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Measuring Meaningful Learning in the Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory

Galloway, Kelli R

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, Chemistry and Biochemistry.
The undergraduate chemistry laboratory has been an essential component in chemistry education for over a century. The literature includes reports on investigations of singular aspects laboratory learning and attempts to measure the efficacy of reformed laboratory curriculum as well as faculty goals for laboratory learning which found common goals among instructors for students to learn laboratory skills, techniques, experimental design, and to develop critical thinking skills. These findings are important for improving teaching and learning in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory, but research is needed to connect the faculty goals to student perceptions. This study was designed to explore students’ ideas about learning in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory. Novak’s Theory of Meaningful Learning was used as a guide for the data collection and analysis choices for this research. Novak’s theory states that in order for meaningful learning to occur the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains must be integrated. The psychomotor domain is inherent in the chemistry laboratory, but the extent to which the cognitive and affective domains are integrated is unknown. For meaningful learning to occur in the laboratory, students must actively integrate both the cognitive domain and the affective domains into the “doing” of their laboratory work. The Meaningful Learning in the Laboratory Instrument (MLLI) was designed to measure students’ cognitive and affective expectations and experiences within the context of conducting experiments in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory. Evidence for the validity and reliability of the data generated by the MLLI were collected from multiple quantitative studies: a one semester study at one university, a one semester study at 15 colleges and universities across the United States, and a longitudinal study where the MLLI was administered 6 times during two years of general and organic chemistry laboratory courses. Results from these studies revealed students’ narrow cognitive expectations for learning that go largely unmet by their experiences and diverse affective expectations and experiences. Concurrently, a qualitative study was carried out to describe and characterize students’ cognitive and affective experiences in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory. Students were video recorded while performing one of their regular laboratory experiments and then interviewed about their experiences. The students’ descriptions of their learning experiences were characterized by their overreliance on following the experimental procedure correctly rather than developing process-oriented problem solving skills. Future research could use the MLLI to intentionally compare different types of laboratory curricula or environments.
Stacey Lowery Bretz (Advisor)
Ellen Yezierski (Committee Chair)
Michael Novak (Committee Member)
Hong Wang (Committee Member)
Jennifer Blue (Committee Member)
330 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Galloway, K. R. (2015). Measuring Meaningful Learning in the Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory [Doctoral dissertation, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1446827946

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Galloway, Kelli. Measuring Meaningful Learning in the Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory. 2015. Miami University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1446827946.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Galloway, Kelli. "Measuring Meaningful Learning in the Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory." Doctoral dissertation, Miami University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1446827946

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)