Thesis (Ed. D.)--Lehigh University, 1997. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 166-174).

<p> A survey was developed, implemented, and analyzed that assessed student understanding and their confidence in their understanding of chemistry concepts related to climate change. The survey is based upon interviews conducted with general chemistry students that identified their understanding towards climate science (Versprille &amp; Towns, 2015) The survey was also refined through iterative implementations. The survey has 29 questions composed of 12 paired questions with the first pertaining to chemistry or the chemistry related to climate science followed by a question probing the student&rsquo;s confidence in his/her response and five questions about the impacts of climate change. Analysis of the results of the survey given to 276 general chemistry students at a large mid-western research institution will be presented. The survey can be used for assessing student understanding of the chemistry associated with climate science and their associated confidence in this understanding and thus can impact upon faculty&rsquo;s approach to teaching this content in general chemistry and liberal arts courses. Suggestions for implementation will be discussed.</p><p>

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1980. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 71-73).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1980. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 71-73). Also available in print.

<p>This thesis reports an investigation of how acid-base models are taught and understood in Swedish upper secondary school. The definition of the concepts of acids and bases has evolved from a phenomenological level to an abstract (particle) level. Several models of acids and bases are introduced in Swedish secondary school. Among them an ancient model, the Arrhenius model and the Brønsted model. The aim of this study was to determine how teachers handle these models in their teaching. Further, to investigate Swedish upper secondary students’ ideas about the role of chemistry models, in general, and more specific, of models of acids and bases. The study consisted of two parts. First, a study was performed to get an overview of how acids and bases are taught and understood in Swedish upper secondary schools. It consisted of three steps: (i) the most widely used chemistry textbooks for upper secondary school in Sweden were analysed, (ii) six chemistry teachers were interviewed, and, (iii) finally also seven upper secondary school students were interviewed. The results from this study were used in the second part which consisted of two steps: (i) nine chemistry teachers were interviewed regarding their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of teaching acids and bases, and (ii) a questionnaire was administered among chemistry teachers of 441 upper secondary schools in Sweden. The results from the interviews show that only a few teachers chose to emphasise the different models of acids and bases. Most of the teachers thought it was sufficient to distinguish clearly between the phenomenological level and the particle level. In the analysis of the questionnaire three subgroups of teachers were identified. Swedish upper secondary chemistry teachers, on the whole, had a strong belief in the Brønsted model of acids and bases. However, in subgroup one (47 %) teachers’ knowledge of how the Brønsted model differs from older models was limited and diverse. Teachers in subgroup two (38 %) and three (15 %) seemed to understand the differences between the Brønsted model and older models, but teachers in subgroup 2 did not explain the history of the development of acids and bases in their teaching. Instead they (as teachers in subgroup one) relied more on the content in the textbooks than teachers in the third subgroup. Implications for textbook writers, teaching, and further research are discussed.</p>

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This thesis reports an investigation of how acid-base models are taught and understood in Swedish upper secondary school. The definition of the concepts of acids and bases has evolved from a phenomenological level to an abstract (particle) level. Several models of acids and bases are introduced in Swedish secondary school. Among them an ancient model, the Arrhenius model and the Brønsted model. The aim of this study was to determine how teachers handle these models in their teaching. Further, to investigate Swedish upper secondary students’ ideas about the role of chemistry models, in general, and more specific, of models of acids and bases. The study consisted of two parts. First, a study was performed to get an overview of how acids and bases are taught and understood in Swedish upper secondary schools. It consisted of three steps: (i) the most widely used chemistry textbooks for upper secondary school in Sweden were analysed, (ii) six chemistry teachers were interviewed, and, (iii) finally also seven upper secondary school students were interviewed. The results from this study were used in the second part which consisted of two steps: (i) nine chemistry teachers were interviewed regarding their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of teaching acids and bases, and (ii) a questionnaire was administered among chemistry teachers of 441 upper secondary schools in Sweden. The results from the interviews show that only a few teachers chose to emphasise the different models of acids and bases. Most of the teachers thought it was sufficient to distinguish clearly between the phenomenological level and the particle level. In the analysis of the questionnaire three subgroups of teachers were identified. Swedish upper secondary chemistry teachers, on the whole, had a strong belief in the Brønsted model of acids and bases. However, in subgroup one (47 %) teachers’ knowledge of how the Brønsted model differs from older models was limited and diverse. Teachers in subgroup two (38 %) and three (15 %) seemed to understand the differences between the Brønsted model and older models, but teachers in subgroup 2 did not explain the history of the development of acids and bases in their teaching. Instead they (as teachers in subgroup one) relied more on the content in the textbooks than teachers in the third subgroup. Implications for textbook writers, teaching, and further research are discussed.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University. Missing page 52

My research focused on three projects: (1) investigation of the mental models of students of the microscopic world using a molecular dynamic visualization, (2) evaluation of an online module on students’ skills related to electron-pushing formalism, and (3) a two-part investigation of how 10 essential learning outcomes (LOs) about delocalization were intended, enacted, and achieved. Project 1: Exploring participants mental models of the sub-microscopic level after viewing a molecular dynamic visualization. The effect of two molecular dynamic simulations on students’ mental models about motion, collisions, and probabilistic thinking was investigated via a qualitative study. We administered a worksheet and interviewed the participants both before and after they viewed the visualizations. The analysis showed that (1) participants all had a motion mental model, (2) participants used different mental models depending on the situation, (3) participants had conflicting mental models of randomness of the sub-microscopic level, and (4) participants experienced cognitive dissonance when viewing the simulation. Project 2: Evaluation of OrgChem101.com online module of students’ skills using EPF. We investigated students’ skills on the electron-pushing formalism after using an online learning module called “Organic Mechanisms: Mastering the Arrows” using a quantitative experimental method. There were significant learning gains between the pre- and post-test, especially with questions that asked students to draw the products of a reaction. After using the learning tool, students used more analysis strategies, such as mapping, attempted more questions, and made fewer errors. Project 3.1: Determining essential LOs for delocalization and how they are taught, practiced, and assessed. The 10 LOs about delocalization (i.e., resonance) were determined from a textbook analysis then investigated for how they are being enacted, meaning how they were taught, practiced, assessed. We have found that five themes emerged from the analysis: (1) Several of the essential intended LOs we identified are not represented in the textbooks’ teaching explanations, practice questions, or professors’ assessments; (2) The concepts related to delocalization are often taught, practiced, and assessed without associated justifications; (3) There is a large gap between when delocalization is taught and when it is used in context; (4) The link between delocalization and other concepts (e.g., reactivity) is not explicitly explained in most teaching materials; and (5) The language used around delocalization may be misleading (e.g. resonance, stability). Project 3.2: Investigating how the 10 essential delocalization LOs are achieved on summative examination. We then analyzed how the students achieved the 10 essential LOs about delocalization on a summative assessment by analyzing 12 questions related to the concept. We found that students sometimes struggled to identify when delocalization could occur, that some of the LOs built on one another, and that some strategies (visualizing electrons, listing properties, and expanding the structures) more often led to the correct answer. We also found that when explicitly asked students in organic chemistry one was more successfully than in organic chemistry II and that the opposite occurs when asked within a mechanism. Our analysis of student reasoning showed that the dominant modes of reasoning were aligned with the related expectations and explanations in the course. When asked to justify the contribution of resonance structures to the resonance hybrid, most answers analyzed showed a descriptive mode of reasoning; when asked to explain why a given proton was more acidic than another, most answers contained relational and linear causal reasoning.

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