Teaching Advanced Placement Descriptive Chemistry: Suggestions from a Testing Web Site

TCE

The Chemical Educator

ISSN: 1430-4171 (electronic version)

Table of Contents

Abstract Volume 6 Issue 5 (2001) pp 266-271

Teaching Advanced Placement Descriptive Chemistry: Suggestions from a Testing Web Site

Kent J. Crippen* and David W. Brooks

Center for Curriculum and Instruction, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0355, and *Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-3005

Received April 13, 2001. Accepted May 29, 2001

Published online: 14 September 2001

Abstract. Since 1997, the World Wide Web (Web) has been used to enhance the performance of students on the Advanced Placement (AP) chemistry examination by providing a Web site dedicated to the descriptive portion of the exam. Previous studies have shown that not only do students and teachers use the site, but students learn from using the site and perceive it as effective for learning descriptive chemistry. Here we provide an analysis of use for a self-reported AP student population over the entire 1999-2000 academic term at the testing Web site. A subset of the AP student population who made extensive use of the testing components was identified. This paper includes both a general description of use and a comparison of two types of student users. The results from this study indicate that Advanced Placement chemistry teachers need to integrate descriptive chemistry across their curriculum and implement the use of repetitive testing such as that provided at the Web site. The authors advocate a mastery learning strategy to further improve student performance.

Key Words: In the Classroom; AP chemistry; testing

(*) Corresponding author. (E-mail: kcrippen@nevada.edu)

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Supporting Materials:

Survey Designed Specifically for the AP Students (57 KB) 10.1007/s00897010495b