Session Information
09 SES 04 A, Assessment of Competencies and Attitudes in Science Classrooms
Paper Session
Contribution
Conceptual Framework, Objectives, and Research Questions
Researchers utilized various methods such as concept maps, interviews, and drawings, to assess students’ conceptions of solution chemistry (Calik, Ayas, & Ebenezer, 2005; Uzuntiryaki & Geban, 2005). However, these methods would not seem to be effectively and properly utilized by practicing teachers due to the overcrowded classes, and limited available class time (Treagust, 1995). Thus, to diagnose students’ conceptions of science, teachers frequently rely on multiple-choice questions. Yet, multiple-choice tests have a number of weaknesses such as an inability to assess the students’ reasoning and the possibility of guessing. To minimize the weaknesses of multiple-choice tests, researchers developed the two-tier multiple-choice diagnostic instruments (e.g., Treagust, 1995). The two-tier multiple-choice items consist of a first tier that require a response for a particular content, and a second tier that request the reason for such a response. The two-tier instruments were found to be relatively familiar for students to respond to and more practical and valuable for teachers to use (Othman, Treagust, & Chandrasegaran, 2008). Researchers have designed conceptual tests to assess students’ ideas about the solution chemistry (e.g., Pinarbasi, Canpolat, Bayrakceken, & Geban, 2006; Uzuntiryaki & Geban, 2005); however, none of these instruments requested student reasoning; they just asked for the recall of certain pieces of information about the topic.
Thus, the purpose of the study was two-fold: a) to develop a two-tier multiple-choice instrument that included the several associated aspects of solution chemistry, and b) to identify the extent and features of Grade 11 students’ alternative conceptions about the related aspects of solution chemistry (e.g., the nature of solutions and dissolving, factors affecting the solubility of solids and of gases, the types of solutions, the concentration of solutions, colligative properties of solutions, and the electrical conductivity of solutions) by using currently developed two-tier instrument. Thus, the following research questions guided the study:
1. Is a two-tier multiple-choice instrument, namely The Nature of Solutions and Solubility -Diagnostic Instrument (NSS–DI), able to identify Grade 11 students’ conceptual understandings of solution chemistry concepts?
2. What is the nature and extent of Grade 11 students’ conceptions about the associated aspects of solution chemistry?
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
References Caleon, I., & Subramaniam, R. (2010). Development and application of a three-tier diagnostic test to assess secondary students’ understanding of waves, International Journal of Science Education, 32(7), 939-961. Calik, M., Ayas, A., & Ebenezer, J. V. (2005). A review of solution chemistry studies: Insights into students’ conceptions. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 14(1), 29-50. Devetak, I., Vogrinc, J., & Glaar, S. A. (2009). Assessing 16-year-old students’ understanding of aqueous solution at submicroscopic level. Research in Science Education, 39(2), 157-179. Ebenezer, J. (2001). A hypermedia environment to explore and negotiate students’ conceptions: Animation of the solution process of table salt. Journal of Science Education andTechnology, 10(1), 73-91. Othman, J., Treagust, D. F., & Chandrasegaran, A. L. (2008). An investigation into the relationship between students’ conceptions of the particulate nature of matter and their understanding of chemical bonding. International Journal of Science Education, 30(11), 1531-1550. Pinarbasi, T., Canpolat, N., Bayrakceken, S., & Geban, O. (2006). An investigation of effectiveness of conceptual change text-oriented instruction on students’ understanding of solution concepts. Research in Science Education, 36(4), 313-335. Treagust, D. F. (1995). Diagnostic assessment of students’ science knowledge. In S. M. Glynn & R. Duit. (Eds.), Learning science in the schools: Research reforming practice (pp. 327-346). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Uzuntiryaki, E., & Geban, O. (2005). Effect of conceptual change approach accompanied with concept mapping on understanding of solution concepts. Instructional Science, 33, 311-339.
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