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Investigation and Evaluation of Scientific Reasoning Development in the College Chemistry Classroom

Carmel, Justin H
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9281-3751
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1436875753

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Prior studies investigating critical thinking have used definitions that are too general to measure, especially when trying to measure it in a large-enrollment course. There has also been a lack of literature that focuses on the exploring how nonscience majors interact and understand chemistry and develop process skills. This study attempts to close this gap by focusing on the development of scientific reasoning (SR) skills of nonscience majors over the duration of a specific chemistry course using a mixed methods design. In the first part of the study, students’ growth in SR was investigated to determine the effect of the course without intervention using the Lawson Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning (LCTSR). In the second part of the study, based on the results of the LCTSR data and student interviews, five, 50-minute interventions were created that used the learning cycle framework and asked questions in ways that cued the use of particular SR skills. Additionally, ten, 10-15 minute activities were created to increase the student-centeredness of the course, but were not SR-skill focused. The interventions and activities were evaluated for their efficacy at developing students’ content knowledge and SR, as well as the amount of student-centeredness present in the classroom as compared to the lectures used previously. Students’ SR data from four treatment groups were analyzed to determine the effect of the interventions over an entire semester and compared to the control groups. The first treatment semester showed gains in SR that were well above the control groups, but the other three treatment semesters showed gains no different than those students that did not interact with the interventions. Investigations into students’ individual responses using cluster analysis also provided information about their productive and faulty reasoning patterns for different types of questions. Future directions include the creation of more high-quality, SR-focused interventions and the possible creation of a more exhaustive SR diagnostic by combining select items from previously published diagnostics measuring the same skills.
Ellen Yezierski (Advisor)
Stacey Lowery Bretz (Committee Chair)
David Tierney (Committee Member)
Neil Danielson (Committee Member)
Christopher Wolfe (Committee Member)
244 p.
Chemistry; Education
Scientific Reasoning; Chemistry; Chemistry Education Research; Nonscience Majors;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Carmel, J. H. (2015). Investigation and Evaluation of Scientific Reasoning Development in the College Chemistry Classroom [Doctoral dissertation, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1436875753

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Carmel, Justin. Investigation and Evaluation of Scientific Reasoning Development in the College Chemistry Classroom. 2015. Miami University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1436875753.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Carmel, Justin. "Investigation and Evaluation of Scientific Reasoning Development in the College Chemistry Classroom." Doctoral dissertation, Miami University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1436875753

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

miami1436875753
529
© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Miami University and OhioLINK.