This Class Definitely Changed My Opinion of Chemistry: How a Pedagogical Course Reform Improved Students’ Chemistry Attitudes

TL;DR

This study shows how reforming an introductory chemistry course improved students' attitudes toward chemistry through student-centered teaching and practice.

Contribution

The study identifies specific course attributes that influence students' affective outcomes and attitudes toward chemistry.

Findings

Student-centered instruction and frequent practice with feedback led to positive attitudes toward chemistry.

Lack of these practices resulted in negative affective outcomes.

Course attributes were directly linked to broader attitudes toward the chemistry discipline.

Abstract

Introductory chemistry
is a gateway course that influences
students’
persistence in science-related degree programs and careers. Here,
we investigate how a deliberate practice-informed introductory chemistry
reform influenced student attitudes toward chemistry. Through open
coding and thematic analysis of 5 focus group discussions, we illustrate
causal mechanisms between course attributes and students’ affective
outcomes and attitudes toward chemistry. The use of student-centered
instructional practices and frequent opportunities for students to
practice and receive feedback are consistently described to prompt
positive affective outcomes, while the lack of these practices and
opportunities is described to prompt negative affective outcomes.
Participants directly indicate that these attributes of the course
influenced their broader attitudes toward chemistry as a discipline.
For educators who view this to be transferable to their context, these
findings illustrate ways to incorporate deliberate practice tenants
of motivation, practice, and feedback to positively change students’
attitudes toward chemistry.

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