Using the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism

The Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM) was created to assess a student’s understanding of common electricity and magnetism concepts that are covered in introductory physics. In this presentation, how the CSEM was created will be discussed.  Also discussed by the presenters will be how they use the CSEM in their introductory physics courses and their institutions.  The results for the CSEM will be discussed from a variety of institutions and how those results are used by various faculty.  There certainly will be time for questions and input from participants.

This event is free, and is offered online using Zoom.

During the 2025-2026 academic year, we are offering a series of presentation-discussion-workshops to share some of the many research-validated assessment instruments used in the physics education community. Join us to learn how you can use these instruments to inform your teaching, to assess your students' learning, and to contribute to a wider body of knowledge about physics students at two-year colleges.

Facilitator: 

• Tom O'Kuma (Lee College - retired, TX)
• Dwain Desbien (Estrella Mountain CC, AZ)
• Brian Lee (Santa Fe College, FL)

Resources:

• Surveying students' conceptual knowledge of electricity and magnetism (Maloney, O'Kuma, Hieggelke, Van Heuvelen, Am. J. Physics 69, S12–S23 (2001))
• Link to tool (PhysPort.org)