Chemistry Commons^™

Integration Of Scale-Themed Instruction Across The General Chemistry Curriculum And Selected In-Depth Studies, Jaclyn Trate

Theses and Dissertations

In 1982, in response to a growing demand for a scientifically literate population, two organizations, the AAAS and NCISE published reports that proposed using themes to bridge scientific disciplines1,2. The NCISE report identified “9 explanatory concepts” which included organization, cause and effect, systems, scale, models, change, structure or function, discontinuous and continuous properties, and diversity. The AAAS report, as part of Project 2061, identified 4 themes that define science literacy which included systems, models, constancy and change, and scale. In 1993, the AAAS released the Benchmarks for Science Literacy3 which outlined what all students should know or be able to …

Investigating Students’ Basic Needs And Motivation In College Chemistry Courses With The Lens Of Self-Determination Theory, Yujuan Liu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

More graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathmetics (STEM) fields are needed to keep our nation’s preeminance in the global fields of technology and science. However, fewer than 40% of students who intend to major in STEM fields when entering college complete a STEM degree. Therefore, it is important to explore factors to improve student persistence in STEM fields at the college level as well as to understand the interrelationship between student motivation, academic achievement, and persistence. Motivation is strongly associated with student achievement and persistence; meanwhile, academic achievement can also affect persistence. Self-determination theory (SDT) represents a framework of …

In The Tristate Area Consisting Of Kansas, Missouri, And Oklahoma, A Local And State Level Comparison Of High School Chemistry Prerequisites, High School Chemistry Instructor Preparation, And The Readiness Of A High School Student For College Chemistry, Greg Howard

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to create an awareness among secondary and post-secondary instructors as to the student’s preparation in high school Chemistry I and the student’s readiness for General Chemistry I in college for a tristate area consisting of Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Student preparation in this research included chemistry I course prerequisites, high school chemistry teacher qualifications including preparation, and student exposure to rigorous science and math course patterns in high school as these relate to college readiness.

Data was gathered from a local cohort group consisting of high schools in Southeast Kansas (SEK), Southwest Missouri (SWM), …

Persistence In Stem: Development Of A Persistence Model Integrating Self-Efficacy, Outcome Expectations And Performance In Chemistry Gateway Courses, Shalini Srinivasan

Theses and Dissertations

STEM persistence has been an important issue, especially in the context of underrepresented groups based on race and gender. Researchers in the last decade or so have been examining the powerful impact that affective and cognitive factors can exert individually on performance and persistence. It is only reasonable to hypothesize that combining affective and cognitive measures would offer a more thorough understanding of factors that impact students’ performance and STEM persistence. Evaluating these outcomes in the context of gateway courses is particularly essential due to the non-negligible percentage of students who drop out of these courses or decide to change …

Rebecca Roesner, 2017 Dougan Award Presentation, Brian Brennan, Iwu Chapter Of The Aaup, Illinois Wesleyan University

Dougan Award Winners

No abstract provided.

A Qualitative Comparison Of General Chemistry And Advanced Placement Chemistry Students’ Misconceptions Regarding Solution Chemistry, Megan Vandersee

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

There has been much research on student misconceptions regarding the particulate nature of matter and its relation to solution chemistry (e.g. Adadan & Savasci, 2012; Calik & Ayas, 2005; Calik, Ayas, & Coll, 2009; Pinarbasi & Canpolat, 2003; K. J. Smith & Metz, 1996). However, there is a lack of information regarding student misconceptions in areas of solution chemistry such as factors affecting solubility, polarity & molecular interactions and colligative properties. This research compared the misconceptions in solution chemistry held by students who are approaching the end of an Advanced Placement (AP) chemistry course in the high school setting with …

Modification Of A Junior-Level Capstone Course To Incorporate Scientific Writing, Bradley M. Wile

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Investigating The Effects Of Pre-Laboratory Videos With Associated Questions On The Performance And Overall Laboratory Experience Of Organic Chemistry Students, Shareef Gamal Mohamed Kotb

Health Sciences Student Work

Background: Teachers struggle communicating ideas to students (Moreno et al, 2001). One of the aspects of teaching that’s most concerning is when students experience cognitive overload: the total effort exerted by working memory to grasp new information (Mayer, et al, 2002). The educational community found that introducing multimedia in learning minimizes cognitive overload (Mayer, et al, 2002). Little research has related to undergraduate chemistry classes, specifically the relationship between organic chemistry pre-laboratory multimedia and student learning. Purpose: The purpose of this capstone is to investigate the subjective efficacy of integrating pre-laboratory videos for lab preparation in an undergraduate organic chemistry …

Keep Calm And Learn O-Chem, Hope Spargo

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This project is an illustrated introductory guide to organic chemistry, featuring stories, metaphors, and fundamental concepts.

The Use Of Ammonia As A Qualitative Test For Determining When Solid Copper Has Completely Precipitated From Aqueous Solutions Containing Copper(Ii) Ions, M. Olivia Byrd, Carl J. Ohrenberg

Georgia Journal of Science

In this study, two methods were compared to efficiently determine the absence of copper ions from a copper(II) chloride dihydrate (37.274% copper by mass) solution after precipitation using solid magnesium. In one method, a solution color change from pale blue to colorless was used as indication of a completed precipitation of copper. In the alternative method, ammonia was added to aliquots of solution which indicated remaining copper ions with a royal blue complex. For both methods, magnesium turnings were added to a blue copper(II) chloride solution until it was determined, as indicated above, that all copper had precipitated from solution. …

Building Data And Information Literacy In The Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum, Yasmeen Shorish, Barbara A. Reisner

Yasmeen Shorish

The Literature and Seminar sequence at James Madison University has been used to develop the chemistry information literacy skills of chemistry majors for over four decades. These courses have been continually updated to emphasize information literacy skills for the twenty-first century. This chapter describes the methods that have been developed to improve chemical, data and general information literacy at a large, public, primarily undergraduate institution. The focus of the first semester course, described in this chapter, is on skill building rather than teaching specific resources. It is a model of integration and collaboration between chemistry faculty and chemistry librarians. Changes …

Session E-2: Sharing Analogies And Demonstrations To Reinforce Chemistry Concepts, Dave Devol, Angela Ahrendt

Professional Learning Day

Chemistry concepts can often be difficult for students to understand, in part due to the fact that we are discussing with students things that cannot be seen (atoms and molecules!). Analogies that relate chemistry concepts to things that students are more familiar with can be a powerful way to help them understand concepts, as can demonstrations that make concepts come to life visually. We will share a few of our favorite analogies/demos, and ask that each participant share one of their favorite analogies or demos. As we realize it would be difficult for visiting teachers to bring what they need …

Session A-1: Bca Method, Focusing On Mole Ratios In Stoichiometry, Carmela Jones, Deb Scarano, Anita White

Professional Learning Day

Traditionally stoichiometry is done using dimensional analysis. Although effective, it is confusing, messy, and does not focus on mole ratios. On the other hand, the BCA method (Before-Change-After), is clear, clean, and highlights the mole ratios in a chemical reaction. Participants will collect mass data in an experiment and learn how to use a BCA table. Teachers will bring the BCA method back to their classrooms and provide an extremely useful tool for the next generation of chemistry savvy students.

Session C-1: Modeling Stem Activities Into Classroom Practice, Sowmya Anjur

Professional Learning Day

Students understand concepts better when they have had a chance to work hands on with relevant material. Examples will be presented from my classroom where difficult concepts have been modeled into simple experiments with considerable success in enhancing student understanding. Special focus will be given to selected topics that students seem to have the most difficulty grasping. The objective is to enable students to transfer their understanding to solve complex problems with considerable ease and apply their understanding to real world scenarios on assessments. Suggestions will also be provided for implementation of various concepts into the high school classroom.

Convergence Of Indigenous Science And Western Science Impacts Student's Interest In Stem And Identity As A Scientist, Sarah Omar Alkholy, Fidji Gendron, Betty Mckenna, Tanya Dahms, Maria Pontes Ferreira

Nutrition and Food Science Faculty Research Publications

Within the context of North American Indigenous culture, certain Elders are respected gatekeepers to Indigenous science, also known as traditional knowledge. Yet, while North American born minorities such as Black Americans, Amerindians, and Latin Americans may hail from cultures with a similar appreciation of their own Indigenous science Elders, these minority groups are especially underrepresented in Western science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)—both in academia and in the workforce. North American underrepresented minorities experience high attrition rates in academia generally, and in STEM specifically. Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission makes a call to action to Indigenize education to benefit all …

Closing The Science And Achievement Gap: Overlap Of The Next Generation Science Standards And Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Brenna G. Bloome

Departmental Honors Projects

The United States is experiencing both a science gap and an achievement gap within science education. To shrink the science gap and prepare American students for the innovative and rigorous STEM career fields ahead, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were implemented in science education. Additionally, culturally relevant pedagogy was implemented in general education to alleviate the achievement gap. To ensure that all students are prepared to succeed in the competitive global world they are going to be a part of, science education needs to incorporate both NGSS and culturally relevant pedagogy. To examine the overlap of both pedagogies working …

Exploring The Effects Of Different Classroom Environments On The Learning Process. Synthesis Of Thiazole-Linked Porous Organic Polymers For Co2 Separation And Nitro-Aromatics Sensing., Davide D'Urbino

Theses and Dissertations

When attempting to study the learning process of undergraduate chemistry student, the classroom and any interaction that take place within it constitute the social context of interest. By studying how different approaches can foster different classroom environments, it is possible to approach course design from an informed and scientifically sound perspective. Thus, it becomes necessary to identify and quantify the factors that have a positive or negative effect on the classroom environment. Social comparison concerns, comfort levels and self-efficacy have been shown to be social factors that affect each other as well as the learning process and have therefore been …

Assessing In-Service Teachers’ Chemistry Content Knowledge And Self-Efficacy In Teaching The K To 12 Science Curriculum, Yna Camille A. Mongcal, Queena N. Lee-Chua, Armando M. Guidote Jr

Chemistry Faculty Publications

As the K to 12 Science program was formally implemented, interventions to enhance competence and confidence of teachers in teaching science in a spiral progression approach are main concerns. This study aims to assess the chemistry content knowledge and self-efficacy of 38 in-service teachers enrolled in a graduate program from a teacher education institution using a content knowledge test (CKT) and a self-efficacy beliefs scale (SeS) using a mixed-method approach. Quantitative findings reveal that the least mastered topics in chemistry of the teacher-respondents include solutions, chemical bonding, the mole concept, gas laws, and chemical reactions. The science teachers say they …

Non-Traditional Examination: A Study To Improve Academic And Research Performance Of Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Students#, Bimal K. Banik, Ram Naresh Yadav, Sunena Chandra

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

An investigation of conducting a presentation examination instead of a classical written examination method on academic and research performance of undergraduate chemistry students was performed at the University of Texas-Pan American. The results suggest that chemistry students do much better in the presentation examination compared to the written examination at the advanced organic chemistry course. But, the performances of the students in the lower level courses are mixed. However, students do much better in research work when presentation examination was conducted.

The Relationship Between Recollection, Knowledge Transfer, And Student Attitudes Towards Chemistry, Oluwatobi Omobonike Odeleye

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Certain foundational concepts, including acid-base theory, chemical bonding and intermolecular forces (IMFs), appear throughout the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. The level of understanding of these foundational concepts influences the ability of students to recognize the relationships between sub-disciplines in chemistry. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between student attitudes towards chemistry and their abilities to recollect and transfer knowledge of IMFs, a foundational concept, to their daily lives as well as to other classes. Data were collected using surveys, interviews and classroom observations, and analyzed using qualitative methods. The data show that while most students were able …