Using FCA for Modelling Conceptual Difficulties in Learning Processes

In the natural sciences, mathematics and technical subjects, universities often observe generally low pass rates and high drop out rates in the first years. Many students seem to have conceptual difficulties with technical and mathematical materials. Furthermore, physics education research appears to indicate that even students who are able to pass exams may still not have a good understanding of basic physics concepts. Some researchers use the notion of “misconception” to describe conceptual differences between intuitive notions and accepted scientific notions. A significant body of educational research exists dedicated to overcoming such didactic challenges, but so far not much Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) research has been dedicated to these topics. The aim of this paper is to develop a better understanding of the structure of conceptual difficulties in learning processes using FCA. It is not intended in this paper to develop new educational methods or to collect new data, but instead to analyse existing data and models from an FCA viewpoint.