The Role of Non-Content Goals in the Assessment of Chemistry Learning

Abstract

As technology continues to make information and facts readily accessible, the importance of understanding the context of the information and demonstrating how to use it appropriately will provide better indications of learning than factual recall. This chapter examines the manner in which curriculum and assessment reforms are moving toward promotion of student skill development beyond traditional content knowledge recall. A discussion of the current state of non-content skill assessment in chemistry is presented noting in particular that instructor interest in non-content aspects of learning appears to outpace the measurement of them. Additionally, the chapter presents data from a national survey. These data were used to understand the relative importance of non-content goals and skills in the general chemistry classroom. How these data will inform future efforts to create appropriate formative and summative assessments of goals and skills beyond content knowledge is also discussed. As technology continues to make information and facts readily accessible, the importance of understanding the context of the information and demonstrating how to use it appropriately will provide better indications of learning than factual recall. This chapter examines the manner in which curriculum and assessment reforms are moving toward promotion of student skill development beyond traditional content knowledge recall. A discussion of the current state of non-content skill assessment in chemistry is presented noting in particular that instructor interest in non-content aspects of learning appears to outpace the measurement of them. Additionally, the chapter presents data from a national survey. These data were used to understand the relative importance of non-content goals and skills in the general chemistry classroom. How these data will inform future efforts to create appropriate formative and summative assessments of goals and skills beyond content knowledge is also discussed.

Student Experiences of Emergency Remote Teaching: Impacts of Instructor Practice on Student Learning, Engagement, and Well-Being

“…The adaptation of assessment tasks to better reflect desired learning outcomes is desirable in any case, 11 and many have long advocated for the exploration of creative assessment strategies in chemistry that develop meaningful over rote learning 12 and extend beyond content knowledge. 13 Planned correctly, 14 higher-order and authentic assessments can be successful in online environments 15 and can include nontraditional assessment formats. 16 This can include the use of peer evaluation 17 to promote learner engagement, interaction, and motivation, which were aspects of particular concern for our students.…”

Assessing student process skills and providing feedback to enhance learning in analytical chemistry

“…Upper-level courses offer a chance for students to hone process skills, such as information processing, problem solving, and critical thinking, that will assist them both in and out of the classroom and that are not limited to a particular course or discipline. These skills are desired by both faculty [8][9][39][40] and future employers 7 . Faculty who were involved in both the ANA-POGIL and ELIPSS projects wanted a way to improve students' process skills by providing them with feedback.…”

“…Along with problem solving, critical thinking is highly valued among faculty members as a skill they would like their students to develop, 39 although it has been ill-defined in the literature 40 .…”

“…Educators in general chemistry 39 and employers in industry 7 both place a high value on problem solving. A National Research Council report 94 also acknowledges how problem solving is an understudied area in STEM.…”

“…In a survey of general chemistry faculty, problem solving was most often assessed through the use of homework/clickers and exams/quizzes. 39 A shared understanding of what constitutes a problem must be reached before the conversation about assessment can begin. In science and mathematics, this process has been described as coming up with a final answer through a multi-step solution and providing an explanation for this answer, which relates the final answer back to the original question prompt.…”