Using guided inquiry methods to teach difficult stoichiometric concepts

Abstract

The main objective of this research study was to determine the effectiveness of three newly-designed methods using process-oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL). Each of these methods was designed to improve student understanding in some key problematic areas of stoichiometry. The first method addressed key concept areas of balancing chemical equations while the second and third methods addressed key concept areas of limiting reagents. The effectiveness of the three methods was determined by evaluation of control and experimental group quiz scores on two quizzes. The quizzes were designed to specifically address the key concept and problem areas of stoichiometry mentioned above. The bulk of this study was conducted over a period of two years, and all of the participants involved in the study were introductory chemistry students from both high school and college chemistry courses. Overall, it was found that the college participants from the experimental group performed better on the first POGIL quiz than did the students from the control group. The high school participants from the experimental group, however, did not perform better than the control group students on the first POGIL quiz. Only the high school level participants were involved in the activities addressed by the second POGIL quiz, and there was no difference found between these control and experimental groups. Some possible reasons for these findings and their significance will be discussed in greater detail in this paper. In general, it was found that the newly-designed POGIL stoichiometric methods show some promise in helping students more effectively learn difficult stoichiometric concepts.