ChemQuery: An Assessment System for Mapping Student Progress in Learning General Chemistry

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Students in general education science courses typically do not appreciate that science advances through a series of complex paradigm shifts involving considerable debate and discussion. Their perception that scientific understanding of issues proceeds in a cut-and-dry process impedes their grasp of scientific concepts and their ability to apply science reasoning to issues in societal contexts. Unfortunately, there is no way to quantify these misconceptions and thereby address them with a concerted curricular response. This project is producing an assessment instrument, the Science Perceptions Survey, designed to measure these dispositions and changes in them as well. The Science Perceptions Survey is being devised in the context of general education chemistry courses and validated through correlation with results of written essays and interviews. An independent evaluator who is not associated with the development of the assessment tool is managing these validation protocols. Once validated, the instruments will be freely available to other institutions considering changes in curricula focused on enhancing the appreciation of science methods and their place in general education courses. The Principal Investigators anticipate that the Science Perceptions Survey will be a valuable tool in delineating deficiencies in students' ability to understand the way in which scientific arguments are constructed and to guide curriculum development in correcting these deficiencies. In addition to the curriculum assessment format, the Science Perceptions Survey will be disseminated in a web-based format for student self-evaluation. This implementation will provide students real-time analysis of their tolerance for ambiguity in scientific findings and their ability to use the scientific method. This ongoing project can be used by instructors as an assignment in the general education courses to help students understand how science advances knowledge.