Chemistry Education Research and Practice最新文献

The rise of technology and online approaches has challenged the traditional learning and teaching model for first year chemistry of formal face-to-face lectures and in-person laboratory sessions. The COVID-19 pandemic since 2020 has created a rapidly changing environment in assessment and learning experiences for students and led to rapid adoption of online technology within chemistry courses. This study, during 2019–2021, examined the implementation of an active learning platform in a large undergraduate chemistry course. This study was informed by constructivist theories of learning and of relevance was the 5E framework, with learning phases of engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate. A combination of post-survey data and coursework data were analysed. Post-survey results indicated that students positively perceived that the interactive online platform helped them to learn. User statistics data for learning and self-assessment activities affirmed that students gave priority to the self-paced interactive online approach, in preference to conventional social learning activities. Modernization of delivery of the curriculum to replace unstructured independent private study with structured learning and revision activities was of greatest benefit to student learning for lower performing students that were typically mature age students, with significant differences observed for online quiz and final exam results for this cohort of students. Overall, student learning was supported with the introduction of digital technologies in the course. The findings revealed that the self-paced learning activities for chemistry, delivered with an interactive online platform, combined with conventional learning activities can be effective in creating a culture of learning in students and maintaining academic outcomes.

In this study, we analyzed how scientific terms such as principle, law and theory are depicted in Chemistry textbooks used by students in Singapore. There are very few reports in the science or chemistry education literature that explicitly explore the term principle, although all three terms appear in a number of topics in the high school chemistry curricula. The textbooks’ definitions for the three terms were compared with key canonical attributes constituting these general terms. Findings indicate that most of the textbooks did not provide generic definitions of the three terms, and a number of attributes were also not apparent in the specific definitions of the three terms (except for principle). The relationship between laws and theories in textbooks was explored for three exemplars, and this provided useful insights. It is suggested that textbook authors, supported by curriculum developers and teachers, devote more attention to highlighting the relationships and distinctions among the three scientific terms. This can help students cultivate a better understanding of these terms, thus potentially leading to improved overall understanding of the nature of science.

Resonance is a crucial concept in Organic Chemistry that enables both deriving chemical properties from molecular structures and predicting reactions by considering electron density distribution. Despite its importance for problem-solving and learning success, learners encounter various difficulties with this concept. Although prior research suggests that learners struggle to reason about resonance in problem-solving tasks, existing studies are often limited to singular contexts. Given that task approaches and reasoning are context-dependent, little is known about how learners use resonance across task contexts and which characteristics underlie productive concept use. To this end, a qualitative interview study was conducted, in which undergraduate chemistry students (N = 21), all beginners of Organic Chemistry, solved three organic case comparison tasks requiring the consideration of resonance. Through the analytical lens of the coordination class theory, we analysed the extent to which students used their representations of resonance structures, their task approaches, and the variety of resonance-related resource activation and connection in problem-solving across three different contexts. The results show that students’ use of resonance is diverse across the contexts. It can be characterized by a complex interplay of multiple factors reflecting the multifold processes when considering resonance. However, some essential characteristics of productive concept use in problem-solving (e.g., the activation of resources across different granularity levels) could be deduced. Implications for supporting learners’ use of resonance in problem-solving are discussed.

Despite institutional reform efforts to increase use of evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs) in undergraduate chemistry and STEM courses, didactic lecture remains the predominant mode of instruction. Research to inform these initiatives routinely focuses on drivers and barriers to EBIP adoption, with recent work investigating factors associated with faculty members’ cooperative adoption of EBIPs from five STEM disciplines including chemistry. To understand the role of these specific factors within undergraduate chemistry education across a broad set of institutions, we conducted a national survey of chemistry faculty members (n = 1105) from the United States in Spring 2023. The survey targeted constructs that may underlie the cooperative adoption of EBIPs, including faculty members’ perception of (1) using EBIPs as mutually beneficial, (2) having their success and failure intertwined, and (3) institutional climate around teaching. The survey also included items targeting teaching-specific social interactions, another potential aspect of cooperative adoption. Results from multilevel modeling suggest that EBIP adoption is associated with chemistry faculty members’ perception of using EBIPs as mutually beneficial, aligning with prior findings on STEM faculty members’ cooperative adoption of these practices. However, there is no evidence of an association between EBIP adoption and chemistry faculty members’ perception of campus climate around teaching, where prior findings indicate an inverse association among STEM faculty members. Results further indicate that EBIP adoption is associated with the number of people with whom one specifically discusses pedagogy, instruction, and assessment. Collectively, our results demonstrate that differences exist between STEM disciplines and point toward the chemistry education research community's responsibility to further explore EBIP adoption from a disciplinary lens. Our investigation also provides insight into factors associated with the cooperative adoption of EBIPs among chemistry faculty members on a national level; we identify several implications for how chemistry faculty member change agents (e.g., course coordinators, department leaders) may effectively promote EBIP adoption across the undergraduate chemistry curriculum.

Chemistry outreach, a type of informal science education commonly practiced by college students, has primarily been studied by looking at individuals' approaches and perspectives. However, it is much more common for college students to plan and conduct chemistry outreach events as part of a group/club/chapter, not independently. In this case study, we looked at the planning and evaluation processes for a single student group conducting a chemistry outreach event. Using pre- and post-outreach event focus groups, we sought to understand how the group was structured and how they collectively planned and implemented their outreach event. Using the Framework for Effective Chemistry Communication and Communities of Practice, we identified the steps the group took to plan, implement, and evaluate their event, as well as the group's structure and member dynamics. Findings showed a misalignment between goals used to plan the outreach event, and those evaluated when reflecting on the event's success. Additionally, the Communities of Practice framework was able to highlight the membership structure underlying the group's planning process, as well as areas for growth and improvement. Overall, findings provide further support that collegiate chemistry organizations/student groups need more resources and training to successfully conduct chemistry outreach.

Though attitude has been linked to student performance in general chemistry, it is under-researched with relation to organic chemistry. The previous research that has been conducted on students’ attitudes towards organic chemistry has primarily occurred via quantitative approaches, with a current lack of qualitative approaches used to give robust insight into student experiences in organic chemistry. This work, a longitudinal study, builds on a previous qualitative study which investigated students’ attitudes using the Attitude Toward Organic Chemistry (ATOC) instrument. The aim of this study is to investigate how students’ attitudes towards organic chemistry change over time throughout the organic chemistry course sequence. Findings from two cohorts demonstrate that both students’ attitudes and the influences on those attitudes change over time in the course.

With the already widespread nature of multiple-choice assessments and the increasing popularity of answer-until-correct, it is important to have methods available for exploring the validity of these types of assessments as they are developed. This work analyzes a 20-question multiple choice assessment covering introductory undergraduate chemistry topics which was given to students in an answer-until-correct manner. Response process validity was investigated through one-on-one think-aloud interviews with undergraduate chemistry students. Answer-until-correct validity was also explored using an analysis of partial credit assignments. Results indicated the convenience of the quantitative partial credit method came at great cost to the precision of validity issue detection and is therefore not a valid shortcut to more rich qualitative approaches. The repeated attempt processing issue detection (RAPID) method is a novel method developed as a combination of response process and answer-until-correct validity. Results from this new method revealed validity issues that were undetected from the use of either approach individually or in concert.

Retention and underrepresentation of diverse ethnic groups have been and continue to be problematic in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines in the United States. One foundational course that is required for all STEM majors is general chemistry. One way to increase retention and diversity in STEM majors is by targeting students’ social-psychological beliefs about their academic success through the implementation of social-psychological interventions. These short impactful exercises aim to change students’ thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about their academic success and affective characteristics. In this exploratory study, we designed and implemented two chemistry specific growth-mindset modules (GMMs) in two first-year chemistry courses (general chemistry 1 (GC1) and general chemistry 2 (GC2)) at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Students worked on the GMMs asynchronously at two specific time points throughout the semester. Using a mixed-methods approach, we assessed students’: (i) changes in mindset beliefs, chemistry self-efficacy (CSE), and chemistry performance, (ii) perceptions towards failures and challenges, and (iii) perceptions on growth-mindset modules (GMM) after participation in GMMs. Overall, GC2 students shifted towards a growth mindset and away from a fixed mindset, with small to medium effect sizes detected. No statistically significant changes in GC1 students’ mindsets were detected throughout the study period. For both courses, students increased in CSE by the end of semester. Furthermore, GC1 students who participated in any portion of the GMM intervention achieved higher scores on the ACS exam compared to those who didn’t participate. Additionally, students’ written responses highlighted an improved attitudinal change towards failures and challenges after participating in GMMs. For both courses, over 95% of the students agreed that the GMMs were valuable, over 95% students indicated they developed more positive attitudes and perspectives towards challenges, and over 96% students believed they could learn challenging topics with effort, determination, and persistence. While these results show differences in performance, CSE, mindset scores, and attitudinal change after participation in GMMs, it is also important to acknowledge that self-selection into the study may be one of the factors for explaining such differences. Results and implications for practice are discussed.

Central to conceptual understanding of STEM disciplines is visuospatial processing. Despite its acknowledged role in assuring learners’ success, less is known about the underlying reasoning students must employ when solving 3-D problems and the ways in which gaining an understanding of this can inform formative assessment and learning in STEM education. Chemists must utilise their spatial understanding when visualising 3-D structures and processes from 2-D representations and so this exploratory practitioner-researcher study sought to identify the ways in which secondary school chemistry students reason when explaining their predictions about molecular geometry, and how the use of certain modalities was linked to assessed accuracy. Coding of students’ verbal and written responses to the research task revealed that students employed multiple reasoning strategies and conceptual resources to facilitate use of analytical heuristics and imagistic reasoning. Analysis of students’ verbal responses and spontaneous gestures provided insight into the extent of imagistic vs. analytical reasoning and the finer-grained conditions which promoted their use. Importantly, it was observed that despite being instructed on the use of VSEPR theory to find analytical solutions, some students exhibited preference for alternative reasoning strategies drawing upon imagistic reasoning; showing more nuanced and varying degrees of accuracy through their verbal responses and representations gestured in 3D space. This work has pedagogical implications as use of specific reasoning strategies and the identification of key conceptual resources is not readily promoted as classroom practice for learning or assessment. This study therefore raises questions and contributes to the evidence base for attending to learners’ visuospatial thinking, as revealed through the multiple modalities they may use to assist and communicate their understanding, and highlights the significance of this to formative assessment in Chemistry and STEM Education.