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Chemistry Education Research, assessment of student learning, cognitive science and learning theories, evaluation and qualitative methodologies, children's learning of chemistry Students in the Bretz group have the opportunity to learn a wide suite of chemistry education research (CER) skills - survey design, item development, statistics, semi-structured interviews, observations, document analyses, qualitative data analyses, and knowledge of human subjects protocols. Dr. Bretz's research falls into three main areas: Assessment of student learning. Our research concentrates upon developing and validating instruments to measure different dimensions of student learning, both cognitive and affective. The theoretical framework that guides inquiry in our group is Ausubel and Novak's Theory of Meaningful Learning, which centers upon prior knowledge, metacognition, and the ability of students to reflect upon how they learn. The instruments we design are targeted to probe what prior knowledge students bring to chemistry and what students understand about learning how to learn. Application of Cognitive Science & Learning Theory. Research underway includes measuring students' cognitive expectations about learning chemistry, faculty goals and the use of inquiry in the laboratory, and attrition in a spiral organic chemistry curriculum. Chemistry & Children. We also are very interested in examining the factors that influence the beginnings of learning chemistry in the elementary grades. Projects focusing on chemistry and children include the connections between science literacy and reading literacy in early elementary grades, the meaning of chemicals to children, and the connection between teacher self-efficacy and pedagogical content knowledge in the elementary science classroom.
Recent Publications Grove, N.P.; Hershberger, J.W.; Bretz, S.L. "Impact of Spiral Organic Curriculum on Student Attrition and Learning," Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 2008, 9, 157-162. Grove, N.P.; Bretz, S.L. "Measuring What Students Know about How to Learn Chemistry," Proceedings of the National STEM Assessment Conference, National Science Foundation & Drury University, 2008, 159-165. Bretz, S.L.
"Qualitative Research Designs in Chemistry Education Research" in D.
Bunce and R. Cole (Eds.) Chemistry Education Research: Nuts and Bolts,
American Chemical Society Symposium Series, Oxford University Press,
2008, 79-99.
Hohloch, J.M.; Grove, N.P.; Bretz, S.L.;
"Pre-Service Teacher as Researcher: The Value of Inquiry in Learning
Science." J. Chem. Educ., 2007, 84(9), 1530-1534.
Fay, M.E.; Grove, N.P.; Towns, M.H.; Bretz, S.L. "A Rubric to Characterize Inquiry in the Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory," Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 2007, 8(2), 212-219. | ||||||||||||
