Misconceptions in physics at Politecnico di Milano: preliminary results

Our research aims at verifying if the background knowledge in Physics of Politecnico di Milano learners highlights the presence of some misconceptions which have already been described in scientific literature and tries to identify novel ones. To investigate these possible undergraduates’ incorrect viewpoints an authentic ad hoc multiple-choice test was administered to both 619 freshmen and 370 second-year university students involved in our research. In accord with the significant bulk of data collected one can argue that misconceptions are broadly disseminated among freshmen as well as second-year university students. Moreover, to attend university for six months or one year probably contributes to the development of learners’ general process of growth, but it does not appear to change their misconceptions, independently of taking or not an academic Physics course.