Analyzing the Impact of Time Spent on Practice Questions on General Chemistry Students’ Problem-Solving Performance

Abstract

Chemistry teachers globally recognize the value of additional practice and offer students worksheets to enhance their skills and comprehension of material introduced in a limited class time. However, these static worksheets have limitations as they expose students to only a limited range of questions. As a result, online homework systems featuring adaptive technology have gained popularity, as they provide a more comprehensive learning experience and valuable feedback. Despite their potential to improve understanding, it has been observed that homework scores do not necessarily correlate with the exam performance. This is attributed to some students being impatient and relying on the provided solutions instead of finding their own. These students believe that memorizing solutions is enough to solve problems included in exams. Therefore, they lose opportunities to develop the necessary mental and emotional endurance required for independent problem-solving. To investigate the impact of time spent on each question before resorting to solutions, 91 general chemistry students were divided into three groups─minimum, average, and maximum─based on the time allotted for solving intervention questions. The results revealed that the minimum and average time groups benefited equally but the performance of the maximum time group declined. The data on completion rates of the intervention questions pointed out the increasing potential impact of mental and emotional fatigue caused by the extended time needed for each question. Based on these findings, a few recommendations were made for educators and publishers to improve the effectiveness of chemistry instruction.