The process of student learning requires incremental steps that a student can follow to progress from novice to expert.  Researchers at Mississippi State University have explored the use of “solved problem analysis” to support student learning and the development of critical thinking skills in General Chemistry classrooms.  The solved problems shown to students may be correct or incorrect.  Students must identify what it is incorrect, explain what is wrong about the solution and re-do the calculation correctly. Correct versions may also be used where the student must identify that the approach has no mistakes and must explain the logic for each step of the solution. Data showing the correlation between solved problem and academic performance will be presented. The data showing the correlation of answers on knowledge surveys and performance on comparable test questions will also be presented.<br/>Students able to think metacognitively are able to find misconceptions and gaps in their knowledge. Once these gaps have been identified, students are able to focus their learning on topics they feel need the most attention. To help direct and develop these metacognitive skills, researchers at Mississippi State University have developed surveys intended to force students to think about their understanding of different topics in general chemistry. The surveys consisted of questions asking students to rate how confident they felt on different topics which would be appearing on their next exam. Data correlating the survey questions with the performance of relevant test questions and the application of solved problem analysis will be presented.<br/>

Solved problem analysis to support student metacognition

251st National Meeting (2016)

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