Students’ view of intelligence (i.e., their mindset beliefs) has been found to be related to their self-efficacy and goal orientations as well as to influence their course outcomes. Comparisons of students’ chemistry mindset between different groups found that organic chemistry I students held more of a growth mindset than general chemistry I students at the beginning of a term. Additionally, men tended to hold more growth mindset beliefs than women. Given these differences, structural equation modeling was used to explore the relations between students’ mindset, self-efficacy, and goal orientations, along with their relation to achievement outcomes within a course. An indirect effect of mindset on summative achievement was found to be mediated through performance-avoidance goals, whereas the relation between self-efficacy and summative achievement was mediated through performance-approach, mastery-avoidance, and performance-avoidance goal orientations. While mindset was not found to be directly or indirectly related to formative achievement outcomes, self-efficacy was found to have an indirect effect on formative achievement through mastery-approach and mastery-avoidance goal orientations. Additionally, an interaction between mindset and self-efficacy was found to be related to performance-avoidance goals, as has been suggested in prior studies. These results point to the importance of mindset on achievement outcomes while also considering influences from self-efficacy and goal orientations. Future work is encouraged to investigate how these variables are related when they are measured throughout a term.
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Goal orientations of general chemistry students via the achievement goal framework
The Achievement Goal Framework describes students’ goal orientations as: task-based, focusing on the successful completion of the task; self-based, evaluating performance relative to one's own past performance; or other-based, evaluating performance relative to the performance of others. Goal orientations have been used to explain student success in a range of educational settings, but have not been used in post-secondary chemistry. This study describes the goal orientations of General Chemistry students and explores the relationship of goal orientations to success in the course. On average, students report higher task and self orientations than other orientation. Task orientation had a positive relationship with exam performance and self orientation had a negative relationship with exam performance. Clustering students showed that for the majority of students task and self orientations moved concurrently and students with low preference across the three orientations also performed lowest on exams. Finally, students in classes using Flipped-Peer Led Team Learning, a pedagogy designed to bring active learning to a large lecture class, showed higher task orientation than those in classes with lecture-based instruction.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1432085
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10219578
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Chemistry Education Research and Practice
- Volume:
- 19
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 1109-4028
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 199 to 212
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract Background Goal setting has been established in the literature as a critical component of self‐regulated learning and for effective problem‐solving. Yet, surprisingly little attention has been focused on goal‐directed behaviour in digital game‐based learning environments (GBLEs) despite their expanding use in educational contexts.
Objectives The current study examined the impact of goal assignment in a GBLE aligned with curricular objectives and played in a classroom context.
Methods Eighth‐grade students (
N = 59) in the experiment were randomly assigned to either a mastery goal condition or a performance goal condition before playingCrystal Island—Outbreak . Goal orientation was measured before gameplay, monitoring judgements assessed during gameplay, and enjoyment was measured after game play.Results and Conclusions Two important results emerged that contribute to the existing literature on goals and GBLEs. First, assignment to the mastery goal condition resulted in significantly higher enjoyment ratings and monitoring judgements but not game performance while considering the influence of pre‐existing goal‐orientation. Second, self‐reported mastery goal orientation and videogame play frequency predicted enjoyment in the game.
Implications The results suggest that enjoyment can be facilitated by orienting students to adopt mastery goals and that developers should consider integrating mastery‐based instructions in their GBLEs. Moreover, instructional goals can influence students regardless of incoming goal orientations.
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null (Ed.)Active learning is a pedagogical approach which engages students in the learning process, aiming to optimize comprehension of educational material. Meta-analysis of current research shows maximum impact when applied to STEM education, especially for underrepresented minority (URM) students and students with a low GPA. This study focuses on student success, progression, completion and STEM interest within the General Chemistry course sequence at Blinded City College, which has a 51% Hispanic student population. Data from classes implementing active learning pedagogy consistently had higher success and progression rates, as well as increased progression success from General Chemistry 1 to General Chemistry 2, with a greater positive impact and completion success among Hispanic students compared to students from Asian populations, whose progression success was negatively impacted through use of active learning pedagogy in comparison to traditional lecture-based coursework. Comparison of scores for the American Chemical Society General Chemistry Exams, from this community college and at a national level, indicates active learning students perform equally well on chemistry standardized tests. In total, active learning classes were most beneficial to Hispanic students, and should be designed according to course level, be scaffolded to future coursework to maximize impact through development of STEM active learning pathways in which students are immersed in active learning classrooms continuously through undergraduate STEM academic coursework.more » « less
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null (Ed.)A well-established literature base identifies a portion of students enrolled in post-secondary General Chemistry as at-risk of failing the course based on incoming metrics. Learning about the experiences and factors that lead to this higher failure rate is essential toward improving retention in this course. This study examines the relationship between study habits and academic performance for at-risk students in General Chemistry. Students who were in the bottom quartile of SAT math scores were identified as at-risk students. The study habits of General Chemistry students, both those identified as at-risk and those not identified were measured by text message inquiries. The text message asked ‘‘Have you studied for General Chemistry I in the past 48 hours? If so, how did you study?” twice a week throughout a semester. Student responses to the messages were used to calculate the frequency of studying throughout the term. The results from a multiple regression analysis showed that high frequency of studying could mitigate the difference between at-risk and non-at-risk students on final exam scores. Additionally, the quality of studying for six at-risk students was analyzed by student interviews in concert with their text message responses. The results indicated that the quality of studying is not necessarily linked to frequency of studying and both quality and frequency can play a role in at-risk students' academic performance. The results presented offer a path for at-risk students to succeed in General Chemistry and the methodology presented offers a potential avenue for evaluating future efforts to improve student success.more » « less
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Abstract. To examine relations between achievement goal orientation—a construct of motivation, metacognition and learning, multiple data channels were collected from 58 students while problem solving in a game-based learning environment. Results suggest students with different goal orientations use metacognitive processes differently but found no differences in learning. Findings have implications for measuring motivation using multiple data channels to design adaptive game-based learning environments.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1039/C7RP00148G
