Numerous studies have proven the learning benefits of concept maps in science subjects, particularly for students with low prior knowledge. There is a scarcity of research dedicated to the examination of chemistry courses at the university level, and the findings pertaining to academic performance in that subject exhibit a lack of consistency.…

Our goal as educators should be to help our students become well positioned to achieve future success. To develop effective strategies for accomplishing this objective, we must first understand the root causes of success. Thus, to best serve undergraduate students who are taking organic chemistry courses, we must understand the attributes that…

Students come into the classroom with a variety of background knowledge. Therefore, it is imperative that educators are able to help all students, regardless of their familiarity with the content. Since it can be challenging for some large enrollment classes to schedule recitation classes after lectures due to logistical constraints, this study…

College biology courses commonly use diagrams to convey information. These visual representations are embedded in course materials with the expectation that students can comprehend and learn from them. Educational research, however, suggests that many students have difficulty understanding diagrams and the conventions (e.g., labels, arrows) they…

Collaboration is an important career skill and vital to student understanding of the social aspects of science, but less is known about relationships among collaborative-learning strategies, classroom climate, and student learning. We sought to increase the collaborative character of introductory undergraduate laboratory classrooms by analyzing a…

This study explores the relationship between different types of prior knowledge and student achievement in an introductory chemistry course. Student achievement was regarded as the pace of completing the course as well as the final grade. A model of prior knowledge is proposed; this distinguishes between different types of prior knowledge and…

Students in their first year of university face a number of transition issues that can make realising their academic potential difficult. In the sciences, first-year courses cover a large amount of material across broad subject areas, which can make them troublesome for students without background knowledge, and students need to adapt to typically…

Previous research [S. J. Pollock et al., Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 3, 1 (2007)] showed that despite the use of interactive engagement techniques, the gap in performance between males and females on a conceptual learning survey persisted from pretest to post-test at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Such findings were counter to…

A study examined whether students beginning a cell biology course with prior knowledge of its three areas (genetics, histology, and biochemistry) would retain that advantage throughout the course and whether achievement was influenced by the order of questions in a test. (MSE)

The main purposes of this study were to investigate the relationships among approaches to studying, prior knowledge, logical thinking ability, attitude, and performance in college freshman chemistry and to explore the effect of gender on the same variables. Subjects were 199 students (114 females, 85 males) enrolled in the second semester of a…

Concept maps and structured/clinical interviews were completed by 25 fourth graders and 25 college freshmen to determine knowledge of the human circulatory system. Students (N=945) at various levels were then measured for misconception frequencies. Student preconceptions appear to be tenacious, but confrontation strategies may assist fundamental…