Phenomenon-based tasks on dissolution and boiling point administered after relevant instruction¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 associational), q3 · 1 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

The study's assessment instruments were two open-response phenomenon-based tasks administered immediately after the relevant course content in each learning environment. "Students from each learning environment were administered two phenomenon-based tasks during the first and second semesters of introductory chemistry, immediately following the relevant course content." The dissolution task asked why a beaker of water warms when LiCl dissolves; the boiling point task asked why ethanol, which can hydrogen bond, has a higher boiling point than dimethyl ether despite the same formula and molar mass. Responses were coded for levels of causal mechanistic reasoning, not scientific accuracy.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Tasks must be administered immediately following the relevant course content unit.

Constraints¶

• The article notes responses likely do not capture a complete picture of students' chemistry proficiency and were used as a reasonable estimation.

Target Learners¶

• undergraduate introductory chemistry students

Target Learning Goals¶

• explaining dissolution and boiling point phenomena at the particulate level

Affordances¶

• Three Tier Cmr Coding Scheme

Claims¶

• Learning environment had a less significant impact on causal mechanistic reasoning on the boiling point task, with a small effect size of 0.168 [+W]

Related Elements¶

Examples¶

• Incorporate assessment questions that elicit causal mechanistic reasoning through phenomena, scaffolded but not over-probed

Key Sources¶

• Scharlott, L. J.; Rippey, D. W.; Rosa, V.; Becker, N. M. (2024). Progression toward Causal Mechanistic Reasoning through Phenomenon-Based Learning in Introductory Chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00517