Type of Document	Thesis
Author	Saka, Yavuz
URN	etd-06272003-150423
Title	Understanding of College Chemistry Instructor’s Beliefs on Teaching Chemistry and Influences on Students’ Learning and their Meaning Making in a General Chemistry Class
Degree	Master of Science
Department	Middle and Secondary Education, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Nancy T. Davis Committee Chair Alejandro J. Gallard Committee Member Penny J. Gilmer Committee Member
Keywords	Teaching Student College Chemistry Influence
Date of Defense	2003-01-01
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract This study explored a college level chemistry teacher’s beliefs of teaching science and her multiple teaching strategies that she used to enhance her students’ general chemistry learning in an undergraduate introductory chemistry class. In addition, this study explored students’ perceptions of the instructor’s method of teaching. This study was conducted by using Guba and Lincoln’s (1989) Fourth Generation Evaluation qualitative research procedures, which involved interpretation of the meaning constructions in the setting. In order to ascertain the teacher’s beliefs of teaching science and her multiple teaching strategies, data were collected through interviews, observations, exploring the instructor’s publications, field notes as well as the course syllabus. Data pertaining to the students were collected through a single interview, observations, one-minute take questions (i.e. a brief after-class question that usually took 1 minute to answer), field notes and the students’ personal Web portfolios. The researcher collected the data for a period of 16 weeks and it entailed the evaluation of 84 students’ Web portfolios as well as a subsequent rubric that highlighted the students’ meaning making toward the use of technology in chemistry class. The results of the study indicate that the teacher believed that traditional approaches to teaching chemistry often made students disinterested in the subject. However, she believed that the use of multiple teaching strategies such as the use of a class Web site, e-mail communication, goal-orientation, and chemistry demonstrations enabled the students to learn chemistry without losing interest. The teacher’s goal was to enable the students to make connections between their class learning and real life applications of the class content. Accordingly to the social constructivist paradigm (Guba & Lincoln, 1989), every individual’s meaning making cannot be same, even in the same context. The results also revealed the some of the students were not adept to the multiple teaching strategies used by the teachers. Some of the students believed that the teaching style of the teacher was demanding and ineffective because of the bulk of activities in the class. As a result, many students only focused on passing the class, and not on learning the content. On the other hand, some of the students’ meaning making and understanding of the course reflected a considerable level of development as the teacher’s multiple teaching strategies enhanced their learning and motivation toward science.
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