Scott E. Lewis

Predicting at-risk students in general chemistry: comparing formal thought to a general achievement measure

This study is an investigation into the ability of pre-assessment measures of formal thought ability and general achievement to predict students at-risk of poor performance in college- level general chemistry. Over a three year period, data on formal thought ability (as measured by the Test of Logical Thinking, or TOLT) and/or general achievement (as measured by the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT) was collected from over 3000 students as they entered a general chemistry course. The outcome measure was an American Chemical Society general chemistry exam at the end of the course. Findings indicate that both the formal thought and the general achievement measure can successfully identify at-risk students in this setting, with neither measure being superior in doing so. The presence of distinct groups of students correctly predicted to be at-risk by only one of the measures demonstrates that formal thought ability and general achievement each represent an independent hindrance to success in chemistry. Therefore, efforts to help at-risk students should include a focus on the development of formal thought as well as a content review. [Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2007, 8 (1), 32-51]

Alternative Conceptions of Organic Chemistry Topics among Fourth Year Chemistry Students

This study describes the conceptual understanding for a series of fundamental organic concepts by fourth year chemistry students from a midsize, southeastern, state university. Student volunteers (n =19) participated in semi-structured interviews using a think aloud protocol. The interview questions were eleven multiple choice questions selected from the Organic Chemistry examination developed by the Examinations Institute of the Division of Chemical Education, American Chemical Society. The questions were chosen to represent a range of concepts that are fundamental to the organic chemistry course sequence. Analysis of the interview transcripts revealed trends in the students’ knowledge and alternative conceptions. Of particular interest, it was found that some alternative conceptions mirrored those previously seen with students in introductory chemistry, indicating the persistence of such alternative conceptions. Implications for instructional approaches particular to organic chemistry are discussed.

Impact of Instructional Decisions on the Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning in Chemistry through Meta-Analysis.

Meta-analysis can provide a robust description of the impact of educational reforms and also offer an opportunity to explore the conditions where such reforms are more or less effective. This article describes a meta-analysis on the impact of cooperative learning on students’ chemistry understanding. Modifiers in the meta-analysis are purposefully chosen to model instructors’ decisions in implementing cooperative learning. Modifiers investigated include: using cooperative learning periodically or in every class period; setting a maximum group size at four or smaller versus five or larger; using closed-ended or open-ended assessments; and assessing a single topic or assessing the cumulative topics in the course. The results showed cooperative learnings effectiveness is robust across a wide range of instructional decisions except no evidence of effectiveness was found with cumulative assessments. The overall results from the meta-analysis provide a benchmark for evaluating future efforts to evaluate pedagogical interventions in chemistry.

Chemistry topics posing incommensurate difficulty to students with low math aptitude scores

The identification of students at risk for academic failure in undergraduate chemistry courses has been heavily addressed in the literature. Arguably one of the strongest and most well-supported predictors of undergraduate success in chemistry is the mathematics portion of the SAT (SAT-M), a college-entrance, standardized test administered by the College Board. While students scoring in the bottom quartile of the SAT-M (herein referred to as at-risk) perform significantly worse on first-semester chemistry assessments, little is known of the topics on which these students differentially struggle. The purpose of this study is to provide insight as to which first-semester chemistry topics present an incommensurate challenge to at-risk students. Students were identified as either at-risk or not at-risk via SAT-M scores. Students’ assessment responses were collected across four semesters of first-semester chemistry courses at a large, public university (N = 5636). At-risk students struggled consistently across all topics but disproportionately with mole concept and stoichiometry. Analyzing the trend in topics suggests that the struggles of at-risk students are not entirely attributable to topics that rely heavily on algorithms or algebraic math. Moreso, at-risk students found to have performed well on mole concept and stoichiometry went on to perform similarly as their not at-risk peers. The results support an instructional emphasis on these topics with reviewed literature offering promising, practical options to better serve at-risk students and broaden representation in the sciences.

Goal Orientations of General Chemistry Students via the Achievement Goal Framework.

The Achievement Goal Framework describes students’ goal orientations as: task-based, focusing on the successful completion of the task; self-based, evaluating performance relative to ones own past performance; or other-based, evaluating performance relative to the performance of others. Goal orientations have been used to explain student success in a range of educational settings, but have not been used in post-secondary chemistry. This study describes the goal orientations of General Chemistry students and explores the relationship of goal orientations to success in the course. On average, students report higher task and self orientations than other orientation. Task orientation had a positive relationship with exam performance and self orientation had a negative relationship with exam performance. Clustering students showed that for the majority of students task and self orientations moved concurrently and students with low preference across the three orientations also performed lowest on exams. Finally, students in classes using Flipped-Peer Led Team Learning, a pedagogy designed to bring active learning to a large lecture class, showed higher task orientation than those in classes with lecture-based instruction.