Measuring Conceptual Change in Organic Chemistry

Nash, Justin M.; Liotta, Louis J.; Bravaco, Ralph

doi:10.1021/ed077p333

Cited by 19 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As we have pointed out, knowledge structures are an important facet in the development of a conceptual understanding, and thus expertise. As students develop a more conceptual understanding in a domain, the structure of their knowledge becomes more interrelated (Shavelson et al, ) and increasingly resembles the structure of experts' knowledge (Nash, Liotta, & Bravaco, ). Thus, explicit opportunities for students to engage in practices that help structure knowledge can aid all students in developing a deeper understanding, particularly important in high‐stakes gatekeeper courses such as first‐semester organic chemistry.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnically diverse students' knowledge structures in first‐semester organic chemistry

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Chemistry courses remain a challenge for many undergraduate students. In particular, firstsemester organic chemistry has been labeled as a gatekeeper with high attrition rates, especially among students of color. Our study examines a key factor related to conceptual understanding in science and predictive of course outcomes-knowledge structures. Previous research on knowledge structures has focused on differences between experts and novices. Given the increasing ethnic diversity of college classrooms and research indicating unique differences in certain higher order cognitive processes associated cultural practices and ethnicity, it is important to investigate whether similar patterns exist with respect to knowledge structures. Our study utilized concept maps to measure knowledge structures. Two separate analyses where performed to determine whether or not ethnically diverse students' organize their knowledge of organic chemistry content in structurally different ways. The first analysis utilized concept map proposition scoring to examine the influence of prior science achievement and ethnicity on knowledge structures. The second analysis examined holistic map structures to determine whether or not ethnically diverse students show qualitatively distinct structures overall. Results show significant mean differences on concept map proposition scores related to both prior science achievement and ethnic group membership. However, examination of holistic structures revealed that students' qualitative holistic structures did not vary by ethnic group membership. Taken together, our findings suggest that variation in students' knowledge structures are related to prior science achievement across ethnic groups, not qualitative differences in the ways ethnically diverse students' structure knowledge. Implications for teaching and learning in organic chemistry are discussed. #

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnically diverse students' knowledge structures in first‐semester organic chemistry

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Extensive research on mental models and conceptual change has been done in many different disciplines. This research examines how people form mental representations of reality to understand physical phenomena and how interventions can prompt people to change their mental models [17][18][19]. These mental models are implicit in how people talk about their ideas and experiences.…”

Section: The Evolving Model Of Changementioning

confidence: 99%

The Evolution of Curricular Change Models within the Foundation Coalition

Clark

Froyd

Merton

et al. 2004

J of Engineering Edu

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper examines one aspect of the curricular change process undertaken by the Foundation Coalition (FC); specifically, how understanding about curricular change held by the FC leaders evolved as they moved through the process of establishing a new curriculum at their institutions. The initial change model was similar to that used for product development and emphasized the role of a pilot program. However, as the curriculum moved beyond the pilot stage to adoption and full‐scale implementation, and then into the final stage where sustaining the new curriculum was the focus, the change model became more complex. Those complexities reflect a parallel evolution in their understanding of what constitutes a curriculum, from their initial conceptualization of it as a product to be carefully designed towards an understanding of it as a dynamic entity whose growth must be sustained.

show abstract

“…In a follow-up study, they saw some evidence of students' ability to transfer concepts they learned in the course to describe novel compounds (in this case, macromolecules) . Nash et al (2000) presented a list of common organic terms to students enrolled in an introductory college organic chemistry class four times during the semester and studied how well the students could group the most closely related terms together. They found that students improved their ability to find relationships between common terms (e.g.…”

Section: Introduction and Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%