Process-Oriented Guided-Inquiry Learning (POGIL) has gained popularity over the years as an effective method of teaching. POGIL is a pedagogical technique used to enhance higher-order thinking skills.  Students work collaboratively on carefully crafted activities to create new knowledge. POGIL practitioners have reported increases in grades as well as retention of content.  In this study, results from standardized multiple-choice ACS final exams collected over the course of 5 years, in multiple courses, were analyzed to determine if student’s performance was affected by type of instruction. Scores from second semester general chemistry and first semester organic chemistry were used to determine if there was a positive or negative effect, on test scores, caused by the instructional method. Because of the use of different teaching methods in separate sections of the same course, students could have been exposed to either teaching style across semesters, which is one of the variables considered. Statistical analysis of this data indicated that students taking Lecture-to-POGIL and POGIL-to-POGIL courses performed as well as, if not better, than those taking Lecture-to-Lecture and POGIL-to-Lecture.  The most improvement was seen in the Lecture-to-POGIL group.  In a previous study, a two-sample design was used to compare POGIL and Lecture sections. Statistical analysis of this data revealed the following: overall POGIL students did better on these exams, for general chemistry I and II, students in POGIL sections performed equally well on the exam, however for organic chemistry, the POGIL students saw an increase in scores on average. These results are consistent with the belief that using student-centered methods, like POGIL, can improve student performance.<br/>

Are two POGIL’s better than one? A study done across multiple semesters

255th National Meeting (2018)

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