Through informal surveys of and conversations with students, it is evident that many of our students have little to no chemistry laboratory experience in high school.  Often, students express that they have had bad past science (chemistry) experiences, had middle and high school teachers who openly displayed anxiety or even distain about the science subjects which they are teaching and/or had a lack of gender or racial role models. These experiences, coupled with their perception that “chemistry is hard” and is only peripherally related to their major, has led to high levels of anxiety and a reluctance to engage with the material.  Our students, however, are not unique in this.  Studies indicate that students (whether male or female, urban or rural, Caucasian or other ethnicity, first-generation or not) show generalized anxiety towards the learning of chemistry at the college level. The purpose of this research is to investigate whether field experiences in the chemistry laboratory reduce anxiety, improve self-efficacy, and ultimately lead to improved student learning outcomes and attitudes for introductory level students.  One goal of this research was to study whether incorporation of an on-site water testing lab experience helps non-chemistry majors feel more comfortable with chemistry experimentation. Students were divided into two groups.  Each group performed the same series of experiments that test local water samples, with one group conducting the experiments in the field (at the Providence River) while the other group tested the samples that were provided to them in the lab setting.  Groups were surveyed using instruments that were developed and validated in the literature.  It is our hypothesis that the students who experience the field work will have improved attitudes, increased self-efficacy, and reduced anxiety levels which may ultimately lead to improved student learning outcomes in the laboratory and lecture components of the courses.<br/>

Investigating field laboratory experiences as a means to reduce student anxiety, increase self-efficacy, and improve attitudes towards chemistry

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.