Northern Kentucky University
Study 2 (Schoettle): Development and Assessment of Cognitive Skills in Chemistry
Institution
Northern Kentucky University
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Kereen Monteyne
Abstract
Students in chemistry courses, or any other science courses for that matter, require a variety of cognitive skills to solve both algorithmic and conceptually-oriented problems. Throughout the course, students learn various science process skills (e.g., identifying variables; designing investigations; and graphing and interpreting data) and are tested on their mastery of those skills. One of the main problems in science education today is finding an effective way to assess students’ abilities to use these skills. The purpose of this research project was to assess college students’ abilities to utilize science process skills through the use of a previously published instrument, The Test of Integrated Process Skills (TIPS II; Burns, Okey, and Wise, 1985), which was developed for use on high-school students. The results of this analysis will be used to develop an instrument to measure science process skills in college-level students.
Study 2 (Schoettle): Development and Assessment of Cognitive Skills in Chemistry
Students in chemistry courses, or any other science courses for that matter, require a variety of cognitive skills to solve both algorithmic and conceptually-oriented problems. Throughout the course, students learn various science process skills (e.g., identifying variables; designing investigations; and graphing and interpreting data) and are tested on their mastery of those skills. One of the main problems in science education today is finding an effective way to assess students’ abilities to use these skills. The purpose of this research project was to assess college students’ abilities to utilize science process skills through the use of a previously published instrument, The Test of Integrated Process Skills (TIPS II; Burns, Okey, and Wise, 1985), which was developed for use on high-school students. The results of this analysis will be used to develop an instrument to measure science process skills in college-level students.