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Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Physical Sciences and Mathematics

University of Nebraska - Lincoln

DBER Speaker Series

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology

The Development Of A Valid And Reliable Biogeochemistry Concept Inventory, Chris Mead Nov 2014

The Development Of A Valid And Reliable Biogeochemistry Concept Inventory, Chris Mead

DBER Speaker Series

Concept inventories are a commonly used tool to measure conceptual understanding. To date, concept inventories have been published for geology, chemistry, and biology, but no instrument has been designed to measure conceptual understanding at the intersection of those fields. To fill that gap, we constructed a 32‐item biogeochemistry concept inventory (BGC‐CI). Item response theory analysis, using the Rasch model, shows the BGC‐CI is a reliable and valid tool to measure the biogeochemistry knowledge of science majors. Because biogeochemistry is an interdisciplinary field, we were concerned about the unidimensionality of the instrument. However, our analysis showed the BGC‐CI to be acceptably …


Transformations In Matter And Energy: Student Learning And Inquiry To Inform Teaching, Jenny Dauer Sep 2013

Transformations In Matter And Energy: Student Learning And Inquiry To Inform Teaching, Jenny Dauer

DBER Speaker Series

Learning progressions are descriptions of increasing levels of sophistication of student reasoning about a topic based on empirical evidence. Our learning progression framework about student explanations of carbon-transforming processes (e.g. photosynthesis, cellular respiration) describes how student’s interconnected and mutually supporting ideas and practices are deeply embedded in discourse at all levels of achievement. My research is in two areas: 1) applying the learning progression framework for student explanations of carbon-transforming processes to describe the most productive pathways for student learning, 2) extending the research to student reasoning during inquiry activities about carbon-transforming processes. One finding is that students who consistently …