Graduation Year
2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Ph.D.
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Degree Granting Department
Chemistry
Major Professor
Jeffrey R. Raker, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Scott E. Lewis, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Wayne C. Guida, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Luanna B. Prevost, Ph.D.
Keywords
Prompt design, Reaction mechanisms, Reasoning, Representations, Text networks
Abstract
The research presented in this dissertation has two themes: organic chemistry learners’ written explanations and representational competence. Chapters 3 and 4 explore how organic chemistry learners construct explanations of reaction mechanisms, specifically focusing on electrophile and nucleophile components. Chapter 5 investigates organic chemistry learners’ representational competence skills and the relationship between these skills and their performance in the course.
Understanding reaction mechanisms is critical for success in organic chemistry, yet learners often struggle to reason beyond explicit, surface-level features. Constructed-response prompts that ask learners to explain what is happening in a reaction mechanism and why it occurs can provide insight into learner understanding (and misconceptions held) compared to more traditional assessments (e.g., predict the product). Prior work suggests that increasing the structure or support in these prompts can help learners construct more conceptually rich explanations and engage in deeper reasoning. However, it remains unclear how varying the “dosage” of prompt support affects the reasoning that learners engage with in their explanations; such work could provide insights into how to better aid learners in engaging with deeper reasoning and understanding. Chapter 3 explores how different levels of cueing support influence the sophistication of organic chemistry learners’ explanations of electrophile and nucleophile components in reaction mechanisms.
As reaction mechanisms are central to undergraduate organic chemistry instruction, developing fluency in the language used to describe them is important for learner success and promoting deeper reasoning. The words that learners use in their explanations provide insights into their personal conceptual understanding and the collective learning experience. Prior work suggests that learners struggle to construct explanations of reaction mechanisms, relying on explicit, surface-level features rather than incorporating the underlying, implicit features that drive reactivity. Understanding the language that learners prioritize when explaining reaction mechanisms can provide insights for how to support the development of more sophisticated reasoning. Chapter 4 explores how patterns in word usage within organic chemistry learners’ explanations, using network analysis techniques to reveal how learners discuss electrophiles in reaction mechanisms.
Representations are another integral component of chemistry instruction and practice; however, learning to reason with representations presents persistent challenges for learners. While representational competence is viewed as critical for success, prior work investigating the relationship between learners’ course performance and their skills related to representations (e.g., spatial or visuospatial skills) have reported mixed results. The Organic chemistry Representational Competence Assessment (ORCA) was developed to specifically evaluate organic chemistry learners’ ability to apply representational skills within a chemistry context. Gaining a clearer understanding of how learners reason with chemical representations, and how these skills relate to performance in the course, can provide insights into how representations are understood and taught in organic chemistry. Chapter 5 explores the reciprocal relationship between organic chemistry learners’ examination performance and representational competence skills, using the ORCA.
Scholar Commons Citation
Crowder, Caroline J., "Investigating Factors Influencing Organic Chemistry Learners' Explanation Sophistication and Representational Competence" (2025). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/11029
