General Chemistry is a course where students are expected to nurture the development of their fundamental concepts in chemistry. Students begin general chemistry with alternative conceptions about the topics and fragmented knowledge structures. Majority of students who successfully complete the general chemistry course sequence continue to hold onto their alternative conceptions about the topics. The goal of this study is to examine alternative conceptions and their persistence, learning gains, and conceptual change as the result of instruction and completion of a traditional general chemistry course. The Chemistry Concepts Inventory survey was administered as a laboratory activity at the beginning and at the completion of General Chemistry course. The data was collected from 358 participants at a public, urban, and minority serving college and the data was entered into a spreadsheet and analyzed. Our data suggests that normalized learning gains were not substantial after the completion of a general chemistry course taught in the traditional lecture format which may emphasize algorithmic problem-solving and does not address conceptual understanding of the topics. Traditional lecture format in general chemistry falls short of addressing alternative conceptions, causing a conceptual change, and improving conceptual understanding in students. Based on the research, we recommend that General Chemistry teaching and learning strategies need to address alternative conceptions and improve students’ conceptual understanding of chemistry key concepts by immersing students in courses where teaching and learning methods are based on research in science education.

Using chemistry concepts inventory to identify alternative conceptions and their persistence in general chemistry courses

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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