Analyzing Student Understanding of In Chemistry

Xander Schmit Author

07/26/2021 Added

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This video is walkthrough of the research poster I created describing what I assisted in researching during the summer 2021.

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[00:00:01.540]Hello, my name is Xander Schmit.
[00:00:03.310]I am a physics major going into my junior year this fall
[00:00:05.980]at Nebraska Wesleyan University.
[00:00:07.930]And over the past several weeks,
[00:00:09.270]I've assisted Dr. Morgan Balabanoff and Dr. Alena Moon
[00:00:12.910]in analyzing student understanding
[00:00:14.660]of spectroscopy in chemistry.
[00:00:19.540]Spectroscopy a tool widely used in the sciences
[00:00:22.330]to identify atoms and or molecules within a sample.
[00:00:25.860]For our research,
[00:00:26.693]we focus primarily on student understanding
[00:00:28.500]of ultraviolet and visible light spectroscopy
[00:00:31.070]due to this form spectroscopy being widely accessible
[00:00:33.480]to chemistry students.
[00:00:35.240]In this image here, we have an example
[00:00:36.800]of visible light spectroscopy.
[00:00:38.610]On the left, an incident white light source enters
[00:00:42.080]through the entrance slit and is broken
[00:00:43.930]into the visible light spectrum.
[00:00:46.390]This spectrum is then shown through the sample.
[00:00:48.780]Whatever wavelength or wavelengths of light not detected
[00:00:51.430]after exiting the sample are being absorbed.
[00:00:54.880]Though this technique is widely used
[00:00:56.840]in chemistry and other fields, there's little known about
[00:00:59.750]how students understand
[00:01:01.600]the ultraviolet and visible light spectroscopy conceptually.
[00:01:05.140]So this gives rise to our research question.
[00:01:07.830]How do chemistry students understand and reason ultraviolet
[00:01:11.100]and visible light spectroscopy?
[00:01:16.090]To answer our research question,
[00:01:17.390]a qualitative study using a series
[00:01:19.150]of semi-structured interviews was conducted.
[00:01:22.170]Why interview?
[00:01:23.110]Well, semi-structured interviews are an excellent way
[00:01:25.250]to gauge how students understand the subject
[00:01:27.830]because researchers have more interaction
[00:01:29.740]with student responses and control over questions asked.
[00:01:33.780]The participants of these interviews
[00:01:35.210]are UNL chemistry students
[00:01:36.650]from lower and upper division chemistry courses.
[00:01:39.240]It just so happened we had eight graduate
[00:01:41.250]and eight undergraduate students participate.
[00:01:44.680]Every interview was virtual
[00:01:46.170]and each participant received monetary compensation
[00:01:48.950]for their participation.
[00:01:51.870]An interview protocol is a plan for the interview.
[00:01:55.030]The four big ideas we wanted to ask chemistry students
[00:01:58.630]about related to spectroscopy are,
[00:02:01.980]observations of molecules, observations about spectra,
[00:02:06.420]assigning spectra to the correct molecules
[00:02:09.490]and the light matter interaction
[00:02:11.330]between photons and molecules itself.
[00:02:14.780]Here's an example question that we would ask a participant
[00:02:19.040]and the accompanying image
[00:02:20.230]that they could use for reference.
[00:02:23.730]Coding is the process
[00:02:24.890]of applying a theoretical framework to qualitative data.
[00:02:28.540]For this research, we use Knowledge in Pieces
[00:02:30.447]and Coordination Class Theory to analyze these interviews.
[00:02:35.760]To sum up Knowledge in Pieces briefly,
[00:02:39.960]a person's understanding
[00:02:41.340]and its most simple form, is a P-prim.
[00:02:44.040]P-prims are fragmented, simple and localized
[00:02:48.700]while, coordination class theory
[00:02:50.960]describes advanced knowledge.
[00:02:53.160]A coordination class is organized complex
[00:02:56.930]and is a network of ideas.
[00:03:03.040]For the results section, we have two interviews.
[00:03:05.330]One from Craig, a graduate student
[00:03:07.320]and Eric an undergraduate student.
[00:03:09.740]Samples for parts of the interview
[00:03:11.290]where they discuss quantization
[00:03:12.950]in light matter interactions.
[00:03:15.460]The various highlights are attached to a code,
[00:03:18.180]identifying a piece of the interview that connects
[00:03:20.620]to the theoretical framework and or one
[00:03:22.690]of the big ideas we are seeking student understanding of.
[00:03:26.090]The images at the top of the slides,
[00:03:27.730]are ones interviewees make reference to in their responses.
[00:03:34.610]After reading through each example,
[00:03:36.300]you will find some key differences between each interview.
[00:03:39.510]Craig is consistent with their explanations,
[00:03:41.630]using the word discrete and relevant prior knowledge
[00:03:44.100]to assist them in their answers.
[00:03:46.130]On the other hand, Eric begins the interview relying
[00:03:48.590]on a P-prim and they also display a limited understanding
[00:03:52.780]of the light matter interaction
[00:03:54.030]that defines UV/VIs spectroscopy.
[00:03:56.450]But even with this being the case,
[00:03:58.070]Eric still ends up creating a productive answer describing
[00:04:01.440]which spectra goes with which molecule
[00:04:03.550]by the end of the interview.
[00:04:07.730]Knowledge in Pieces in coordination class theory,
[00:04:09.960]has provided an excellent framework
[00:04:11.530]to analyze these interviews.
[00:04:13.480]Variations in student reasoning was observed
[00:04:15.930]and quantization is a concept key
[00:04:18.480]to many expert level answers to the questions asked.
[00:04:26.160]Some implications of our research are,
[00:04:28.560]that instructors and peers can support the development
[00:04:31.040]of productive reasoning by asking questions
[00:04:33.150]that elicit relevant prior knowledge
[00:04:35.430]and concepts from lecture are essential
[00:04:37.410]to making sense of what is done in lab.
[00:04:39.940]We must strengthen the connection between the two.
[00:04:45.320]I would like to thank the National Science Foundation
[00:04:47.550]for funding my research and UNL
[00:04:49.590]for this amazing summer experience.
[00:04:51.850]I'd like to give a special thanks to Dr. Morgan Balabanoff
[00:04:54.680]for being such an excellent mentor
[00:04:56.660]and also to the Moon Group
[00:04:57.850]for providing me such an amazing experience this summer.
[00:05:03.440]Thank you to everybody who watched this presentation.
[00:05:06.060]If you have any questions on this presentation,
[00:05:08.290]my research poster or my research in general,
[00:05:11.040]please feel free to contact me via the email on this slide.

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Analyzing Student Understanding of In Chemistry

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