CHED 89 |
| The “No Child Left Behind Act,” marked an age of assessment and accountability. The Chemistry Department at Florida A&M University has taken on the challenge of addressing poor performance in General Chemistry I for majors. This course also served as a content course for students planning to teach science at the secondary level. Approximately 50% of the students from Florida A&M University who eventually went on to work as teachers in the state of Florida in 2005, but were not on an accredited path, took General Chemistry I. Many of these students were part of a group who did not perform well in General Chemistry I. Therefore, the net impact on incoming high school students to the department is that they start General Chemistry I with an overall deficient background in Chemistry which has proven to have a significant deleterious effect on their progress in the course. To address this issue, the department has instated several instructional methods and enacted a placement exam, in hopes of improving the performance of students. Most of these methods resulted in no significant change in midterm exam results. However, use of the placement exam produced highly favorable results. This work will discuss in detail some of the actions taken by the Chemistry department, which have proven to be very instrumental in the overall success of students through the General Chemistry I course. |
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General Posters
7:30 PM-9:30 PM, Sunday, April 6, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Hall A, Poster
Division of Chemical Education |