This study comprises three parts. First, to validate the Oral Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (OICEQ) which is used to assess students perceptions of the learning environment in secondary chemistry classes in the U.S.A. The OICEQ is a modified version of the actual and preferred versions of the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ) (Fraser, 1990). Second, to investigate associations between three types of science educational assessments; predictors of performance, perceptions of the classroom environment, and chemistry academic performance. Third, to address the following two questions:1. Are chaos and constructivism allies of adversaries to assessments (predictors, perceptions, and performance)?2. Is action research a valid process of evaluating a constructivist chemistry classroom (examining associations between chaos and constructivism)?A sample of 473 students from 21 chemistry classes took the Test of Logical Thinking (TOLT), the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (OICEQ), pretests, post-tests, and final examinations. The statistical analyses confirmed the reliability and validity of the OICEQ and ICEQ when used with senior chemistry students. Investigation of associations between predictors, perceptions, and performances revealed 29 significant associations with OICEQ and 21 significant associations with the ICEQ. Findings from the study indicated that: (1) chaos is an adversary to social assessment and personal constructivism is an ally to personal assessment; (2) action research is a valid process for evaluating a constructivist chemistry classroom it is a unifying concept for constructivism, chaos, and assessment; (3) through an action research-constructivist process and a cyberchaos research perspective, the impact of a constructivist teaching paradigm and chaos ++ / distort the assessment of data in a chemistry classroom.

The research reported in this thesis comprised a cross-age inquiry of learners' mental models for chemical bonding. Learners were chosen purposefully from three academic levels-senior secondary school (Year-13, age range 17-18 years old), undergraduate (age range 19-21 years), and postgraduate (comprising MSc and PhD; age range 22- 27 years). The principal research goal was to establish learners' preferred mental models for the concept of chemical bonding. Other research goals were to establish if and how learners made use of analogy to understand chemical bonding and to establish the prevalence of learners' alternative conceptions for chemical bonding. The research inquiry was conducted from within a constructivist paradigm; specifically the researcher ascribed to a social and contextual constructivist belief system.Based on a review of the science education literature a decision was made to classify mental models into four classes according to the typology of Norman (1983), namely, the target system, a conceptual model, the users' or learners' mental model and the scientists' conceptualisation. A conceptual theme for the inquiry was developed based on this typology resulting in the identification of target systems-metallic, ionic and covalent bonding. Subsequently, target models for each of the three target systems were identified, namely, the sea of electrons model and the band theory for metallic bonding; the electrostatic model, and the theoretical electrostatic model for ionic bonding; and the octet rule, the valence bond approach, the molecular orbital theory and the ligand field theory for covalent bonding. A conceptual model, consisting of a summary of the salient points of the target models, was developed by the researcher. Once validated by four of the instructors involved in the inquiry, this formed the scientists' conceptualisation for the target ++ / models.Learners' mental models were elicited by the use of a three phase semi-structured interview protocol for each of the three target systems based on the translation interface developed by Johnson and Gott (1996). The protocol consisted of showing participants samples of common substances and asking them to describe the bonding in these materials. In addition, participants were shown Interviews About Events (IAE), focus cards which depicted events involving chemical bonding or contained depicted models of bonding for the three target systems. Transcriptions of audio-tapes combined with diagrams produced by the participants formed the data corpus for the inquiry. Learners' mental models were compiled into inventories for each of the target systems. Examination of inventories enabled identification of commonality of views which were validated by four instructors-two instructors from the teaching institutions involved in the inquiry, and two instructors independent of the inquiry.The research reported in this thesis revealed that learners across all three academic levels preferred simple or realist mental models for chemical bonding, such as the sea of electrons model and the octet rule. Learners frequently used concepts from other more sophisticated models to aid their explanations when their preferred mental models were found to be inadequate. Senior level learners were more critical of mental models, particularly depicted models provided on IAE focus cards. Furthermore, senior level learners were able to describe their mental models in greater detail than their younger counterparts. However, the inquiry found considerable commonality across all three levels of learner, suggesting mental models are relatively stable.Learners' use of analogy was classified according to Dagher's (1995a) typology, namely, simple, narrative, peripheral and compound. Learners' use of ++ / analogy for the understanding of chemical bonding was found to be idiosyncratic. When they struggled to explain aspects of their mental models for chemical bonding, learners made extensive use of simple analogy, that typically involved the mapping of a single attribute between the target and source domains. There did not appear to be any correlation between academic ability or academic level and use of analogy. However, learners made greater use of compound analogy for the target systems of metallic and ionic bonding, mostly as a result of the use of analogical models during instruction.This inquiry revealed prevalent alternative conceptions for chemical bonding across all three academic levels of learner. This is a somewhat surprising result considering that the mental models preferred by learners were typically simple, realist models they had encountered during instruction. Learners' alternative conceptions often concerned simple conceptions such as ionic size, the presence of charged species in non- polar molecular compounds, and misunderstandings about the strength of bonding in metals and ionic substances. The inquiry also revealed widespread confusion about intermolecular and intramolecular bonding, and the nature of lattices structures for ionic and metallic substances.The inquiry resulted in a number of recommendations. It is proposed that it may be more beneficial to teach less content at the introductory level, that is, delivering a curriculum that is more appropriate for non-specialist chemistry majors. Hence, one recommendation is for instructors to examine the intended curriculum carefully and be more critical regarding the value of inclusion of some course content. A second recommendation is that sophisticated models of chemical bonding are better taught only at advanced stages of the degree program, and that teaching from a contructivist view of ++ / learning may be beneficial. The third recommendation relates to the fact that learners spontaneously generated analogies to aid their explanations and conceptual understanding, consequently, learners may benefit from greater use of analogy during instruction.

<p>Chemistry students have historically struggled with conceptually understanding organic acidity and oxidation-reduction. Previously dominant approaches towards remediating students? misconceptions has been challenged by Explanatory Coexistence, which eludes to a competition between conceptions held within individuals. Conceptual reprioritization may be associated with the restructuring of conceptual dominance hierarchies, which may occur once a conceptual competition concludes. Investigation of conceptual reprioritizations of general chemistry students? conceptions of organic acidity and oxidation-reduction performed across multiple demographics using Rasch analysis, student interviews and argumentation quality assessment. Student samples belonged to two different general chemistry courses that used different curricula. One used a reform-based curriculum, that compared to the traditional curriculum, focused on discussion and argumentation. Student conceptions were captured, and tracked via repeated measures, using the ACIDI and ROXCI concept inventories. Results indicated both inventories were capable of detecting conceptual reprioritizations after instruction from both curricula. Student achievement was consistent across multiple demographic characteristics. Evidence of argumentation quality and its association with conceptual reprioritizations of organic acidity and dominant, scientifically accepted redox conceptions was collected. Individual interviews suggested conceptual reprioritizations may be attributed to their respective curricula, while also adding insight into thought processes that arose while taking both inventories. Suggestions for future work is also discussed, highlighting the development of community standards, ACIDI and ROXCI responses databases to assess general student representation, and modification of both inventories.

Neste trabalho o objetivo foi analisar um estudo sobre a percepção de estudantes do 2o e do 3o ano do Ensino Médio quanto à representação submicroscópica de processos de mudança de estado físico da matéria, pois, em minha carreira docente, sempre percebi grande dificuldade dos alunos nas correlações entre o universo químico macro para o submicro. Foi utilizada uma metodologia qualitativa, com a participação de 32 alunos de um colégio particular da cidade de São Paulo, SP. A sequência das atividades desenvolvidas iniciou-se pela leitura de um texto sobre propriedades da matéria, seguindo-se uma aula experimental sobre pontos de fusão e ebulição de substâncias puras e misturas. Após discussões em pequenos grupos e, subsequentemente, com uma exposição dos resultados com a sala em geral, foi proposto que os estudantes elaborassem imagens que representassem sua compreensão acerca do fenômeno de mudança de estado físico no nível submicroscópico. Após um encontro com discussões sobre as imagens produzidas nas cartolinas, elaborou-se um recurso audiovisual por grupo sobre processo de fusão e/ou ebulição. Para um entendimento mais preciso dos modelos produzidos foram feitas entrevistas com os grupos, tanto pós-produção das imagens da cartolina como também do recurso audiovisual. Foram elaboradas categorias das imagens, fornecendo indícios analíticos comparativos nas diferentes fases das atividades executadas, do que se pôde inferir que, a princípio, houve dificuldade, por parte dos estudantes, em expor seus modelos, e as explicações referentes ao domínio submicro no início do processo, além de simples, apresentavam erros conceituais, tais como a posição espacial das partículas ou a indistinção entre substância e mistura. Ao final do processo, pós-produção do recurso audiovisual, identificou-se uma evolução positiva considerável dos modelos expressos, por apresentarem características mais consistentes cientificamente, como também o discurso dos estudantes tornou-se mais coerente e seguro. Percebemos a importância de criar oportunidades frequentes para que os estudantes construam modelos sobre fenômenos, com diferentes formas de representação, sendo o processo apoiado por discussão, pois, além do fato de essa prática favorecer a percepção de suas dificuldades conceituais, isso os ajuda a selecionar e a organizar suas informações, contribuindo para que desenvolvam concepções escolares, acerca do assunto estudado, mais próximas daquelas aceitas pela comunidade científica. Também pudemos constatar que a diversidade de linguagens se faz necessária no ensino de Química, pois, para se atingir maior audiência, há a obrigatoriedade de diferentes formas de expressão do mesmo contexto, o que chamamos de multimodalidade. Concluímos que esse sistema de aprendizagem multimodal é importante, pois, com o uso de diversas formas de abordagem, por meio de diferentes ferramentas (textos, experimento, imagens, discussão), conseguimos não só alcançar maior interesse de grande parte dos estudantes, mas que eles fossem participantes ativos e críticos, fazendo parte da construção do seu conhecimento, ao invés de serem simples ouvintes que absorvem informações. / This work aims to analyze a study on the perception of students of 2nd and 3rd year of high school as the submicroscopic representation of the physical state of change processes of matter, as it was perceived in my teaching career, great difficulty of the students in the correlations between macro chemical universe for submicron one. A qualitative methodology with the participation of 32 students of a private school in São Paulo was used. The sequence of activities began by reading a text about the properties of matter, followed by an experimental class on melting points and boiling of pure substances and mixtures. After small group discussions and consequently with an exhibition of the results with the room in general, it was proposed that students draw up images that represent their understanding of the physical state change phenomenon in the submicroscopic level. After a meeting with discussions on the images produced on cards, an audio-visual resource per group on melting and / or boiling process was developed. For a more precise understanding of the models produced interviews were conducted with groups, both post-production of cardboard images as well as audio-visual resource. Images of the categories have been prepared providing comparative analytical evidence in the different phases of the activities performed, in which we can infer that the beginning was difficult for students to expose their models and explanations for the submicron domain early in the process, as well as simple, presented conceptual errors, such as the spatial position of the particles or blurring of the substance and mixing. At the end of the process, post-production of audiovisual resource has been identified a significant positive evolution of models expressed for having more consistent characteristics scientifically, as well as the speech of students has become more consistent and secure. We realize the importance of creating opportunities for students to build models of phenomena, with different forms of representation, the process being supported by discussion, because besides this practice favors the perception of their conceptual difficulties, it helps to select and organize their information, helping to develop educational concepts on the subject studied closer to those accepted by the scientific community. We can also see that the diversity of languages is necessary in the teaching of chemistry because it was realized that to reach a bigger audience there is the requirement of different forms of expression of the same context, what we call multimodality. We conclude that this multimodal learning system is important because, with the use of various forms of approach, using different tools (texts, experiment, images, discussion), we can not only achieve greater interest in many of the students, but they are active and critical participants, part of the construction of knowledge, rather than being mere listeners to absorb information.

Process skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, information processing, teamwork, and communication are important for student success in their coursework and eventually the workplace, but these skills are not always explicitly taught or assessed in undergraduate courses. These skills should be assessed in order to identify areas for student improvement and because assessment practices can provide clear goals to students. However, my analysis of the current literature suggests that instructors do not have the tools necessary to effectively assess and provide feedback on these skills, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate courses. To meet this need of assessing and providing feedback to students, rubrics and other instructional resources have been developed to assess process skills as part of the Enhancing Learning by Improving Process Skills in STEM (ELIPSS) Project. Surveys and interview data indicated that the rubrics were practical for instructors to use to provide feedback to students, represented all relevant aspects of the skills, measured the processes that students used when completing tasks, and could be reliably used by multiple raters. During rubric development, the resources were propagated to the STEM instructor community, and the effectiveness of the propagation methods were examined. The highest rates of adoption resulted from hearing about the rubrics from a colleague or attending a presentation about the rubrics. Additionally, running the ELIPSS workshops and creating the ELIPSS website that people found from searching the internet each led to moderate adoption rates. These results support the idea that a multifaceted propagation strategy may be most effective for researchers who are developing assessment tools. When studying the ways in which STEM instructors were implementing the ELIPSS rubrics, it was found that the instructors each developed different strategies that suited their intended learning outcomes and instructional environments by assessing and providing feedback to students in a variety of ways. Instructors with different class sizes, course levels, online course management systems, and access to teaching assistants all adapted the rubric implementation strategy to fit their unique classroom environments. Multiple instructors reported that they were better able to articulate professional skill expectations to their students through the use of the rubrics. Additionally, they were more aware of how their students interacted with one another in groups after using the interaction rubrics. These results indicate that ELIPSS rubrics can encourage more reflective practice in undergraduate instructors by providing them with more information about their students that can be used to modify their teaching methods. Further work was done to examine how students developed process skills in a first-year chemistry laboratory course. Students in a first-year chemistry laboratory course used the ELIPSS rubrics to assess their own process skills, and they were also assessed by a teaching assistant. Additionally, students reported their understanding of process skills and their perceived improvements over the course of the semester. The results suggest that students understand interpersonal process skills such as teamwork and communication better than they understand cognitive process skills such as critical thinking and information processing. While the evidence further suggests that students improved their process skills, and students reported that they improved their process skills, the students showed inconsistent abilities to self-assess and provide justification for their assessment using rubrics.

Students' retention in STEM-related careers is of great concern for educators and researchers, especially the retention of underrepresented groups such as females, Hispanics, and Blacks in these careers. Therefore it is important to study factors that could potentially influence students' decision to stay in STEM. The work described in this dissertation involved three research studies where assessments have been used in college chemistry courses to assess students' prior content knowledge, chemistry-self-efficacy, and attitude toward science. These three factors have been suggested to have an influence on students' performance in a course and could eventually be a retention factor. The first research study involved the development and use of an instrument to measure biochemistry prior knowledge of foundational concepts from chemistry and biology that are considered important for biochemistry learning. This instrument was developed with a parallel structure where three items were used to measure a concept and common incorrect ideas were used as distractors. The specific structure of this instrument allows the identification of common incorrect ideas that students have when entering biochemistry and that can hinder students' learning of biochemistry concepts. This instrument was given as pre/posttest to students enrolled in introductory biochemistry courses. The findings indicated that some incorrect ideas are persistent even after instruction, as is the case for bond energy and the structure of the alpha helix concepts. This study highlights the importance of measuring prior conceptual knowledge; so that instructors can plan interventions to help students overcome their incorrect ideas. For the second research study, students' chemistry self-efficacy was measured five times during a semester of preparatory college chemistry. Chemistry self-efficacy beliefs have been linked to students' achievement, and students with stronger self-efficacy are more likely to try challenging tasks and persist in them, which will help them to stay in STEM. Using multilevel modeling analysis to examine potential differences in students' self-efficacy beliefs by sex and race/ethnicity, it was found that there were some differences in the trends by race/ethnicity. In particular, we found that for Hispanic and Black males the trends were negative when compared with White males. This study highlights the importance of measuring self-efficacy at different time points in the semester and for instructors to be aware of potential differences in their students' confidence when working on a chemistry task. The third research study involves the use of the Test of Science Related Attitudes (TOSRA) in an introductory chemistry course. A shortened version of the instrument that includes three scales, normality of scientists, attitude toward inquiry, and career interest in science was used. The first purpose of this study was to gather validity evidence for the internal structure of the instrument with college chemistry students. Using measurement invariance analysis by sex and race/ethnicity, it was found that the internal structure holds by sex, but it did not hold for Blacks in our sample. Further analysis revealed problems with the normality scales for Blacks. The second purpose was to examine the relationship between the scales of TOSRA, achievement in chemistry, and math prior knowledge. Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) it was found that two of the TOSRA scales, attitude toward inquiry and career interest in science, have a small but significant influence on students' achievement in chemistry. This study highlights the importance of examining if the scores apply similarly for different group of students in a population, since the scores on these assessments could be used to make decisions that will affect student. The research studies presented in this work are a step forward with our intention to understand better the factors that can influence students' decisions to stay or leave STEM-related careers. Each study has provided psychometric evidence for the use of three different assessments in college chemistry courses. Instructors can use these assessments in large and small lecture classrooms. Information obtained from these assessments can then be used to make target interventions to help students learn and/or be more confident on a given task. Also, it highlights the importance to look at different group of students, such as the underrepresented groups, since response trends may be different. Being aware of students' diverse needs will help us to understand some of the challenges that student face in the chemistry classroom. Understanding some of these challenges will help instructors be more prepared for teaching.

A new one-semester tertiary bridging course in chemistry was designed with constructivist concept-learning as a major aim. This aim was monitored by Concept Learning Test Sequences (CLTSs), developed for each of ten fundamental chemical concept-clusters, selected from ten theory-practical work-units of an expressly written book. The concept-clusters were: density, mixture/compound, structure/bonding, base/salt, redox, mole, rate, metal, halogen, hydrocarbon. Each CLTS comprised a pre-instruction item; two-tier multiple-choice item(s); a post-instruction item; each provided data from a class of 21 students of widely different backgrounds. Separate chapters discuss class results and individual results.Concept-learning Improvement Categories that estimated individual improvement in each CLTS were quantified by assigning numerical values. Summation of these numerical values for all ten CLTSs produced individual Concept-learning Improvement Indices (CLIIs). Improvement in concept-learning appears independent of prior academic background. Rankings by CLIIs and by final assessment percentage were strongly correlated. The mean CLII for the class assessed concept-learning improvement (per concept) at Moderate-to-Intermediate.Various probes revealed that factors which influenced learning included: pre-laboratory reports; practical work; learning partnership(s); positive personal qualities; mathematical skills; confidence; visualisation; integration of theoretical and practical studies; bench problem-solving; a relaxed tutorial atmosphere; historical approaches to chemical concepts. Students assessed the course overall as 'good'.

The primary purpose of this study was to develop a two-tier multiple choice diagnostic instrument to assess Singapore Grade 10 students' (15 to 17 years old) understanding and alternative conceptions of qualitative analysis. Additional and related purposes were to determine whether more advanced chemistry students, for example, junior college (Grade 11 and 12) students, undergraduates and graduate trainee-teachers have a better understanding of basic qualitative analysis than secondary students, and to develop appropriate teaching strategies and materials on qualitative analysis based on the findings of this study and a review of the literature on practical work.The results from the administration of the diagnostic instrument showed that Singapore Grade 10 students had many alternative conceptions related to qualitative analysis, and these were grouped under the headings of 'Displacement', 'Redox', 'Dissolution', 'Addition of acid' and 'Heating'. The cross-age study showed that the more advanced chemistry students generally had a better understanding of basic qualitative analysis but had similar alternative conceptions as the Grade 10 students. However, the alternative conceptions identified were consistently held by only a small number of students across all contexts examined in the diagnostic instrument, suggesting that a number of students either had more than one conception for a particular concept or no conceptions at all. The results from the trial of the qualitative analysis teaching package indicated that the teaching package was feasible. Teachers involved in the trial found it structured and comprehensive, and the students who experienced the teaching package performed better on the diagnostic instrument than a comparison group.The study recommends that better ways of conducting qualitative analysis practical work are required, and using the teaching ++ / package may be a step in this direction. The study also raises questions about the value of teaching qualitative analysis in secondary schools when important reactions involved in qualitative analysis are omitted from the syllabus, and when there is little incentive and time in the school curriculum for learners to understand what they are doing in qualitative analysis.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf [115-118]).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [115-118]). Also available in print.