Introductory Chemistry Course Research Articles

Lifting the Gate: Evaluation of Supplemental Instruction Program in Chemistry

College-level introductory chemistry has a high impact for predicting students’ early success and long-term academic outcomes. Students from traditionally underserved communities are disproportionately held back in this course. To improve student success, the Supplemental Instruction (SI) program at a public four-year Hispanic-serving institution was revamped from a voluntary option to a co-requisite for the introductory chemistry course. The study evaluates the effectiveness of the new format of SI program and explores associated factors contributing to the impacts of the program. Students with or without SI were compared through multiple quantitative metrics, including course GPA, final exam score, DFW rate, and pass rate. Data analysis showed that students who completed SI with credit obtained 0.9 higher average course GPA than their counterparts and performed significantly better on all the other metrics. More importantly, the equity gaps between underserved and better-served students were narrowed down. Furthermore, students who took introductory chemistry with SI still obtained 0.3 higher average course GPA in their subsequent General Chemistry I course than those without it. The findings suggested that incorporating the SI into introductory chemistry as co-requisite is necessary and effective to improve students’ success and narrow down the equity gaps in gateway chemistry courses.

How does using an AR learning environment affect student learning of a radical substitution mechanism?

Abstract As the use of augmented reality (AR) in educational settings grows, it becomes increasingly important to understand how to use AR in classrooms. Here, we present an AR learning environment that we designed for teaching an organic chemistry reaction mechanism in high school chemistry classes. This new environment was tested in six tenth-grade chemistry classes (upper secondary) taught by five different teachers in three different schools over the course of five months and evaluated for effectiveness. Students completed knowledge tests before and after they used the AR learning environment to test their learning gain, and surveys to measure their acceptance of the technology, the cognitive load they experienced, and their attitude toward the use of AR to learn the mechanism for radical substitution. Analysis shows that the knowledge posttest scores were significantly higher than the pretest scores (p < 0.001), with a large effect size (r = 0.8). Student responses showed acceptance of the technology, experience of low extraneous cognitive load, and a positive attitude toward the use of AR to learn this reaction mechanism. These findings indicate that this AR learning environment can be used to teach the mechanism of radical substitution to tenth-grade students in introductory high school chemistry courses.

Examining and Supporting Mechanistic Explanations Across Chemistry and Biology Courses.

Causal mechanistic reasoning is a thinking strategy that can help students explain complex phenomena using core ideas commonly emphasized in separate undergraduate courses, as it requires students to identify underlying entities, unpack their relevant properties and interactions, and link them to construct mechanistic explanations. As a crossdisciplinary group of biologists, chemists, and teacher educators, we designed a scaffolded set of tasks that require content knowledge from biology and chemistry to construct nested hierarchical mechanistic explanations that span three scales (molecular, macromolecular, and cellular). We examined student explanations across seven introductory and upper-level biology and chemistry courses to determine how the construction of mechanistic explanations varied across courses and the relationship between the construction of mechanistic explanations at different scales. We found non-, partial, and complete mechanistic explanations in all courses and at each scale. Complete mechanistic explanation construction was lowest in introductory chemistry, about the same across biology and organic chemistry, and highest in biochemistry. Across tasks, the construction of a mechanistic explanation at a smaller scale was associated with constructing a mechanistic explanation for larger scales; however, the use of molecular scale disciplinary resources was only associated with complete mechanistic explanations at the macromolecular, not cellular scale.

The Need for SPD: A Hybridization-Based Card Game for Students on Introductory Chemistry Courses

The Need for SPD: A Hybridization-Based Card Game for Students on Introductory Chemistry Courses

Understanding Microscopic Interactions in Binding Reactions: The pH Titration of EDTA

ABSTRACT Students beginning the study of biochemistry or biophysics at the undergraduate or even early graduate level are often overwhelmed by the complexity of the systems and the nomenclature. By comparison, chemical systems appear simple, as students can more easily relate to introductory chemistry courses, where the molecules are smaller and bind yet smaller ions. This allows students to write the structure of the entire molecule on a piece of paper and see exactly to which functional groups an ion, such as a proton (H+) in the simplest case, binds. Yet, concepts that are fundamental in biochemical macromolecules, namely proteins, can perfectly well be taught at the undergraduate or beginning graduate level, and probably be more easily understood, by using simpler, familiar chemical examples. The concept of interacting binding sites, which is at the root of cooperativity in protein binding reactions and conformational changes, is already present in simple molecules, such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). In this article, we show how to teach these topics by using the idea of the partition function, rather than a formal algebraic approach, to treat the binding of protons to EDTA. Profound concepts, such as that of interacting sites, appear naturally in a small molecule, where the origin can be easily ascribed, in this case, mainly to electrostatic interactions. Equipped with this understanding and this approach, students will be able to tackle more complicated biochemical systems, in which the molecules are larger, but the concepts are the same.

Beyond active learning: Using 3-Dimensional learning to create scientifically authentic, student-centered classrooms.

In recent years, much of the emphasis for transformation of introductory STEM courses has focused on "active learning", and while this approach has been shown to produce more equitable outcomes for students, the construct of "active learning" is somewhat ill-defined and is often used as a "catch-all" that can encompass a wide range of pedagogical techniques. Here we present an alternative approach for how to think about the transformation of STEM courses that focuses instead on what students should know and what they can do with that knowledge. This approach, known as three-dimensional learning (3DL), emerged from the National Academy's "A Framework for K-12 Science Education", which describes a vision for science education that centers the role of constructing productive causal accounts for phenomena. Over the past 10 years, we have collected data from introductory biology, chemistry, and physics courses to assess the impact of such a transformation on higher education courses. Here we report on an analysis of video data of class sessions that allows us to characterize these sessions as active, 3D, neither, or both 3D and active. We find that 3D classes are likely to also involve student engagement (i.e. be active), but the reverse is not necessarily true. That is, focusing on transformations involving 3DL also tends to increase student engagement, whereas focusing solely on student engagement might result in courses where students are engaged in activities that do not involve meaningful engagement with core ideas of the discipline.

Teaching hydrogen bridges: it is not FON anymore!

Abstract Teaching hydrogen bridges (H-bridges) in introductory chemistry courses is either oversimplified or dogmatically taught; the heuristic that ‘only fluorine, oxygen and nitrogen (FON) form H-bridges’ is commonly used, for example. This rule limits choices, does not match reality, and does not clarify the difference between H-bridge donors (HBD) and H-bridge acceptors (HBA) nor intermolecular versus intramolecular cases. Hydrogen fluoride is a significant HBD but a poor HBA. Oxygen is not always an HBD or HBA. Ammonia is a significant HBA but a poor HBD. There are many examples of H-bridges that do not contain these three elements. All examples of H-bridges should be shown in a way to provide symbolic and molecular structures. Is it necessary to ‘explain’ H-bridges in introductory classes? We conclude not, but it might be necessary to increase the total amount of time to present the material so that students do not rely on superficial rules.

Implementation and Evaluation of a Team-Based Electrochemistry Module in a Large Undergraduate Class

Introductory chemistry courses at the undergraduate level offer students a foundation in chemistry principles and an opportunity to develop problem-solving skills. These principles and skill sets are widely applicable across disciplines, and thus first year chemistry courses are a gateway for many programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). While first-year chemistry courses are essential for STEM students, the resulting large-enrolment classes in universities can lead to challenges in implementing active learning and in helping students to reach the course learning outcomes. The evolving field of Chemistry Education Research (CER) offers data and insight for improving teaching and learning strategies at the undergraduate level. We propose and evaluate an electrochemistry team-based problem-solving module as an active learning component of a large, first-year, blended chemistry course. In this paper, we explore the process for developing the module and evaluate this learning approach through focus groups, a large class survey, and student experience interviews. Through a preliminary case study approach, our findings suggest the interactive module is useful for enhancing conceptual understanding and problem-solving in chemistry, and improving academic confidence in electrochemistry learning outcomes. Moreover, students valued their engagement with the team-based problem-solving modules as an opportunity to build community, learn collaboratively, and successfully approach relevant problems.

Examining How Supplemental Instruction Impacts Students’ Motivation in Organic Chemistry

This study investigates the effect of Supplemental Instruction (SI) on students’ motivation and learning outcomes in an introductory Organic Chemistry course for non-majors. SI, conducted by experienced facilitators, offers a range of academic support for students that may include reviewing challenging concepts, working through practice problems, and answering student questions. To assess the impact of SI in this Organic Chemistry course, we measured several parameters: student engagement during SI sessions, exam scores and final course grades, as well as self-reported motivation levels at both the beginning and end of the semester. We performed a linear regression analysis and observed a positive correlation between SI participation and improved performance on certain exams for SI participants. Further analysis showed that student motivation alone could be driving these improvements. These results suggest that while SI may be beneficial for some students, greater emphasis should be placed on ensuring that students are motivated to learn difficult concepts.

Influence of the use of 3D printing technology for teaching chemistry in STEM disciplines

AbstractTeachers can create engaging learning environments in engineering courses through pedagogical innovation using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Introductory chemistry courses in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines typically include the study of molecular models and periodic properties, which are inherently visual concepts. Unfortunately, these concepts are often taught using two‐dimensional drawings, although three‐dimensional (3D) printing offers an engaging approach to learning chemistry in these disciplines. Undergraduate engineering students are provided with modelling software and a 3D printer, allowing them to construct 3D models of basic Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion theory shapes using polylactic acid. The results of this research showed that the average score of the students in the control group was lower than that of the students in the 3D technology group. This research has found that the learning curve for modelling and the time required for printing are high, limiting the practical application of this exercise in student laboratory classes. However, in an appropriate environment, 3D printing technology has the potential to be a valuable tool for teaching and learning molecular models and periodic properties of chemistry courses in STEM disciplines.

A National Snapshot of Introductory Chemistry Instructors and Their Instructional Practices.

The effectiveness of active learning on promoting students' academic outcomes and persistence has been established in the literature. However, despite the effort of purposeful change agents, the uptake of active learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is slow. While previous research from the chemistry education community has provided insights into the implementation of specific active learning strategies across the United States, the extent to which chemistry instructors leverage these strategies in general remains unknown. This article presents the results of a national survey aimed at exploring introductory chemistry instructors' knowledge and implementation of active learning, variations on this knowledge, and use across tenure statuses and institution types. This paper also aims to address the gap in the literature in our understanding of the characteristics of instructors of these courses. We thus provide a description of instructors' demographics, training, teaching experience, and teaching responsibilities. Our findings reveal that instructors in these courses are prominently males of European descent. Additionally, instructors come into their teaching position with minimal pedagogical training and participate mainly in short training once in their position. While the majority of instructors have knowledge of specific active learning strategies, their consistent implementation remains limited, with lecturing still being the instructional practice of choice. Variations were found between institution types and across tenure statuses within institutions in terms of pedagogical training, use of specific active learning strategies, and proportion of class time spent lecturing. The findings provide a baseline for future studies that aim to assess the effectiveness of interventions fostering the implementation of active learning in introductory chemistry courses and highlight the critical need for improved communication about teaching practices across institutions and tenure statuses.

Characteristics of departments with high-use of active learning in introductory STEM courses: implications for departmental transformation

BackgroundIt is well established in the literature that active learning instruction in introductory STEM courses results in many desired student outcomes. Yet, regular use of high-quality active learning is not the norm in many STEM departments. Using results of a national survey, we identified 16 departments where multiple instructors reported using high levels of active learning in their introductory chemistry, mathematics, or physics courses. We conducted interviews with 27 instructors in these 16 departments to better understand the characteristics of such departments.ResultsUsing grounded theory methodology, we developed a model that highlights relevant characteristics of departments with high use of active learning instruction in their introductory courses. According to this model, there are four main, interconnected characteristics of such departments: motivated people, knowledge about active learning, opportunities, and cultures and structures that support active learning. These departments have one or more people who are motivated to promote the use of active learning. These motivated people have knowledge about active learning as well as access to opportunities to promote the use of active learning. Finally, these departments have cultures and structures that support the use of active learning. In these departments, there is a positive feedback loop that works iteratively over time, where motivated people shape cultures/structures and these cultures/structures in turn increase the number and level of commitment of the motivated people. A second positive feedback loop was found between the positive outcome of using active learning instruction and the strengthening of cultures/structures supportive of active learning.ConclusionsAccording to the model, there are two main take-away messages for those interested in promoting the use of active learning. The first is that all four components of the model are important. A weak or missing component may limit the desired outcome. The second is that desired outcomes are obtained and strengthened over time through two positive feedback loops. Thus, there is a temporal aspect to change. In all of the departments that were part of our study, the changes took at minimum several years to enact. While our model was developed using only high-use of active learning departments and future work is needed to develop the model into a full change theory, our results do suggest that change efforts may be made more effective by increasing the robustness of the four components and the connections between them.

Assessment of the effectiveness of an introductory general chemistry course in dentistry students enrolled in a biochemistry course.

As a strategy to carry out a better achievement in the Biochemistry course, undergraduate dentistry education manage a traditional course on the basic concepts of general chemistry necessary in the understanding of Biochemistry. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of learning outcome, we aimed to develop an evaluation tool that was applied to first-year dental students before and after receiving the general chemistry classes. Randomized trial consisted of 50 items distributed in 10 categories. The evaluation was applied to the students who took the Oral Biology course in the periods comprising 2020, 2021, and 2022 to a population of 109 students. Our results showed that after receiving the course the improvement rate was 20.71% with significant differences in each category. In conclusion, the introductory course allows students coming from different school systems to attend Biochemistry with similar knowledge of general chemistry.

Modeling students’ epistemic cognition in undergraduate chemistry courses: a review

Thinking about knowledge and knowing (i.e., epistemic cognition) is an important part of student learning and has implications for how they apply their knowledge in future courses, careers, and other aspects of their lives. Three classes of models have emerged from research on epistemic cognition: developmental models, dimensional models, and resources models. These models can be distinguished by how value is assigned to particular epistemic ideas (hierarchy), how consistent epistemic ideas are across time and/or context (stability), and the degree to which people are consciously aware of their own epistemic ideas (explicitness). To determine the extent to which these models inform research on epistemic cognition in chemistry education specifically, we reviewed 54 articles on undergraduate chemistry students’ epistemologies. First, we sought to describe the articles in terms of the courses and unit of study sampled, the methods and study designs implemented, and the means of data collection utilized. We found that most studies focused on the epistemic cognition of individual students enrolled in introductory chemistry courses. The majority were qualitative and employed exploratory or quasi-experimental designs, but a variety of data collection methods were represented. We then coded each article for how it treated epistemic cognition in terms of hierarchy, stability, and explicitness. The overwhelming majority of articles performed a hierarchical analysis of students’ epistemic ideas. An equal number of articles treated epistemic cognition as stable versus unstable across time and/or context. Likewise, about half of the studies asked students directly about their epistemic cognition while approximately half of the studies inferred it from students’ responses, course observations, or written artifacts. These codes were then used to infer the models of epistemic cognition underlying these studies. Eighteen studies were mostly consistent with a developmental or dimensional model, ten were mostly aligned with a resources model, and twenty-six did not provide enough information to reasonably infer a model. We advocate for considering how models of epistemic cognition—and their assumptions about hierarchy, stability, and explicitness—influence the design of studies on students’ epistemic cognition and the conclusions that can be reasonably drawn from them.

Widening university participation in learning using students’ contextualised storytelling in general chemistry

Many students find introductory general chemistry courses difficult because they feel alienated by traditional approaches to teaching and learning. This can become particularly problematic in laboratory sessions where students simply follow processes and procedures that students can view as being mundane and lacking creativity. Contextualised storytelling offers a novel pedagogical approach to help students connect and make sense of chemistry ideas in the context of their own life experiences. The current study implemented the CLEAR (chemistry learning via experiential academic reflection) approach to contextualised storytelling as a sequence of four assignments across a laboratory course for first-year students. The research explored students’ experiences writing contextualised stories to make sense of and learn chemistry. Using hermeneutics as a methodology, the data collected included participants’ written contextualised stories, semi-structured interview recordings, and field notes. While the CLEAR approach differs from other approaches to storytelling in chemistry education, the current study suggests that CLEAR can make positive contributions to student learning. The findings showed that, although many students initially resisted or felt confused by the new approach, CLEAR helped students see the connection and relevance of chemistry concepts to their lives. Students also recognized the importance of self-directed learning while writing their CLEAR stories, which suggests that CLEAR engaged students in learning that was active and organic. Furthermore, writing CLEAR stories supported students in talking to people about scientific concepts they learned in class, which suggests that writing the CLEAR stories: (a) helped students find the relevancy of the ideas to the degree that they felt they could share the ideas in their own words outside of class and (b) increased students’ interest in the course and what they were learning to the degree that they wanted to share it. Implementing CLEAR as multiple assignments across the course appears important and valuable because students refined their thinking and writing skills through iteration within and across CLEAR stories.

Capturing students' identification of the relevance of organic chemistry in writing

Appealing to students' affect in academic settings, such as demonstrating chemistry's relevance to their life, is one strategy instructors may use to support students’ in learning. This study investigates the types of connections that students make to organic chemistry when responding to an open-ended writing assignment. Students enrolled in an introductory level organic chemistry course were asked to choose and write about an organic molecule they felt was important to their life, in doing so students wrote about the molecule's relevance to their life. Analysis of the writing was supported by semi-structured interviews with a subset of the students in which they discussed their approach to completing the assigment. Conclusions from this study suggest that students successfully made connections between their chosen moleucle and their life. Considered through the lens of relevance, students can both seek and find relevance in organic chemistry topics on a personal, societal, or vocational level; and therefore may reinforce their comprehension and appreciation of chemistry.

Analysis of organic chemistry students’ developing reasoning elicited by a scaffolded case comparison activity

Recent efforts in organic chemistry education research focus on investigating activities and strategies designed to elicit students’ mechanistic reasoning. This study investigates how a scaffolded case comparison activity implemented in an introductory organic chemistry course elicits and supports students’ mechanistic reasoning in an authentic classroom setting. The activity included an adaptation of a previously reported reasoning scaffold to support small-group student discussions comparing organic reactions. We analyzed students’ written responses to the in-class activity using Hammer's resources framework and Toulmin's argumentation model, interwoven to create an anti-deficit approach to exploring students’ developing reasoning. The analysis of students’ written artifacts sought to identify ways in which a scaffolded case comparison implemented in a collaborative class setting may support students’ engagement in complex reasoning and argumentation development. We found that the in-class activity elicited students’ writing about various aspects of mechanistic reasoning, including identifying explicit and implicit properties, dynamic reasoning, and multivariate reasoning. These findings indicate that the activity can engage students in complex mechanistic reasoning aspects in the classroom setting. Furthermore, this study extends the literature by detailing the nuances of students’ developing causal reasoning with energetic and electrostatic accounts as shown in their writing. The results highlight students’ emerging causal reasoning with varying levels of complexity and conceptual integration. This study provides direct implications for instructors seeking to implement similar classroom activities. The findings indicate directions for future research on the development of instructional activities and tools that further support students’ developing causal reasoning, such as adapting existing scaffolding structures to support argumentation development and the integration of challenging concepts such as energetics.

Recurrent gestures in organic chemistry in tertiary education: creating emblems through material and embodied actions

ABSTRACT Background Science teaching and learning, as discursive practices, occur through the utilization of various semiotic modes. Gestures play a pivotal role as an embodied mode that acts in conjunction with speech in oral communication settings, such as classrooms. Previous research on gestures in chemistry and science education has illuminated how interactions involving different types of gestures can enhance learning opportunities for students. However, the investigation of recurrent gestures and their potential function as emblems in classroom discourse remains unexplored. Purpose The objective of this article is to illustrate how catchments or recurrent gestures were constructed, used, and, to some extent, evolved into emblems within the interaction between an organic chemistry teacher and her students throughout an entire semester. Sample, design and methods For the duration of an entire semester, we non-intrusively observed and recorded video footage of one class from an introductory organic chemistry course taught by an experienced university teacher. Our analysis to identify recurrent gestures involved a thorough examination of the lesson recordings. In addition, we scrutinized other semiotic modes that coincided with the recurrent gestures and assessed the metafunction of the words spoken during gesturing. Results During our observation, we noted the occurrence of 23 catchments, with four of them recurring more than 100 times throughout the semester. These four recurrent gestures were closely tied to fundamental concepts considered crucial in the realm of organic chemistry. Remarkably, three out of these four catchments were consistently associated with visual representations. Conclusion Recurrent gestures serve as a means to embody and impart materiality to exceedingly abstract content. By employing such gestures, the teacher managed to associate unfamiliar and abstract domains with familiar and concrete domains. This process of materialization and embodiment aids in perceiving these concepts as tangible entities that can be manipulated in accordance with their own rules.

Integration of STEM Education to Humanities: Examining Interdisciplinary Links in Basic Chemistry Course According to Student Views

Science standards for the next generation, as well as other educational reforms, encourage the creation of solid ties between STEM disciplines. Education societies regard integrated STEM as the best practice in various fields. Besides, the integration of disciplines other than STEM has yet to be adequately studied, and the integration of artistic disciplines is limited. Humanist STEM combines the STEM studies in terms of culture, human relationships, level of well-being, and values. This study investigates whether incorporating humanities in an electronic chemistry lecture affects student communication between course themes and interdisciplinary viewpoints. Students were explicitly asked to link STEM subjects between the scientific and the non-scientific, between the scientific and the physical reality from a broader scientific view. This study was conducted with 85 first-year student-teacher candidates studying at the Faculty of Education, Department of Mathematics and Science Education of a Western Black Sea region university in the 2019-2020 academic year. In the study, homework was designed to make evaluations throughout the course. In addition, cross-sectional study analysis was used in the study. A 5-point Likert-type scale was used. All data were analyzed with StatDisk 13 using the required 2 (chi-square) tests. In the data obtained from the research, most students agree that education creates a strong relationship and understanding between science and other undergraduate courses and STEM fields, humanities, and the environment in which they live. This has been observed in traditional (practical) and interdisciplinary (post-implementation) approaches. The findings from this study contribute to the idea of positively altering interdisciplinary perspectives as part of an introductory chemistry course. Today, it is seen that multidisciplinary science is widespread in the fields, and our academic courses need to be shaped according to the specific discipline approaches desired.

Learning Loss Analysis of Introductory Concepts of Chemistry for Students After The COVID-19 Pandemic

This study analyzes the learning loss of first-year students' chemistry concepts at FKIP, University of Mataram. The research sample was 112 first-year students taking introductory chemistry courses at FKIP University of Mataram, 14 male students (12.5%) and 98 female students (87.5%)—these students, as a whole, face two years of online learning in high school. The primary data in this study is the analysis of respondents' test results related to prior knowledge of chemistry concepts during one semester of lectures. The results showed that the idea of limiting reagents and percent composition showed the highest learning loss (53.57%), while the concept of moles and molar mass and matter showed the lowest learning loss percentage of 32.14%. Furthermore, the results of statistical tests show the relationship between the average score before the UTS implementation and after the UAS implementation. The previous lack of online learning to strengthen students' prior knowledge indicates the cause of learning loss in chemical concepts. Questionnaire analysis stated that education through WA groups, the duration of chemistry learning was low, and the lack of feedback given by teachers on assignments students were working on during the learning process strengthened the current conditions.