In a constructivist learning environment, the role of the instructor shifts from delivering content towards facilitating active student engagement in activities that encourage individual knowledge construction through discussion and application of content. Adoption of more general active learning approaches as well as specific methods of teaching chemistry aligned with constructivism, such as process-oriented guided-inquiry learning (POGIL) and peer-led team learning (PLTL), have been demonstrated to improve student outcomes but little research has been done on the causal relations among particular aspects of the learning environment and student outcomes. This makes it difficult for classroom instructors to know which aspects of a constructivist teaching approach are critical to adopt and which may be modified to better suit a particular learning environment while still improving student outcomes.<br/><br/>This research uses structural equation modeling to examine relations among proposed factors characterizing aspects of a student-centered constructivist learning environment and student outcomes of satisfaction and academic achievement in undergraduate chemistry courses. The instruments and methods used in this research have been previously employed in a small-scale single institution study and this project seeks to increase the generalizability of the findings by testing models in multiple chemistry courses enrolling a diverse population of students from a Hispanic-serving institution.

Modeling the influence of constructivist learning environment factors on student outcomes in diverse chemistry courses

2019 Spring National Meeting

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