Sponsor
Portland State University. Department of Chemistry
First Advisor
Jack Barbera
Term of Graduation
Fall 2024
Date of Publication
12-12-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Chemistry
Department
Chemistry
Language
English
Subjects
Buy-In, Chemistry Education, Engagement, Expectations
Physical Description
1 online resource (xi, 285 pages)
Abstract
Laboratory courses constitute an integral aspect of chemistry education at the undergraduate level. Despite their prominence, a growing number of researchers have begun to think more critically about the value of laboratory learning experiences. As pedagogical decisions should be based on evidence, it is necessary for chemistry education researchers and practitioners to investigate the claim that teaching laboratories are a valuable part of science education. Therefore, the aim of this dissertation was to address one small section of this gap in the literature by obtaining a more robust understanding of students' expectations, buy-in, and engagement in lower division, undergraduate, chemistry laboratory courses.
To explore these constructs, the learning goals and expectations for the general and organic chemistry laboratories were investigated through the collection of semi-structured interview data from laboratory coordinators and graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), and open-ended written responses from students. Analysis of participant responses indicated that many of the learning goals and expectations were shared between the three groups. That said, there were laboratory coordinator defined learning goals and expectations that were mentioned by very few or no GTAs and students. Additionally, GTAs and students held expectations related to their laboratory experiences that were not described by the laboratory coordinators.
In addition to the qualitative study, this project aimed to develop a quantitative measure of students' laboratory expectations, buy-in, and engagement. To do this, existing survey instruments related these constructs were adapted and psychometrically evaluated. First, the Meaningful Learning in the Laboratory Instrument (MLLI) was adapted to address concerns related to the internal structure of the data generated by the instrument. The resulting new version of the measure was deemed the MLLIv2. Next, the Exposure, Persuasion, Identification, and Commitment measure of was adapted to investigate students' buy-in to faculty defined laboratory learning goals, which were identified via the faculty interviews described above. The resulting measure was named the EPIC-LaG. Finally, a measure of student engagement in general chemistry laboratory courses was lightly adapted for use in this study. The adapted measure, titled the UCL-Engagement exhibited a different factor structure than the original instrument. Throughout the development process, the quality of the data generated by these measures was assessed by collecting evidence in support of internal structure validity, response process validity, single administration reliability, and measurement invariance.
Once functional measures of students' laboratory expectations, buy-in, and engagement had been established, two possible structural models of the relations among these constructs were explored via structural equation modeling. However, the data collected in this study did not provide definitive results that would allow for the selection of one set of relations among students' expectations, buy-in, and engagement over the other. Given this, additional studies (both qualitative and quantitative) are needed to better understand the nuanced relations among these constructs.
Rights
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Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/42910
Recommended Citation
Vaughan, Elizabeth Blanche, "Investigating Student Expectations, Buy-In, and Engagement in Lower Division Undergraduate Chemistry Labs" (2024). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 6736.