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1. Conceptual-Based Writing Exercises in a Circuit Analysis Course

   https://doi.org/10.1109/TE.2022.3147099  

   Becker, James P; Hacker, Douglass J. (January 2022, IEEE transactions on education)

   John E. Mitchell (Ed.)

   Contribution: This article describes the implementation, assessment, and evaluation of conceptual-based writing exercises in an introductory course on electric circuit analysis. Background: Students' struggles in gateway courses such as circuit analysis are often traced to inadequate metacognitive skills on the part of the student as well their misconceptions regarding fundamental phenomena related to the course. Writing is known to be a powerful tool for insight into a student's thought process and to foster metacognitive activity. Research Questions: What effect does the use of short writing exercises have on students' understanding of fundamental concepts related to the behavior of electric circuits operating at dc? What effect does the use of the conceptually based writing exercises have on students' ability to justify their responses when answering conceptual questions related to basic electric circuit concepts? Methodology: In the first semester of the study, a single writing exercise was given and in the second semester, a total of five such exercises were administered. In each semester, students were separated into ``at-risk'' and ``not at-risk'' groups based on their responses to the first writing exercise. A 2 x 2 x (2) mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted, with at-risk/not at-risk and semester/semester between-subjects factors and pre-test/post-test on a multiple-choice conceptual-based exam a within-subjects factor. Findings: Results suggest that only the at-risk group may have benefited in terms of deepened conceptual understanding and the ability to justify their responses from the use of multiple conceptual-based writing exercises. 

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2. Quantum chemical exercise linking computational chemistry to general chemistry topics

   https://doi.org/10.1515/cti-2019-0014  

   Simpson, Scott; Evanoski-Cole, Ashley; Gast, Kellie; Wedvik, Madeleine C.; Schneider, Patrick W.; Klingensmith, Isaac (March 2020, Chemistry Teacher International)

   Abstract Students in a second semester general chemistry course used quantum chemical calculations to investigate and reinforce general chemistry concepts. Students explored the isomers of hypochlorous acid, made predictions of miscibility via dipole moments calculated from ab-initio means, experimentally validated/disqualified their miscibility predictions, and used molecular models to visualize intermolecular attraction forces between various compounds. Student responses in pre-/post-exercise assessments show evidence of student learning. Responses in pre-/post-exercise surveys showed an increase in student understanding of basic concepts and of the importance of quantum mechanics in common general chemistry topics. 

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3. Capturing students' identification of the relevance of organic chemistry in writing

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d3rp00161j  

   Milne, Safron L; Finkenstaedt-Quinn, Solaire A; Garza, Nicholas F; Zimmerman, Steven C; Shultz, Ginger V (March 2024, Chemistry Education Research and Practice)

   Appealing to students' affect in academic settings, such as demonstrating chemistry's relevance to their life, is one strategy instructors may use to support students’ in learning. This study investigates the types of connections that students make to organic chemistry when responding to an open-ended writing assignment. Students enrolled in an introductory level organic chemistry course were asked to choose and write about an organic molecule they felt was important to their life, in doing so students wrote about the molecule's relevance to their life. Analysis of the writing was supported by semi-structured interviews with a subset of the students in which they discussed their approach to completing the assigment. Conclusions from this study suggest that students successfully made connections between their chosen moleucle and their life. Considered through the lens of relevance, students can both seek and find relevance in organic chemistry topics on a personal, societal, or vocational level; and therefore may reinforce their comprehension and appreciation of chemistry. 

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4. Game‐based activities targeting visual literacy skills to increase understanding of biomolecule structure and function concepts in undergraduate biochemistry

   https://doi.org/10.1002/bmb.21398  

   Terrell, Cassidy R.; Nickodem, Kyle; Bates, Alison; Kersten, Cassandra; Mernitz, Heather (July 2020, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education)

   Abstract Introductory biochemistry courses are often challenging for students because they require the integration of chemistry, biology, physics, math, and physiology knowledge and frameworks to understand and apply a large body of knowledge. This can be complicated by students' persistent misconceptions of fundamental concepts and lack of fluency with the extensive visual and symbolic literacy used in biochemistry. Card sorting tasks and game‐based activities have been used to reveal insights into how students are assimilating, organizing, and structuring disciplinary knowledge, and how they are progressing along a continuum from disciplinary novice to expert. In this study, game‐based activities and card sorting tasks were used to promote and evaluate students' understanding of fundamental structure–function relationships in biochemistry. Our results suggest that while many markers of expertise increased for both the control and intervention groups over the course of the semester, students involved in the intervention activities tended to move further towards expert‐like sorting. This indicates that intentional visual literacy game‐based activities have the ability to build underdeveloped skills in undergraduate students. 

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5. Work in Progress: The Electric Circuit Concepts Diagnostic (ECCD)

   Hunsu, N. (January 2022, Annual Proceeding of the American Society for Engineering Education)

   Students come to learning in engineering classrooms with misconceptions about the concepts covered in engineering course contents. However, instructional efforts often do not effectively address misconceptions in students’ prior knowledge. Concept inventories (CIs) are often relied upon to identify misconceptions in students’ prior knowledge. However, many instructors never benefit much from using CIs because they lack either the know-how, time commitment, or statistical skills required to use them efficiently and effectively. Furthermore, there sometimes are ambiguities about how to interpret students’ CI scores. The Electric Circuit Concepts Diagnostic (ECCD) project team will address these limitations of CIs by creating a web-based electric circuit concept inventory that: (i.) provides an immediate and multipurpose feedback system for reporting about students’ circuits and electricity prior knowledge; (ii.) differentiates, with a high probability, between a lack of prior knowledge and misconceptions; and (iii.) uses a scheme of multidimensional knowledge profiles to report on students’ prior knowledge and misconceptions. The project will integrate the affordances of cognitive diagnostic modeling (CDM), multitier testing frameworks, and computer-assisted testing to realize these project objectives. This work-in-progress report introduces the objectives of ECCD inventory to the ECE research and teaching community. 

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