless hardware with presentation software, a ...

. An example of a conceptual question in undergraduate thermodynamics is provided below: ''During adiabatic expansion of an

ideal gas An ideal gas is a theoretical gas composed of many randomly moving point particles that are not subject to interparticle interactions. The ideal gas concept is useful because it obeys the ideal gas law, a simplified equation of state, and is a ...

, its temperature''

''increases''
''decreases''
''stays the same''
''Impossible to tell/need more information''

The use of conceptual questions in physics was popularized by

Eric Mazur Eric Mazur (born November 14, 1954) is a physicist and educator at Harvard University, and an entrepreneur in technology start-ups for the educational and technology markets. Mazur's research is in experimental ultrafast optics, condensed matter p ...

, particularly in the form of multiple-choice tests that he called ConcepTests. In recent years, multiple websites that maintain lists of conceptual questions have been created by instructors for various disciplines. Some books on physics provide many examples of conceptual questions as well. Multiple conceptual questions can be assembled into a

concept inventory A concept inventory is a criterion-referenced test designed to help determine whether a student has an accurate working knowledge of a specific set of concepts. Historically, concept inventories have been in the form of multiple-choice tests in ord ...

to test the working knowledge of students at the beginning of a course or to track the improvement in conceptual understanding throughout the course.

References

{{reflist Science education Technology education Engineering education Mathematics education Educational evaluation methods