Early Warning Signals from Automaticity Diagnostic Instruments for First- and Second-Semester General Chemistry

• G. Robert Shelton ^[5] ; Blain Mamiya ^[1] ; Rebecca Weber ^[2] ; Deborah Rush Walker ^[2] ; Cynthia B. Powell ^[3] ; Ben Jang ^[6] ; Anton V. Dubrovskiy ^[7] ; Adrian Villalta-Cerdas ^[4] ; Diana Mason ^[2]
  1. [1] Texas State University

     Texas State University

     Estados Unidos

     
  2. [2] University of North Texas

     University of North Texas

     Estados Unidos

     
  3. [3] Abilene Christian University

     Abilene Christian University

     Estados Unidos

     
  4. [4] Sam Houston State University

     Sam Houston State University

     Estados Unidos

     
  5. [5] Texas A&M University−San Antonio, United States
  6. [6] Texas A&M University−Commerce, United States
  7. [7] University of Houston−Clear Lake, United States

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• Localización: Journal of chemical education, ISSN 0021-9584, Vol. 98, Nº 10, 2021, págs. 3061-3072
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • The Math-Up Skills Tests (MUST) has been used in multiple research projects conducted by the Networking for Science Advancement (NSA) team to determine how automaticity skills (what can be done without a calculator) in arithmetic can be used to predict if students will be successful (course average = 69.5%+) in general chemistry. This study expands our investigations to include how students’ quantitative literacy/quantitative reasoning (QL/QR) abilities influence their success. The NSA team studied multiple classes at eight universities (n = 1,915) within a broad geographic setting in one large, majority-minority southwestern US state. In a short amount of required classroom time, it is possible to identify students at the beginning of the semester who will struggle in first- and second-semester general chemistry (Chem I and Chem II). Results show a strong correlation between students’ automaticity MUST skills and their QL/QR ability (r = 0.60) and indicate that when taking both diagnostic assessments into consideration, convincing signals appear allowing for the identification of almost 50% of the Chem I students and about 45% of the Chem II students who will not succeed. With the addition of the QL/QR to the first-week assessments, about 9% more students who enter the courses underprepared were identified than when only the MUST was administered. Outcomes indicate that students with at least average arithmetic and QL/QR automaticity abilities are those who are better prepared for these courses. For on-sequence students with at least one average or above diagnostic score, 88.3% Chem I and 90.5% Chem II were successful.