{"title":"Guidance on the data availability statement requirement in CERP","authors":"James M. Nyachwaya and Scott E. Lewis","doi":"10.1039/D4RP90008A","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4RP90008A","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":69,"journal":{"name":"Chemistry Education Research and Practice","volume":" 4","pages":" 973-975"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142276521","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The use of mobile technology in abductive inquiry-based teaching and learning of chemical bonding","authors":"Justin Dunn, Umesh Dewnarain Ramnarain","doi":"10.1039/d3rp00314k","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d3rp00314k","url":null,"abstract":"Continuous enhancement of mobile devices such as smartphones offer new opportunities for using these technologies in inquiry-based learning environments. Inquiry-based learning has followed deductive and inductive forms of inquiry, while the abductive form of inquiry that target the development of higher-order thinking skills such as critical thinking are less prevalent. This study investigated the use of mobile technology in abductive-inquiry based teaching and learning of chemical bonding for grade 11 physical sciences learners in two South African schools. The study employed an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design that entailed first collecting quantitative data and then qualitative data to help explain or elaborate on the quantitative results. Two grade 11 Physical Sciences classes were randomly designated as the experimental and control groups in each of the two different schools. The experimental group in each school experienced activities in a laboratory using mobile technology-enhanced abductive scientific inquiry through the ‘Molecular Workbench’ web-based simulation using a mobile device, while the control group in each school experienced activities in abductive scientific inquiry in a science laboratory without using mobile learning technology. The principal findings indicated that learners within the control group displayed a significant increase in their performance to create a scientifically accurate hypothesis that is the essence of abductive inquiry, whereas for the experimental group there was no significant improvement in their hypothesis generation capacity. However, participants within the experimental group felt that their use of mobile devices created a sense of learner agency amongst themselves, developed their communication skills, made them feel responsible for their own learning, and also made learning scientific concepts more fun as opposed to what they are normally exposed to.","PeriodicalId":69,"journal":{"name":"Chemistry Education Research and Practice","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142185539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Improving the teaching of entropy and the second law of thermodynamics: a systematic review with meta-analysis","authors":"Vincent Natalis, Bernard Leyh","doi":"10.1039/d4rp00158c","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d4rp00158c","url":null,"abstract":"Entropy and the second law of thermodynamics have long been identified as difficult concepts to teach in the physical chemistry curriculum. Their highly abstract nature, mathematical complexity and emergent nature underscore the necessity to better link classical thermodynamics and statistical thermodynamics. The objectives of this systematic review are thus to scope the solutions suggested by the literature to improve entropy teaching. ERIC and SCOPUS databases were searched for articles aiming primarily at this objective, generating N = 315 results. N = 91 articles were selected, among which N = 9 reported quantitative experimental data and underwent a meta-analysis, following PRISMA guidelines. Risk of bias was assessed by the standards criteria of What Works Clearinghouse. Results from the qualitative selection show diverse solutions to solve the entropy teaching hurdles, such as connection to everyday life, visualization, mathematics management by demonstrations, games and simulation, criticism and replacement of the disorder metaphor and curriculum assessment. The synthetic meta-analysis results show high but uncertain effect sizes. Implications for teachers and researchers are discussed.","PeriodicalId":69,"journal":{"name":"Chemistry Education Research and Practice","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142185542","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"“I’m still here and I want them to know that”: experiences of chemists with concealable identities in undergraduate research","authors":"Evelyn A. Boyd, Kelly Best Lazar","doi":"10.1039/d4rp00094c","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d4rp00094c","url":null,"abstract":"Students with concealable identities, those which are not always visually apparent, must navigate the difficult choice of whether to reveal their concealed identities—a choice that has been found to impact an individual's psychological well-being. Research that gives voice to those with concealable identities is highly lacking, and subsequently, work that describes the experiences of undergraduate chemists participating in engaged learning opportunities is even more limited. This study utilizes a phenomenographic approach through the theoretical lens of Undergraduate Research Science Capital (URSC), to analyze the experiences of six students as they navigate undergraduate research experiences and the effect of their visible and concealable identities. Though all six students described similar levels of URSC, their experiences, especially as they relate to their concealable identities, help to construct a multi-faceted perspective of undergraduate chemists who engage in undergraduate research. These results highlight the need for multiple approaches to equity efforts to ensure that high-impact practices such as undergraduate research are accessible to all students.","PeriodicalId":69,"journal":{"name":"Chemistry Education Research and Practice","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142185540","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jessica D. Young, Betül Demirdöğen, Christopher F. Bauer, Scott E. Lewis
{"title":"A lack of impact of pedagogy (peer-led team learning compared with didactic instruction) on long-term student knowledge of chemical equilibrium","authors":"Jessica D. Young, Betül Demirdöğen, Christopher F. Bauer, Scott E. Lewis","doi":"10.1039/d3rp00148b","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d3rp00148b","url":null,"abstract":"Peer-led team learning is a socially mediated pedagogy where trained peer leaders, students who have completed a course, return to lead students in groups within a targeted course. The effect of peer-led team learning to improve student success in chemistry has been extensively documented but it is unclear if it is just as effective at facilitating retention of knowledge across time. This paper describes two studies designed to examine this possibility, each focusing on the impact of peer-led team learning in second-semester general chemistry on students’ long-term knowledge of chemical equilibrium. The first study measured student knowledge at three time points for one year following enrollment in general chemistry. The second study measured student knowledge while enrolled in analytical chemistry. Both studies used a repeated measures design and found no demonstrable effect of pedagogy on the long-term retention of knowledge. This finding indicates that concepts students hold in first-year chemistry remain long-standing throughout their undergraduate training, conceptual understanding of equilibrium shows ample room for improvement across both pedagogies, and peer-led team learning supports knowledge retention comparable to didactic instruction.","PeriodicalId":69,"journal":{"name":"Chemistry Education Research and Practice","volume":"401 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142185541","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A question of pattern recognition: investigating the impact of structure variation on students’ proficiency in deciding about resonance stabilization","authors":"Irina Braun, Scott E. Lewis, Nicole Graulich","doi":"10.1039/d4rp00155a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d4rp00155a","url":null,"abstract":"The ability to reason with representations is pivotal for successful learning in Organic Chemistry and is closely linked to representational competence. Given the visual nature of this discipline, this comprises competency in extracting and processing relevant visual information. With regard to the resonance concept, proficiency in identifying whether electron delocalization applies in a molecule is an essential prerequisite to using this concept in problem-solving. However, prior research shows that students struggle to recognize whether molecules profit from electron delocalization, and seldom use this concept in problem-solving. As it remains unclear how the variation of structural features affects students’ consideration of resonance, this quantitative study seeks to identify characteristics regarding students’ perception of electron delocalization. To this end, undergraduate students enrolled in an Organic Chemistry I course (<em>N</em> = 699) completed an online survey in which they had to decide on resonance stabilization for molecular structures with varying structural features. <em>K</em>-means cluster analysis was performed to explore patterns in students’ proficiency in discerning resonance stabilization and how they relate to other performance variables (<em>e.g.</em>, time-on-task). The results suggest pattern recognition approaches with students’ attention being guided by singular structural features or structures’ visual similarity to familiar patterns (<em>i.e.</em>, allylic carbocations), with less attention to implicit features.","PeriodicalId":69,"journal":{"name":"Chemistry Education Research and Practice","volume":"61 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142185543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Trisha M Gomez, Charmaine Luciano, Tam Nguyen, Sachel M. Villafane, Michael N Groves
{"title":"Student Success and Experience in a Flipped, Senior Physical Chemistry Course Spanning Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic","authors":"Trisha M Gomez, Charmaine Luciano, Tam Nguyen, Sachel M. Villafane, Michael N Groves","doi":"10.1039/d4rp00074a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d4rp00074a","url":null,"abstract":"A flipped classroom is typically one where some of the instruction occurs asynchronously prior to the scheduled synchronous meeting between students and the instructor. Since 2000, they have gained substantial popularity especially in STEM fields where they have been shown to have increased exam scores and reduce the number of students who fail. In the university setting, many of these studies have been performed in lower division courses. Very few studies have been conducted in senior physical chemistry courses resulting in very little data being collected on this instructional technique at this level. The purpose of this study is to assess student outcomes when flipped classroom techniques are implemented in a senior physical chemistry course. In our flipped classroom, students were expected to watch lecture videos and complete preparation exercises created by the authors prior to coming to class. Then in class, a just in time teaching model was employed prior to students working in groups to complete activities created by the authors. Seven quizzes were performed individually and in groups while three midterms and a cumulative final exam were performed individually. Grade, student opinion questionnaires and survey data collected over seven semesters from Fall 2017 to Spring 2022 will be presented. Our findings indicate that there was only one semester out of seven where the average GPA of the students was significantly higher than the control class which was taught in a traditional lecture style. According to student surveys, the students focused on the importance of the preparation questions and dismissed the importance of completing activity/homework problems given that preparation activities were assigned credit while homework was not. Given that the in-class activities/homework questions resembled the material in assessments like quizzes, midterms and final exams, while preparation questions were scaffolded formative problems meant to introduce students to the concepts to be studied during the synchronous lecture, an important link between course concepts and material on summative assessments was not made. Future changes to address this issue will be discussed as well as how COVID-19 affected students during the pandemic as well as flipped classroom instruction.","PeriodicalId":69,"journal":{"name":"Chemistry Education Research and Practice","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142185544","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kimberly Vo, Mahbub Sarkar, Paul J. White, Elizabeth Yuriev
{"title":"Metacognitive problem solving: exploration of students’ perspectives through the lens of multi-dimensional engagement","authors":"Kimberly Vo, Mahbub Sarkar, Paul J. White, Elizabeth Yuriev","doi":"10.1039/d4rp00096j","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d4rp00096j","url":null,"abstract":"Solving chemical problems entails content knowledge and mastery of problem-solving processes. However, students sometimes lack metacognitive processes required for problem solving in chemistry. This study investigated how first-year chemistry students engaged with the metacognitive problem-solving scaffold Goldilocks Help. Data was collected from an activity, which involved students reflectively comparing their problem-solving attempts to an expert solution. These comparative reflections (<em>N</em> = 373) were thematically analysed to investigate scaffold engagement in three dimensions: cognitive, emotional, and behavioural. Findings showed that scaffold use, coupled with self-reflection, allowed students to identify flaws in their solutions that were either problem specific or related to their problem-solving skills. Students were able to propose improvement strategies, such as posing prompting questions to themselves and finding multiple alternatives for evaluating an answer. Students, who initially lacked structured problem-solving skills, found that scaffolding helped them to slow down metacognitive processes that would otherwise be rushed through or engaged with on a surface level. Students’ resistance to the scaffold was due to fear of making a mistake or viewing the scaffold as requiring extra time and effort. Within a semester, many students demonstrated an improvement in successful and structured problem solving but some required more practice to internalise the scaffold. Our findings also indicated that students’ reflections on problem solving became more sophisticated as a result of continued exposure to the scaffold and iterative opportunities to compare their work to expert solutions, to self-assess, and to reflect. Further research on reflective writing in chemistry education should focus on the ipsative nature of such assessments, <em>i.e.</em> processes focusing on students’ own progress, growth, and improvement, compared to their previous performance, while recognising the power relations operationalised in course-embedded reflections. From the teaching practice perspective, having an awareness of students’ thoughts, emotions, and actions can help instructors differentiate between levels of student capabilities, mindsets, and needs for extra support, allowing teaching efforts to be directed at promoting metacognitive and structured problem solving.","PeriodicalId":69,"journal":{"name":"Chemistry Education Research and Practice","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142185545","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ina Zaimi, Field M. Watts, David Kranz, Nicole Graulich, Ginger V. Shultz
{"title":"“That's not a super important point”: second-semester organic chemistry students’ lines of reasoning when comparing substitution reactions","authors":"Ina Zaimi, Field M. Watts, David Kranz, Nicole Graulich, Ginger V. Shultz","doi":"10.1039/d4rp00086b","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d4rp00086b","url":null,"abstract":"Solving organic chemistry reactions requires reasoning with multiple concepts and data (<em>i.e.</em>, multivariate reasoning). However, studies have reported that organic chemistry students typically demonstrate univariate reasoning. Case comparisons, where students compare two or more tasks, have been reported to support students’ multivariate reasoning. Using a case-comparison task, we explored students’ multivariate reasoning. Our study was guided by the resources framework. One conceptual resource activates another conceptual resource and, successively, a set of conceptual resources. This successively activated set of resources is expressed in a line of reasoning. Pairing this framework with qualitative methods, we interviewed eleven second-semester organic chemistry students while they compared two substitution reaction mechanisms and chose the mechanism with the lower activation energy. We analysed what conceptual resources and lines of reasoning were activated and the variation to which students engaged in multivariate reasoning. Students activated multiple conceptual resources and, moreover, extended their activated resources into both developed and undeveloped lines of reasoning. When constructing their explanations, most students engaged in univariate reasoning. These students provided a developed line of reasoning selected from multiple activated resources, or they provided an undeveloped line of reasoning constructed from only one activated resource. Few students engaged in multivariate reasoning. These students provided both developed and undeveloped lines of reasoning from multiple activated resources. Our findings highlight the variation with which students engage in both univariate and multivariate reasoning. Therefore, we recommend that case-comparison activities scaffold engagement with multiple lines of reasoning in addition to activating and developing them.","PeriodicalId":69,"journal":{"name":"Chemistry Education Research and Practice","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142185546","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Enhancing the accessibility of chemistry assessment for multilingual learners: Understanding challenging features in assessment items","authors":"Eshani N Lee, MaryKay Orgill","doi":"10.1039/d4rp00187g","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d4rp00187g","url":null,"abstract":"Amid the increasing diversity in U.S. education, including a growing population of multilingual learners, this study aims to contribute practical insights aimed at improving the accessibility of chemistry assessments by addressing the language barrier. The study’s rationale revolves around operationalization and implementation of a novel framework, Equitable Framework for Classroom Assessments (EFCA). This framework is applied specifically to general chemistry assessment items with the goal of fostering inclusivity and ensuring a more accurate evaluation of multilingual learners. This study sheds light on the challenges faced by multilingual learners when reading assessment items, recognizing the various struggles with language barriers that impede their effective demonstration of content knowledge. Multilingual learners, representing diverse linguistic backgrounds, were engaged in one-on-one retrospective interviews to identify features of assessment items that they found challenging on the topics of limiting reactant and percent yield. The results identify several challenging features, including elevated vocabulary, irrelevant background information, complex sentence structures, lack of scaffolding and unnecessary contextualization, all of which frequently hindered participants’ comprehension. The knowledge gained from this study provides instructors with valuable insights to enhance the design of exam items. By recognizing and avoiding the specific types of challenging features, instructors can contribute to a more equitable and accessible assessment experience for multilingual learners.","PeriodicalId":69,"journal":{"name":"Chemistry Education Research and Practice","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141941726","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}