More Than Just Chemistry: The Impact of a Collaborative Participant Structure on Student Perceptions of Science

Patchen, Terri; Smithenry, Dennis W.

doi:10.1007/s11165-014-9414-1

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Depending on how the authors intend the qualifier "at least partially", this claim is either misleading or trivial. In the context of a study exploring the impact of school chemistry classes organised as "collaborative participation", Patchen and Smithenry (2014) refer to how "the extent to which the grouped items in [a] scale measured the same construct (i.e. internal consistency) was assessed by calculating a Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient" (emphasis added).…”

Section: Misuse Of Alpha To Imply Unidimensionalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of Cronbach’s Alpha When Developing and Reporting Research Instruments in Science Education

2017

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Cronbach's alpha is a statistic commonly quoted by authors to demonstrate that tests and scales that have been constructed or adopted for research projects are fit for purpose. Cronbach's alpha is regularly adopted in studies in science education: it was referred to in 69 different papers published in 4 leading science education journals in a single year (2015)-usually as a measure of reliability. This article explores how this statistic is used in reporting science education research and what it represents. Authors often cite alpha values with little commentary to explain why they feel this statistic is relevant and seldom interpret the result for readers beyond citing an arbitrary threshold for an acceptable value. Those authors who do offer readers qualitative descriptors interpreting alpha values adopt a diverse and seemingly arbitrary terminology. More seriously, illustrative examples from the science education literature demonstrate that alpha may be acceptable even when there are recognised problems with the scales concerned. Alpha is also sometimes inappropriately used to claim an instrument is unidimensional. It is argued that a high value of alpha offers limited evidence of the reliability of a research instrument, and that indeed a very high value may actually be undesirable when developing a test of scientific knowledge or understanding. Guidance is offered to authors reporting, and readers evaluating, studies that present Cronbach's alpha statistic as evidence of instrument quality.

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Section: Misuse Of Alpha To Imply Unidimensionalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of Cronbach’s Alpha When Developing and Reporting Research Instruments in Science Education

2017

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“…Teaching methods were also dictated by the TAs; many students opened with a general introduction, followed by opportunities for cooperative learning. 25 The secondary students would follow and complete their workbooks with the guidance of the TAs. After the 20 min, the secondary students would wrap up their experiments and rotate to the next section.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Service-Learning Chemistry Course as a Model To Improve Undergraduate Scientific Communication Skills

et al. 2018

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Improving communication between people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and the public is critical to the future of STEM. Partnerships between institutions of higher education with K–12 schools are identified as one effective strategy to support community engagement. We have employed a service-learning model to develop a chemistry course (Chemistry 010) that engages undergraduate students in developing and teaching chemistry experiments for a secondary school audience. This service-learning course design provided us with the consistency and flexibility to sustain substantive learning experiences for both the undergraduates and secondary students. In addition to describing the model of this course in detail, we evaluate this course’s impact on undergraduate scientific communication skills. Analysis of reflections written by the undergraduates reveals that Chemistry 010 is an effective course structure for them to explore and assess their competencies to teach and communicate scientific concepts. The course’s influence on the secondary students, teacher partners, and university instructors will be the focus of future studies to ensure the mutual benefit of all involved parties.

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“…As educational systems vary widely in their approaches toward more collaborative and dynamic modes of science education, it is important to consider the limitations of a study where the acquisition of knowledge is reliant on a single mode of content delivery instead of a more interdisciplinary approach to learning through applied practice (Portnoy, 2019; Braaten and Sheth, 2017; Patchen and Smithenry, 2015).…”

Section: Limitations Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additional limitations point to the nature of science learning itself, as the true nature of scientific inquiry is far more collaborative and nuanced than the independent reading of Inquiry strategies in science learning passages and generating questions to gain a deeper understanding presented in the current study. While modeled after traditional classroom instruction and inquiry, work by Patchen and Smithenry (2015) emphasizes the importance of shifting educational perspectives on how science is taught, understood, questioned and transferred with an emphasis on collaboration and meaning-making, an area of focus for future studies.…”

Section: Limitations Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Does context shape comprehension: evaluating the influence of presentation on inquiry strategies in science learning

Portnoy

Lemberger

2021

ILS

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Purpose Approaches to learning have the ability to influence knowledge acquisition, comprehension, retention and even motivation to learn. Previous work indicates that despite age, experience, or prior knowledge, students have a tendency to approach learning differently as a function of the presented content. The purpose of this study is to explore how context influences student approaches to learning science. Design/methodology/approach The authors adopt a question-asking methodology to evaluate if approaches to learning the same science content vary when presented within the context of Pure Science or the History of Science. Findings Results indicate that contextualizing the presentation of science content, shifts the approaches students take in attempting to learn science content as evidenced by the questions they ask to deepen their understanding. Additional variables of prior experience with each scientific concept, task persistence at a distractor task and later recall of the presented concepts were related to different inquiry strategies. Research limitations/implications Implications for instructional design and pedagogy are discussed. Practical implications The framework in which scientific information is presented may impact how students modify existing and create a new schema, impacting their beliefs about scientific knowledge and the way in which students question, hypothesize and engage within the domain of science. Social implications By studying the role of inquiry while students engage in science learning, the authors explore the role of context, content and knowledge retention. Originality/value The current study probes at the nature of student questioning and its reliance on the content, context and its relationship to outcome variables such as learning and, perhaps, even persistence as it relates to students’ prior knowledge within content areas which may, in turn, lead to varying levels of student self-efficacy.

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More Than Just Chemistry: The Impact of a Collaborative Participant Structure on Student Perceptions of Science

Cited by 10 publications

References 67 publications

The Use of Cronbach’s Alpha When Developing and Reporting Research Instruments in Science Education

The Use of Cronbach’s Alpha When Developing and Reporting Research Instruments in Science Education

A Service-Learning Chemistry Course as a Model To Improve Undergraduate Scientific Communication Skills

Does context shape comprehension: evaluating the influence of presentation on inquiry strategies in science learning

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