ERIC Number: ED550450
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 81
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 978-1-2678-2775-3
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Seeing the Chemistry around Me--Helping Students Identify the Relevance of Chemistry to Everyday Life
Moore, Tracy Lynn
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Southern Mississippi
The study attempted to determine whether the use of a series of reading and response assignments decreased students' perceptions of chemistry difficulty and enhanced students' perceptions of the relevance of chemistry in their everyday lives. Informed consent volunteer students enrolled in General Chemistry II at a community college in the southeastern United States during the Spring 2012 semester participated in this study. Students were assigned to read a series of short articles that connect chemistry to a specific aspect of everyday life and then answer a series of questions for each article. Open-response research instruments (initial questionnaire and final questionnaire) were used. Responses for each of the research instruments were coded according to ordinal rubrics to allow for statistical analysis. A Wilcoxon Signed Ranks t-test indicated a significant difference for each of the research questions. It was found that the perception of difficulty for the subject overall decreased during the semester, indicating that the subject was either perceived to be less difficult than students feared or that, as they better understood the chemistry, the less it was disliked. Responses also indicated that students perceived greater relevance in terms of nutrition, general health, and environment, although not all to the same degree. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Science Instruction, Chemistry, Relevance (Education), Two Year College Students, Journal Articles, Questionnaires, Coding, Scoring Rubrics, Statistical Analysis, Concept Formation, Scientific Concepts, Difficulty Level, Student Attitudes
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Two Year Colleges; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A