Many different pedagogical techniques have been implemented to determine what students understand in real time in the classroom. The goal of this study was to investigate the accuracy of student self-assessments regarding what they know and do not know about muddiest point topics presented at the end of the lecture. This study investigated two sections of General Chemistry I and one section of General Chemistry II. During the two terms, clickers were used to collect muddiest point information in the chemistry classroom. The muddiest point clicker questions give students an opportunity to reflect on their learning and provide feedback to the instructor. Student responses were compared to a follow-up clicker question asked at the start of the following lecture. The results of this study were consistent with the Dunning-Kruger effect, in that high-performing students were more accurate in their self-assessment than low-performing students. When inaccurate, high-performing students tended to underestimate their understanding of a topic. Low-performing students who were inaccurate in their self-assessment tended to overestimate their understanding of a topic. The accuracy of student self-assessments was analyzed as a function of topic type: quantitative vs. qualitative and broad vs. specific.

Investigating the accuracy of student self-assessment on muddiest point questions

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.