Graduation Year

2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Chemistry

Major Professor

Jennifer E. Lewis, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Scott E. Lewis, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Luanna B. Prevost, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Jeffrey R. Raker, Ph.D.

Committee Member

John Skvoretz, Ph.D.

Keywords

chemistry education, motivation, social network analysis, transfer students

Abstract

This dissertation will go through the details of three projects highlighting considerations for curricular reforms in undergraduate chemistry. Improving the teaching of chemistry is facilitated by considering the problem from multiple directions, namely, faculty and students. In addition to the multiple perspectives, this dissertation also seeks to bring new methodologies into the spotlight to improve the toolbox for other chemistry or discipline-based education researchers. Additionally, this dissertation has shown in several locations how focusing in on subgroups within populations can reveal findings that would not have been apparent from a global average of the population. The three project describes in the dissertation are as follows: The first project (Chapter 3) involves the development and validity evidence for an instrument to characterize the attitudes that lead a faculty member to adopt evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs). The next project (Chapter 4) focuses on the use of social influence models to characterize student motivation in a general chemistry classroom using peer led team learning where evidence will be shown of a contrast effect that cause students to polarize in their interest toward the activities in the peer leading sessions. The final project (Chapter 5) will further elaborate the positive relationship between motivation and achievement while highlighting how this relationship is weaker for transfer students than their peers.

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