Identifier

etd-07102012-164634

Degree

Master of Natural Sciences (MNS)

Department

Natural Sciences (Interdepartmental Program)

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

ABSTRACT Different teaching styles can impact student learning in many ways. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Modeling Instruction on student achievement in a high school Chemistry course. Different tests were used to compare the data at the beginning of a school year and at the end of the school year. The tests used were to determine gains in chemistry content knowledge, abilities to reason scientifically, and attitudes about learning chemistry. The control group was taught by traditional instruction through the use of lecture, note-taking, and textbook guided assignments. The experimental group was taught by the use of the Modeling Curriculum from Arizona State University, which consists of daily group activities, including white-boarding, journal-writing, and self-discovery tactics. As far as concepts in Chemistry were concerned, based on Chemistry Concept Inventory normalized gains, there was a significant gain for the Modeling group independent of students’ prior exposure to Physical Science and gender. There was also a positive increase towards favorable attitudes in learning Chemistry for the Modeling sample, based on the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science-Chemistry. The data in this study shows utilizing Modeling instruction in a high school Chemistry setting is effective for positive gains in content knowledge and attitudes about chemistry.

Date

2012

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Slezak, Cyrill

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.503

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