ERIC Number: EJ1312810
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Oct
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
Early Warning Signals from Automaticity Diagnostic Instruments for First- and Second-Semester General Chemistry
Shelton, G. Robert; Mamiya, Blain; Weber, Rebecca; Rush Walker, Deborah; Powell, Cynthia B.; Jang, Ben; Dubrovskiy, Anton V.; Villalta-Cerdas, Adrian; Mason, Diana
Journal of Chemical Education, v98 n10 p3061-3072 Oct 2021
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.
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, College Science, Mathematics Tests, Mathematics Skills, Computation, Cognitive Processes, Chemistry, Literacy, Thinking Skills, Arithmetic, Scores
Division of Chemical Education, Inc. and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A