Abstract
<p>It is not uncommon for students to find themselves underprepared when entering a post secondary institution. In additional to lower levels of academic achievement, underprepared students may not be aware that they lack the skills needed to be successful and effectively acquire and process information. Because of this, students that enter post-secondary institutions underprepared often require more support in and out of the college classroom.</p><p>In computational based classes, such as math, engineering, chemistry or physics, this support often includes an introduction to effective problem solving strategies. This study introduced faded worked examples as a problem solving approach to students identified as mathematically underprepared in a college chemistry course. Faded worked examples are similar to worked examples but fade out steps for students to complete, allowing support within the problem solving approach as learning improves. The goal of this study was to explore students’ perceptions of this problem solving approach and their belief in its potential to enhance their learning, particularly with students identified as academically underprepared. Overall, students reported that faded worked examples enhanced their overall learning and problem solving abilities in chemistry and the step by step process allowed for a better understanding of the course material.</p>
Highlights
Colleges and universities seek to create an environment where all students that enroll persist to graduation; this has evolved to include embedding support for students that are underprepared for college level work
Students were asked if the faded worked examples presented over the semester required large amounts of mental effort or were difficult
The results suggest that there is a need for purposeful use of effective problem solving strategies, such as faded worked examples, for students identified as underprepared in math
Summary
Colleges and universities seek to create an environment where all students that enroll persist to graduation; this has evolved to include embedding support for students that are underprepared for college level work. Remediation of students that enter college without the skills to be successful costs colleges and universities more than just dollars. Forced into the role of gatekeepers, institutions seek to balance the competing demands of enrollment targets, high standards, and providing support systems intended to retain students through graduation. There is confusion as to what best practices are for remediation and the level of benefit students gain and even less consensus on evidence-based strategies for embedded support in computation based courses at the post-secondary level (Bailey, 2009). Universities that do not adequately address college-readiness experience a decrease in retention rates for students (Chan, 2013)
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