Success on Algorithmic and LOCS vs. Conceptual Chemistry Exam Questions

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Abstract

The performance of freshman science, engineering, and in-service teacher students in three Israeli and American universities on algorithmic, lower-order cognitive skills (LOCS), and conceptual chemistry exam questions was investigated. The driving force for the study was an interest in moving chemistry instruction from an algorithm-oriented factual recall approach dominated by LOCS to a decision-making, problem-solving, and critical thinking approach dominated by higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS). Students' responses to the specially designed algorithmic, LOCS, and conceptual exam questions were scored and analyzed for correlations and for differences between the means within and across universities by the question's category. The main findings were: (1) students in all three universities performed consistently on each of the three categories in the order of algorithmic > LOCS > conceptual questions, (2) success on algorithmic does not imply success on conceptual, or even on LOCS questions, and (3) students taught in small classes outperformed by far those in large lecture sessions in all three categories. The implied paradigm shift from an algorithmic/LOCS to a conceptual/HOCS orientation should be moved from a research-based theoretical domain to actual implementation in order for a meaningful improvement of chemistry teaching to occur.

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