Continuities and discontinuities in factors contributing to science achievement [electronic resource]
Keywords: Education.

The discipline of chemistry remains a challenge for many college students interested in pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematic (STEM) disciplines and related professions, particularly underrepresented minority (URM) students. Higher numbers of URM students are entering college with aspirations of pursuing science disciplines now than any time in the past decade. However, the disparity between URM students interested in pursuing science and URM students' matriculation rates is considerable. This is especially important in high-stakes "gatekeeper" courses such as introductory organic chemistry because this course is a requirement for a majority of science degrees and has led students, especially minority students, to question their ability to succeed in science. This dissertation examines two competing perspectives -- continuities and discontinuities in learning -- that have been used to explain students' differential academic achievement. More specifically, these perspectives are examined with respect to important factors like problem solving, conceptual understanding, and study activity behaviors that are related with students' course performance. To date, no study has examined both perspectives simultaneously with respect to important cognitive and behavioral factors. A total of 90 first-semester organic chemistry students attending Golden Gate State University (pseudonym) were recruited for this study. Students were required to attend a total of 4 semi-structured interviews that covered key units throughout the semester. Each interview consisted of completing a concept mapping exercise, a problem set while thinking out loud, and a week-long daily study diary. Concept map proposition scores and problem set scores revealed a main effect of ethnicity that was associated with prior science GPA. In contrast, neither concept map structure nor study strategy was related to a student's ethnic group affiliation. In solving problems, students predominately used 4 common strategies (Forward-working, Means-end, Trial-and-error, and Guessing) to solve problems. Differences were associated with students' prior achievement level (High or Low). Finally, investigation of study strategies showed that all students, regardless of ethnicity, predominantly engage in 4 commonly used study strategies. Results overwhelmingly support the continuity perspective indicating that students' performance on key outcomes are attributable to prior learning, not ethnic group affiliation. These findings underscore the importance of providing access to quality science learning opportunities and resources that aid in developing students understanding. In addition, the finding that students' predominately use reviewing strategies in isolation when studying for organic chemistry highlight the importance of developing workshops and tutorials that encourage students to engage in active peer-learning strategies such as seeking help from peers or goal setting activities. Findings from this study are expected to lead to the design of randomized trial studies involving individualized versus group study strategies and performance on conceptual understanding and problem solving measures. Ultimately, the goal of this line of research is to inform the restructuring of organic chemistry teaching and learning methods in order to close potential gaps in student knowledge. Furthermore, the information obtained from these analyses is expected to be of importance to the prevention of student attrition in STEM courses and the encouragement of enrollment of underrepresented groups.