Investigating the impact of three-dimensional learning interventions on student understanding of structure–property relationships

Author(s):  
Sonia M. Underwood ◽  
Alex T. Kararo ◽  
Gabriela Gadia

The ability to predict macroscopic properties using a compound's chemical structure is an essential idea for chemistry as well as other disciplines such as biology. In this study we investigate how different levels of interventions impact the components of students’ explanations (claims, evidence, and reasoning) of structure–property relationships, particularly related to boiling point trends. These interventions, aligned with Three-Dimensional Learning (3DL), were investigated with four different cohorts of students: Cohort 1 – a control group of students enrolled in an active learning general chemistry course; Cohort 2 – students enrolled in the same active learning general chemistry course but given Intervention 1 (a 3DL worksheet administered during class time); Cohort 3 – students enrolled in the same active learning general chemistry course but given Intervention 1 and Intervention 2 (a 3DL course exam question administered after instruction); and Cohort 4 – a reference group of students enrolled in a transformed active learning general chemistry curriculum in which 3DL is an essential feature and includes Intervention 1 and Intervention 2 as part of the curriculum. We found that Cohort 2 students (with the 3DL worksheet intervention) were more likely than the control group (Cohort 1) to correctly predict the compound with a higher boiling point as well as incorporate ideas of strength of intermolecular forces into their explanations of boiling point differences. When a 3DL exam question was given as a follow up to the 3DL worksheet, students in Cohort 3 were more likely than Cohorts 1 and 2 to correctly identify the claim. Further comparison showed that Cohort 4 (transformed general chemistry curriculum) were more likely than Cohorts 1–3 to also include the ideas of energy needed to overcome stronger forces for a more sophisticated explanation (50% of Cohort 4 students compared to 17–33% for Cohorts 1–3). In addition, 80% of Cohort 4 students were able to construct a correct representation of hydrogen bonding as a non-covalent interaction compared to 13–57% for the other three cohorts.

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia M. Underwood ◽  
David Reyes-Gastelum ◽  
Melanie M. Cooper

The ability to use a chemical structure to predict and explain phenomenon is essential to a robust understanding of chemistry; however, previous research has shown that students find it difficult to make the connection between structure and properties. In this study we examine how student recognition of the connections between structure and properties evolves during the first two years of college chemistry courses. In addition, we investigate how an alternative general chemistry curriculum (Chemistry, Life, the Universe and Everything (CLUE)) impacts students' understanding during these first two-years. Using discrete-time survival analysis to analyze student responses to the Implicit Information from Lewis Structures Instrument (IILSI), we found that it takes multiple semesters for students enrolled in a traditional curriculum to recognize that chemical structures can be used as models to predict chemical and physical properties. Students in the CLUE curriculum, however, tend to make this connection earlier than a matched cohort of students from a traditional curriculum, and this advantage is maintained throughout the two semesters of organic chemistry. In general, the control group takes an additional year of organic chemistry to reach the same level as the CLUE students after a year of general chemistry.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun Jin Cho ◽  
Michael R. Melloch ◽  
Chantal Levesque-Bristol

Abstract Background Active learning pedagogy has recently received a great deal of attention, and many universities have attempted to create student-centered learning environments to improve students’ academic success. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of concept-point-recovery (CPR) teaching sessions as an active learning strategy on students’ perceptions of the learning environment, motivation, and academic learning outcomes in an electrical engineering course. To investigate the effectiveness of CPR sessions, students’ perceptions of learning and their performance were compared to those of students in a control classroom. Finally, students’ written comments on the course and instructor were explored in further analysis. Results The quantitative findings revealed that there was a significant change in students’ perceptions of learning after the CPR teaching sessions, and there was an increase in students’ perceptions and learning outcomes compared with those of the control group. In addition, the qualitative findings from students’ written feedback demonstrated that students felt that the instructor cared about students’ learning and success and that they had a positive learning environment. Conclusions CPR teaching sessions can be an alternative model for instructors to connect with students and create supportive environments to help students achieve academic success, which in turn promotes the satisfaction of students’ basic psychological needs and self-determined motivation. Therefore, increasing students’ engagement in their learning processes and making connections with students through CPR teaching sessions can facilitate improvements in students’ motivation and academic success. How this new active learning technique can be applied to higher education is discussed.


Author(s):  
Mohammed Abdul Rahman Al - Jagoub

The objective of this study was to develop an achievement test to measure the skills of literary tasting. It consists of (30) multiple choice types, which were applied to a sample of the stability test According to the KR 20 equation, the study used semi-experimental research methodology. The sample consisted of (120) male and female students of the 10th grade at Gulf Arab Secondary School for Boys and Al-Hira Secondary School for Girls in Sharjah. The people were chosen deliberately, (60) students, experimental subjects studied the material using active learning strategies, and the control group studied the same material in the normal way. After analyzing the data, the results of the study indicated that the students in the experimental group achieved a higher level of control group students Statistical analysis showed differences in the level of literary taste at the statistical significance level (α = 0.05); due to the active learning strategies, the total mathematical mean of the experimental group performance was on the post taste test (26.60) For the control group (20.90). The value of P (58.05), the value of the significance level (0.00), that is less than (0.05), which indicates that there are significant differences between the experimental group and the control group for the benefit of the experimental group, and the value of (P) Between the sex and the group was (1.00), which is not statistically significant value, where its significance (0.32), and does not indicate the existence of an effect of interaction between the teaching method and sex. The study concluded with recommendations calling on teachers to use active learning strategies in the teaching of literary knowledge. And focus on those strategies when writing Arabic language books for the secondary stage.


2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. Dunsmuir ◽  
S. Bennett ◽  
L. Fareria ◽  
A. Mingino ◽  
M. Sansone

For research facilities with access to synchrotron X-ray sources, X-ray absorption microtomography (XMT) has evolved from an experimental imaging method to a specialized, if not yet routine, microscopy for imaging the three-dimensional (3D) distribution of linear attenuation coefficients and, in some cases, elemental concentration with micron spatial resolution. Recent advances in source and detector design have produced conventional X-ray source instruments with comparable spatial resolution but with lower throughput and without element specific imaging. Both classes of instrument produce 3D images for analysis. We discuss an integrated approach for the implementation of analytical XMT to support basic research into the structure-property relationships of a variety of materials. The essential components include instrumentation for collecting quantitative 3D images, a 3D image processing environment to address questions as to the quantity, composition, geometry, and relationships among the features in one or more images, and visualization to provide insight and communicate results. We give examples of image analysis of resolved and unresolved pore spaces of sandstones.


2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 2770-2785
Author(s):  
Najeh Rajeh Alsalhi Et al.

The main goal of this study was to examine the impact of blended learning on the academic achievement of undergraduate students in the general chemistry (CHE101) course. The participants' learners of the study were (326) learners, who were randomly split into two groups, one of which taught by using blended learning (empirical group A, n = 163) and the other which with taught by using the conventional method (control group B, n = 163). To accomplish the objectives of the study, the researchers prepared the study tool, which is an achievement test, after confirming its validity and reliability. Data analyses showed that there is a statistically significant difference among the mean scores of learners in the two study groups on the achievement test, for the benefit of empirical group learners, who taught through blended learning. Moreover, the results revealed that achievement varied according to the College of the learners in the empirical group (in favor of those students of Pharmacy and Health Sciences College). However, there is no statistically significant difference in students according to the students’ gender variable and, according to the Academic year variable. The study recommended that blended learning be used more widely to cover different sectors of education.


Author(s):  
Grm Wissiak ◽  
Iztok Devetak

This study aimed to examine the impact of two different approaches on students? understanding of selected chemical concepts. The first treatment group was taught by a method comprising guided active learning demonstrations, and the second treatment group was exposed to guided active learning demonstrations with explanations at the submicroscopic level. In a control group, the selected topic was taught without guided active learning demonstrations and without explanations at the submicroscopic level. The instruments used in this research included the test of logical thinking (TOLT), Knowledge Pre-Test (KPT), two achievement tests (AT-1 and AT-2) and a questionnaire for students. One hundred and seventy-one students (average age 13.9 years) participated in the study. The results indicate that both approaches (i.e. guided active learning demonstrations and guided active learning demonstrations with explanations at submicroscopic level) are more effective than only symbolic teaching. It can be concluded from the results that students? knowledge, obtained by either method that includes guided active learning, is retained in the students? long-term memory. Some suggestions for implications for the primary science curriculum are also discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Bin Li ◽  
Bin Lu ◽  
Xuewen Guo ◽  
Shenghui Hu ◽  
Guihu Zhao ◽  
...  

Purpose. To screen out pathogenic genes in a Chinese family with congenital cataract and iris coloboma. Material and Methods. A three-generation family with congenital cataract and iris coloboma from a Han ethnicity was recruited. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples collected from all individuals in the family. Whole exon sequencing was employed for screening the disease-causing gene mutations in the proband, and Sanger sequencing was used for other members of the family and a control group of 500 healthy individuals. Bioinformatics analysis and three-dimensional structure predictions were used to predict the impact of amino acid changes on protein structure and function. Results. The candidate genes of cataract and iris coloboma were successfully screened out. A heterozygote mutation, CRYGD c.70C>A (p.P24T), was identified as cosegregating with congenital cataracts, while another heterozygous mutation, WFS1 c.1514G>C (p.C505S), which had not been reported previously, cosegregated with congenital iris coloboma. Bioinformatic analyses and three-dimensional structure prediction proved that the three-dimensional structures of WFS1 p.C505S and CRYGD p.P24T changed markedly and may contribute significantly to iris coloboma and congenital cataract, respectively. Conclusions. We report a novel mutation, WFS1 p.C505S, and a known mutation, CRYGD p.P24T, that cosegregate with iris coloboma and congenital cataract, respectively, in a Chinese family. This is the first time the association of WFS1 p.C505S with iris coloboma has been demonstrated, although CRYGD p.P24T has been widely reported as being associated with congenital cataract, especially in the Eastern Asian population. These findings may have future therapeutic benefit for the diagnosis of iris coloboma and congenital cataract. The results may also be relevant in further studies aiming to investigate the molecular pathogenesis of iris coloboma and congenital cataract.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ştefan Ţălu ◽  
Bandar Astinchap ◽  
Senour Abdolghaderi ◽  
Azizollah Shafiekhani ◽  
Ilya A. Morozov

AbstractThe objective of this study is the experimental investigation of the silver in diamond-like carbon (Ag/DLC) nanocomposite prepared by the co-deposition of radio frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF-PECVD) and RF-sputtering. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction analyses, ultraviolet–visible (UV–visible) spectroscopy measurements were applied to describe the three-dimensional surface texture data in connection with the statistical, and multifractal analyses. Additional information about structure–property relationships in prepared Ag/DLC nanocomposite was studied in detail to allow a better understanding of the surface micromorphology. The performed analysis revealed the studied samples have multifractal properties and can be included in novel algorithms for graphical representation of complex geometrical shapes and implemented in computer simulation algorithms.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document