Creating Meaningful Learning Opportunities through Incorporating Local Research into Chemistry Classroom Activities
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Incorporating real-life context through connections to research early in the curriculum can create meaningful learning opportunities that encourage students to engage deeply with classroom content to construct chemistry knowledge. Course-based undergraduate research experiences have been successful at integrating real-life context, but are often only incorporated into upper-level courses. To provide an additional pathway to foster interaction with research, four activities from an introductory chemistry discussion class were created to incorporate authentic research connections. Care was taken to incorporate metacognitive questions designed to help students make connections between their preexisting knowledge and course content. Marzano’s taxonomy was used to analyze the cognitive complexity of tasks, which increased in the revised activities, allowing for more opportunities for knowledge construction. Audio and written work of student groups as they worked through activities was collected. Qualitative analysis of student engagement revealed that control over the content of activities to incorporate opportunities for knowledge construction is not enough to facilitate students consciously engaging in meaningful learning. If instructors wish to promote students integrating chemistry knowledge into their existing framework, course instructors, including graduate teaching assistants, need to be trained on how to properly facilitate classroom experiences to increase the likelihood of success.
Source: Education Sciences
Authors: Nicole States, Elizabeth Stone, Renee Cole
Institution: University of Iowa
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,557
Funder: National Science Foundation
Awards: Source Apportionment of Anthropogenic Secondary Organic Aerosol, Collaborative Research: New Measurements to Understand Coastal Ozone Production During the 2017 Lake Michigan Ozone Study, EAGER: Characterization of Atmospheric Pollen under Weather Extremes, Collaborative Research: Investigating Classroom Discourse in Active Learning Environments for Large Enrollment Chemistry Courses, NSF Center for Aerosol Impacts on Chemistry of the Environment
OpenAlex ID: W4320496297