The Ability of High School Chemistry Students to Solve Computational Problems Requiring Proportional Reasoning as Affected By Item In-Task Variables (Evaluation).
Timothy Harold Falls · Deep Blue (University of Michigan) · 1984
This research study was designed to investigate the interactions of selected high school student aptitudes (developmental level, field dependence-independence (FDI), and proportional reasoning ability) with their ability to solve chemistry problems with varying structure and information. The secondary purpose was to investigate the relationships of gender with chemistry problem solving and student aptitudes. Three aptitude measures (The Balance Puzzle, The Find a Shape Puzzle, and An Inventory of Piaget's Developmental Tasks) and 14 dependent chemistry quizzes were given to 77 high school students. Five chemistry concepts were covered by the quizzes. Within each quiz a number of in-task variables were identified: Piagetian logical structure-reversibility, algebraic format, type of information-relevant only or relevant and irrelevant, and nature of the information-explicit or implicit. All measures were administered over a period of fourteen weeks during the first semester of the 1983-84 school year. The statistical procedures used centered on correlations and analyses of variance. Field independent students performed significantly better on the in-task conditions relevant and irrelevant, implicit, and implicit relevant and irrelevant. The implicit information interaction being a unique contribution to the research on FDI. Degree of formal reasoning and proportional reasoning were found to be significantly correlated with success in chemistry, independent of the in-task conditions. Males significantly outperformed females on the proportional reasoning measure--The Balance Puzzle. No significant interactions were found between sex and chemistry achievement. Three major recommendations were made as a result of the analyses of data. First, it was recommended that further study be conducted analyzing individual differences in aptitudes with problem solving as it takes place in natural settings, using classroom examinations. Secondly, continued study should be given to the relationships of FDI with in-task conditions which vary in the type of information given, as well as additional study relative to varying the amount of information and /or the use of redundant information. Thirdly, the interaction of implicit information with students' degree of FDI warrants exp and ed study.