Digital Commons Network^™

Investigating Students' Interpretations Of Ecological Food Webs, Christopher Neil Grissett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

To better prepare undergraduate students for current and future biological challenges, scientists, educators and researchers in the Vision and Change report recommended five core conceptual areas essential for the improvement of biological literacy, one of which is biological systems. Systems are an identified core concept that may help promote biological literacy. One example of a system that students have difficulty understanding is an ecological food web, which consists of parts or components interacting with one another to perform a given phenomenon. The intricacies of this system tend to confuse students and can produce naïve conceptions that could hinder future learning …

Measurement In Chemistry, Mathematics, And Physics Education: Student Explanations Of Organic Chemistry Reaction Mechanisms And Instructional Practices In Introductory Courses, Brandon J. Yik

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The work in this dissertation is presented in two parts. The first part (Chapters 3 and 4) details work relating to students’ explanations of reaction mechanisms in organic chemistry. The second part (Chapters 5 and 6) details work relating to the evaluating the uptake of research-based instructional practices in introductory chemistry, mathematics, and physics courses.

To evaluate learning of organic chemistry reactions, instructors must ask students to construct written explanations of reaction mechanisms. Written assessments should focus on what is happening and why it is happening to promote deeper student understanding. However, for instructors to gain insight into students’ understanding, …