Browsing by Author "Boddey, Kerrie"
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Item A Framework for Understanding Student Nurses' Experience of Chemistry as Part of a Health Science Course(2018-04-01) de Berg, Kevin C.; Boddey, KerrieTwenty-seven first-year nursing students, divided across six focus groups formed on the basis of their past chemistry experience, were interviewed about their chemistry experience as a component of a Health Science unit. Information related to learning and academic performance was able to be established from student conversations resulting in three themes (and associated categories): Connectivity (curriculum. application, and social interaction); Reductivity (nature of chemistry. exposition. and control of learning); and Reflexivity (confidence. anxiety, and goal orientation). The framework proved useful in portraying relationships between themes for conversations related to tutorial sessions, prior knowledge, and chemistry in nursing. The focus groups were representative of the total cohort of students in terms of gender, age, working hours, academic performance, enjoyment level of chemistry, and the extent of the relevance of chemistry to nursing. Implications for chemistry educators, especially those supporting novices, are considered.
Item At the Troublesome Edge of Recognising Threshold Concepts of Online Teaching: A Proposed Learning Threshold Identification Methodology(2020-01-01) Boddey, Kerrie; Boddey, Chris; McLoughlin, Catherine E.; Kilgour, Peter W.; Gosselin, Kevin P.; Northcote, Maria T.This chapter presents a proposed methodology for identifying threshold concepts within the context of professional development and online teaching. The chapter may be of particular interest to those responsible for designing professional development for online teachers in higher education contexts. Furthermore, scholars of the Threshold Concepts Framework may find the methodology outlined in this chapter to be useful when identifying threshold concepts in other disciplinary or professional contexts, especially for the purposes of curriculum design.
Item Chemistry Experiences of First-Year Nursing Students: The Interplay of Self-Efficacy, Anxiety, Prior Chemistry Experience and Academic Performance - A Mixed Method Approach(2012-11-01) Boddey, KerriePrevious research has established that students with a limited science background find chemistry difficult, with many nursing students experiencing anxiety and a lack of confidence when faced with studying chemistry as part of their degree. One strategy employed by the institution where this research was conducted to help alleviate stress and build confidence in students with a poor chemistry background has been to offer a non-compulsory, 3-day chemistry bridging course prior to the beginning of the semester.
With Social Cognitive Theory and Cognitive Load Theory acting as a theoretical framework and employing a mixed method approach operating within a pragmatic paradigm, the purpose of this research was to investigate the chemistry experiences of first-year nursing students enrolled in a chemistry course in order to determine relationships between the key variables of self-efficacy, anxiety, prior chemistry experience, perceptions of chemistry and academic performance. The effectiveness of a 3-day chemistry bridging course was examined in light of these findings.
A pilot study was conducted to develop appropriate chemistry self-efficacy and anxiety instruments. In the first phase of the predominantly explanatory sequential design of the main study, quantitative data (N=101) from the Chemistry for Nurses Self-efficacy Scale (CNSS) and Chemistry for Nurses Anxiety Scale (CNAS) obtained at the beginning and end of the chemistry component of Health Science I and qualitative data in the form of focus group interviews based on prior chemistry experience (N=27) were collected in parallel. During phase two, individual interviewees (N=6) reflected on the integrated findings from Phase 1. Factor analysis revealed four chemistry dimensions: cognitive self-efficacy (CS), laboratory self-efficacy (LS), test anxiety (TA), and laboratory anxiety (LA). The laboratory dimensions and demographic variables proved to be of little predictive use, but significant correlations were found between CS, TA, prior chemistry experience, perceptions of chemistry and academic performance. t-tests showed an increase in CS and enjoyment for all academic performance and prior chemistry experience groups as a result of studying chemistry in Health Science I.
Further, TA decreased for the total cohort. Hierarchical regression showed that CS xviii and TA measured at the end of the course accounted for an additional 20.4% of the variance in academic performance after controlling for cognitive capacity and prior knowledge. A path model for academic performance was derived. In addition, themes of ‘connectivity’, ‘reductivity’ and ‘reflexivity’ emerged from the qualitative data, giving rise to a dynamic and interactive model for ‘learning and academic performance’ in chemistry. The 3-day bridging course was shown to be successful inraising CS due to the acquisition of foundation knowledge allowing participants to begin the semester at a level comparable with students who studied senior chemistry. Benefits in academic performance were noted for bridging course attendees when the distribution of scores in the low, average and high achievement groups was examined.
These findings have implications for chemistry educators, particularly of the novice student, and recommendations for implementation are made.
Item Science for Primary Teachers(2014-01-01) Ward, Ewan; Morton, Jason K.; Boddey, Kerrie; Christian, Gemma J.; Rogers, LyndenThe general aim of this textbook was to provide some basic knowledge of how science works. After all, we live in a very science-oriented and techno world. We also wanted to make it easier for you to get your pupils interested in science.
Item The Impact of Nursing Students' Prior Chemistry Experience on Academic Performance and Perception of Relevance in a Health Science Course(2015-04-01) de Berg, Kevin C.; Boddey, KerrieNursing students have typically found the study of chemistry to be one of their major challenges in a nursing course. This mixed method study was designed to explore how prior experiences in chemistry might impact chemistry achievement during a health science unit. Nursing students (N = 101) studying chemistry as part of a health science unit were divided into three groups based on prior chemistry experience and into three groups based on their academic performance in the health science unit. Although there was no significant difference in the mean achievement scores for students who had completed a 3-day chemistry bridging course (BC) and students who had not studied chemistry since year 10 (PC), 52.3% of the PC group were low achievers compared to 33.3% of the BC group. The BC students were more evenly distributed across the academic performance categories than was the case for PC students. Students who had previously studied senior chemistry at high school level (SC) had a mean achievement score which was significantly greater than that obtained by BC and PC students. Students described their chemistry experiences in the context of academic performance using terms that related to: basic chemistry as a foundation for further study; the use of different representations in chemistry; and the language and logical structure of chemistry. There were differences and similarities in the way the different prior chemistry experience groups related to these issues. Low chemistry achievers became less optimistic about the relevance of chemistry to nursing as the course proceeded.