Rebecca J. Tauscher, Alexandra Collins-Webb, Lindsey Phillips, Ryan D. Sweeder
Lyman Briggs College, Michigan State University
Background
Key Findings
General chemistry courses are high enrollment courses
serving about 2,000 students at Michigan State University, as
it is a prerequisite for many other science courses. Due to its
large impact, it is important to understand the student
experience in these courses as they are the building blocks
for subsequent classes.
The different general chemistry classes offered at MSU
include: the standard lecture format (CEM 141, CEM 142,
CEM 151, CEM 152), lectures with active learning activities
(LB 171, LB172), lectures built around the ChemConnections
modules (LB 172), which use real world examples, and
lectures with a small class that goes in deeper depth than the
other courses (CEM 182H).
The ChemConnections were the result of an NSF funded
project (DUE 9455918 and DUE-9455924). The resultant
modules use large scale problems to allow students to
encounter basic chemistry concepts in context. The modules
consist of both lecture and laboratory activities that combine
to fully explore the problem. The course consisted of three
modules focused on the ozone hole, acid rain and soil
equilibrium, and the chemical aspects to the origin of life.
Comparison of grades earned in upper level courses
LB 145 *
Number of students who responded each year
Course
CEM 142
CEM 152
CEM 182H
LB 172
Total
2010 2011 2012 Total
77
94
88 259
19
20
20 59
6
6
6
18
100 105 111 316
202 225 225 652
Upper Level Course
Overall experience in General Chemistry II
Very Good
Good
Fair
Poor
CEM 142
CEM 152
CEM 182H
LB 172
Very Poor
2010
2011
Year Survey Taken
2012
Other Responses with this similar tendency:
• Applicability of chemistry to science education or career
• Balance between explanation of concepts and
demonstration of applications
• General chemistry enriching understanding of chemistry in
everyday life
• General chemistry influence on
• considering a science major before taking the class
• students’ interest in science before taking the class
• students’ interest in science after taking the class
• highest degree students cited as pursuing before
taking the class
• highest degree students cited as pursuing after taking
the class
Distribution of general chemistry I grade for LB
172 students
ChemConnections
Other LB 172
CEM 251 *
CEM 252 **
BMB 401
PSL 431
ZOL 341
MMG 301
LB 271
Methods
• Experimental and attitudinal data were collected over
three years through open-ended and Likert scale
questions on a web-based survey
• Course data for students who took a general chemistry
course in the 2008-2009 academic year was obtained
from the registrar
• Two raters categorized each open-ended response; interrater reliability was found: 0.75 < α < 0.87
• SPSS was used to analyze trends and correlations.
o Crosstabulations showed correlations or major
differences between the topics
 z-test used for statistical significance
o Frequency analysis highlighted the different
responses based upon year or specific general
chemistry class
o The statistical differences in means was evaluated
through an ANOVA table
Average Likert scale
Response
• ChemConnection students earned higher grades in some upper level courses than
other Lyman Briggs students
• Students perceive structural problems across all general chemistry courses
• Lyman Briggs and Honors general chemistry classes better prepare students at
science communication
• Students perceptions of their general chemistry experiences do not change in the
three years following the class
Conclusion
LB 272
0
1
* significantly different at 95% confidence level
**significantly different at 99% confidence level
2
Average Grade
3
What is one thing that you would change about your
general chemistry II experience?
ChemConnections students and other LB students
earned about the same average grades; one class does
not have all of the higher grade earning students
How much general chemistry II helped in these specific
topics?
Written communication
Course Structure
Format of Exams
LB 172
CEM 182H
CEM 152
CEM 142
Professor
Amount of Homework
No problem
Other
a
a,b
b
b
a
a,b
Poster presentation
Personal Response
Recitations
• ChemConnection students earn higher grades in
some upper level classes
 Suggests that applying and explaining concepts
helps with retention of the material
• Not one specific general chemistry class needs to
change the way it is run; all general chemistry classes
have similar deficiencies including:
 Coherency between topics
 More time between topics
• Lyman Briggs and Honors chemistry students cite
more often that general chemistry helped with their
communication skills
• Honors chemistry and Lyman Briggs chemistry
students cite that general chemistry helped with
making connections to everyday life
• Students’ opinions about general chemistry do not
significantly change in the three years following the
class
4
ChemConnection students earned significantly higher
grades in LB 145, CEM 251, and CEM 252 than students in
the other LB 172 classes
Categorized Topics
.
Average response does not change throughout the years
Shows that students’ opinions about general chemistry
did not change in the three years following the class
b
Verbal Communication
b
a,b
a,b
b
Scientific principles applied to real
world problems
Connections between chemical
principles
Connections between chemistry and
other subject areas
a
a
a,b
b
b
a
a
a
a,b
b
a
a
a,b
Acknowledgements
a
Critial thinking skills
No response
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
Percent of Respondents
0.4
Most cited changes are universal; they do not depend on
the specific chemistry class
Each letter denotes a subset of
classes whose averages do not differ
significantly at the .05 level.
a
0
1
2
3
Mean Response
a
a
4
Lyman Briggs and Honors chemistry classes cited
communication skills as more helpful than the other classes
5
We would like to thank the students who participated in
the completion of the surveys. R.T. would like to thank Lyman
Briggs College for financial support. This work is based in part
upon work supported by the National Science Foundation
under Grant No. DUE-1022754. The ChemConnection modules
were published by WW Norton.