Student misconceptions in signals and systems and their origins

We report on our ongoing investigation on student misconceptions and their origins within the signals and systems module taught in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Signals and Systems, as taught in Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT, consist of two parts. The first part, offered in the Fall semester, covers introductory linear circuits; the second part, offered in the Spring semester, covers the analysis of generic continuous-time linear time-invariant systems. During Fall 2002, we conducted clinical interviews to assess student understanding of introductory linear circuits. Fifty-four sophomore students enrolled in Signals and Systems volunteered to take part in this study. The interview transcripts were analyzed, physical and mathematical misconceptions were identified, and their sources were examined based on diSessa ´s theory of intuitive knowledge, and Chi and Slotta ´s ontological categorization. In this paper, we report on our results and suggest how this understanding can be used to develop more effective pedagogical instruments designed to enhance student learning.