Chemistry Education Research and Practice最新文献

This study investigates innovative reflective practices in chemistry class through a combination of practical laboratory experiments and theoretical lectures in a high school setting. Conducted in three chemistry classes, the research engaged 33 students in acid–base titration experiments using a conductometer, combined with reflective and metacognitive activities. The aim was to assess students' self-reflection and their ability to integrate new knowledge with existing concepts. A flipped learning approach was utilized, where students first performed the titration experiment and then received theoretical lecture. Reflective tools, such as the 3-2-1 Bridge Thinking Routine and the One Minute Paper, facilitated metacognitive engagement and self-reflection on their own learning processes. Results indicated that while students effectively grasped essential conductometry concepts through practical engagement, their understanding was primarily content-focused. The reflective questions posed by students highlighted their interest in both theoretical and operational aspects, suggesting a need for a balanced approach that integrates cognitive, practical, and emotional dimensions in chemistry education.

This study investigated the development of enacted pedagogical content knowledge (ePCK) among pre-service teachers through teaching practice course, focusing on the influence of different factors on that development. The methodology involved semi-structured interviews, teaching observations, the use of CoRe representations, and peer coaching implementation and reflections to capture participants' perspectives and track changes in their ePCK over time. The findings highlighted an uneven development of PCK components among participants, indicating that while certain aspects like knowledge of instructional strategies improved, knowledge related to assessment showed limited progress. Furthermore, this research pointed out challenges in developing the components, such as assessment knowledge, compared to instructional strategies and learner understanding. The stability of science teaching orientation was noted for some participants, underscoring the persistence of core beliefs in chemistry instruction throughout the course. Additionally, various factors such as the use of CoRes, teaching experience and observation of peers’ instruction were effective in enhancing pre-service teachers’ PCK development. Moreover, peer coaching was found to be potentially a factor affecting PCK development of participants. Findings were discussed in terms of development of PCK components and factors influencing PCK components including the effect of peer coaching.

There has been increasing awareness of equality, diversity, and inclusion in scientific disciplines over recent decades. The aim of this interpretivist study is to understand, from the perspectives of non-heterosexual students, the prevalence and nature of heterosexism in the chemistry classroom. In-depth interviews were conducted with ten students who self-identified as non-heterosexual and had attended chemistry classes at a Russell Group university in the UK. Participants reported both overt and subtle forms of heterosexism, including assumptions of heterosexuality in teaching practices, exclusionary peer interactions, and a lack of visible non-heterosexual representation in teaching content. These experiences negatively affected students’ sense of engagement and passion for chemistry learning. The study highlights the need for chemistry educators to reflect on classroom language, teaching materials, and implicit assumptions about student identities. Key recommendations include using inclusive language and examples in teaching, avoiding heteronormative assumptions in classroom discourse, establishing formal support mechanisms to enable students to report incidents of heterosexism, and providing staff training to challenge heterosexist microaggressions. With collaborative efforts from educators, regulatory bodies, students, and institutional leadership, chemistry classrooms can become more inclusive, supportive, and conducive to learning for non-heterosexual students.

Previous research extensively explored factors that are associated with instructors’ adoption of evidence-based instructional practices. However, an overlooked yet important aspect is exploring instructors’ motivation for implementing pedagogical innovations that are seemingly popular yet lack evidence of effectiveness. One such innovation that is gaining attention in postsecondary chemistry education is specifications grading, which aims to emphasize the learning process while mitigating some of the drawbacks of traditional grading. This study aims to provide insights into chemistry instructors’ decision to adopt specifications grading. In particular, we interviewed 29 chemistry instructors from 24 academic institutions in the United States who currently use this alternative grading scheme. The goal of these semi-structured interviews was to characterize these instructors’ perceptions of the advantages of specifications grading, their potential dissatisfaction with traditional grading, and potential challenges associated with implementing specifications grading in their courses. Our results indicate that instructors adopted specifications grading as a means to address their dissatisfaction with traditional grading. The commonly cited relative advantages of specifications grading include a perception that specifications grading increases student learning gains and provides greater flexibility for students. These findings provide insights into the dissemination strategy of innovation, highlighting a need for direct alignment between perceived advantages of pedagogical innovations to instructors’ dissatisfaction and instructors’ expressed real-world needs and aspirations for their classroom.

This exploratory case study investigates the multifaceted dynamics of student interactions within an undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory. As efforts to improve curriculum design in this area continue, understanding how students engage with one another during lab activities is crucial. This study aims to offer insights into the intricate dynamics of student interactions within the laboratory environment. Observations were conducted in two laboratory sections, each during four distinct experiments. The content, depth, and extent of students’ interactions during lab activity were analyzed using content and interaction analysis. The analysis of student interactions during the experiments sought to generate insights into the relationship between different forms of engagement: behavioral, cognitive, social, and affective. Our findings reveal several factors that influence student engagement, including the nature and complexity of tasks and group composition and dynamics. Our results provide insight into how different types of engagement interact and affect the overall learning experience. While this study does not attempt to draw definitive conclusions, it provides a foundational understanding of the complex student engagement process within the laboratory setting. These insights can inform future investigations and support the development of more effective strategies to foster meaningful student interactions in organic chemistry labs.

In this work, we review research on the teaching and learning of quantum mechanics in chemistry courses. This systematic review builds on previous reviews in chemistry education research that focused on the other highly quantitative, calculation-heavy topics covered in upper-level physical chemistry courses (kinetics and thermodynamics). We aim to provide a resource for both practitioners and education researchers. Based on the topics of the research conducted in our sample (N = 50), we grouped the articles into six categories: (1) students’ general challenges with quantum mechanics; (2) students’ conceptions of the atom; (3) students’ conceptions of bonding; (4) students’ conceptions of the quantum nature of light; (5) students’ conceptions of commonly used quantum mechanical models; (6) curricular materials and instruction. Relevant trends stemming from this work include that much of the research leans on education research in mathematics and physics to support the claim that students have difficulties with mathematics; however, these claims require further investigation within chemistry education contexts. Moreover, a suprising amount of research on quantum mechanics involved students sampled outside of upper-level chemistry courses (i.e., secondary-level and general chemistry contexts).

Chemistry is a creative field focused on exploring new possibilities. However, students rarely look at chemistry as a creative discipline. Therefore, it may be worthwhile to reconsider the way chemistry is taught to younger generations. In this Perspective Paper, creativity as a learning goal is explored and related to goals communicated in chemistry education research. A connection is made to related engineering STEM fields in which the call for creativity has been recognized more than in chemistry education. As in other fields, creative chemists stand out in alternating between creative – and critical thinking, coupled with their field specific knowledge and skills. These skills do not develop in tandem. Probably, it is often not possible, or wise, to address all three goals at the same moment. Assignments that steer to making comparisions are likely to initiatie critical thinking first, assignments aimed at proposing new solutions stimulate creative thinking first. Students' awareness of creative options in their assignments affects their creative learning experience. The mindset students have developed on how science – and their science assessments – should look like could influence their critical – and creative thinking. The creative learning possibilities educators offer, the way they build up their assignments and how they communicate explicitly and implicitly on goals and expectations, could be the key to stimulate chemistry students’ creativity.

Given students' perceptions of the chemistry curriculum as abstract and content-heavy, a lack of passion and motivation, as well as a low level of learning satisfaction in chemistry, have become commonplace issues for students. Therefore, increasing students' chemistry learning satisfaction has drawn plenty of interest and attention. Yet, few studies currently exist that explain how to increase students' satisfaction with their chemistry learning from both personal (growth mindset and grit) and environmental angles (teacher and peer support). Thus, this research intends to investigate how these variables connect to students' chemistry learning satisfaction. A total of 1430 tenth graders were involved in the survey. The direct and indirect connections between these variables were evaluated adopting structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings demonstrated that (1) teacher and peer support, grit in chemistry, and growth mindsets in chemistry all held a significant positive effect on students' chemistry learning satisfaction; (2) both (a) growth mindsets in chemistry and (b) grit in chemistry acted as significant mediators between the associations of teacher and peer support with chemistry learning satisfaction; and (3) (a) growth mindsets in chemistry and (b) grit in chemistry held a chain mediating impact on the associations of teacher and peer support with chemistry learning satisfaction. This may help inform chemistry educational practices to develop effective teaching and learning strategies.

Understanding students' sense of belonging across different demographics is crucial for supporting their learning and attracting and retaining students in STEM education. Studies show that sense of belonging in foundational courses like general chemistry is associated with academic achievement and success, highlighting the need to monitor and support early belonging variations. It was, therefore, aimed in this mixed-methods study to investigate how race and gender affect undergraduate students’ belonging and belonging uncertainty in a large-enrollment general chemistry course. The data were collected using a sense of belonging survey, which was administered to 141 students at the beginning and end of the 2023 spring semester. The end-of-semester survey comprised one more open-ended question where students reflect on their sense of relatability and underlying reasons. The Wilcoxon test was used to compare the beginning and end of the semester, while the Multivariate Kruskal–Wallis (MKW) test was employed to assess differences across gender and ethnic categories. Free responses from the end-of-semester survey were analyzed thematically to understand underlying concerns and reasons. The sense of belonging remained unchanged throughout the semester, but there was an increase in belonging uncertainty. While no significant difference was found across gender categories, the largest difference in belonging uncertainty was observed between the Hispanic/Latinx and Asian American/Asian ethnic categories. Course nature and students’ struggles, majors, career goals and interests, self-belief, classroom dynamics and settings were found to be associated with the overall sense of belonging as well as the increase in belonging uncertainty among the Asian American/Asian ethnic category.

Students from historically marginalized communities are not well represented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. While efforts have been taken to increase their participation in STEM through a top-down administrative approach, these efforts often overlook the unique climate within individual STEM departments, leading to ineffective interventions for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within each distinct community. The Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, created a survey to measure climate around DEI, which we refer to as the Departmental Climate around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DCaDEI) survey. We evaluated the DCaDEI survey following the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing and found that it can provide valid and reliable data for interpretation. Examination of the DCaDEI data revealed that graduate students and postdocs within the same chemistry department hold varying views about their DEI climate, ranging from slightly negative to very positive. It is very likely that these perceptions became more positive with continuous implementation of various DEI initiatives and interventions within the department. Furthermore, we found that a more positive departmental DEI climate leads to a higher sense of belonging among graduate students and postdocs, which is essential for their retention and success. The demonstrated validity and reliability of the data collected with the DCaDEI survey position it as a valuable instrument for assessing and longitudinally monitoring DEI climates in other chemistry departments. Leveraging DCaDEI data to inform data-driven DEI initiatives can help foster more inclusive academic chemistry environments that support the persistence and well-being of all students.