Using POGILs and Blended Learning to Challenge Preconceptions of Student Ability in Introductory Chemistry

Success for students majoring in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) within undergraduate chemistry courses is crucial for retention in science degree programs, especially for students perceived as lacking content knowledge and skills. This study leveraged blended learning structures in a remedial chemistry course combined with a Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) curriculum as a potential intervention. The authors collected two data measures from this course and its nonremedial counterpart during the same semester: (a) pre-/postcourse Assessment of Basic Chemistry Concepts and (b) final grades. The authors also collected final grades of all students who populated the nonremedial course during the following semester and analyzed the data via descriptive statistics, t-tests, and analysis of covariance methods. The data support that students who were in the remedial class exhibited increases in conceptual understandings. This conceptual growth was comparable to the growth of students admitted directly into the nonremedial course. These “remedial” students went on to be 134% more likely to get a satisfactory matriculation grade (>80%) in this same subsequent nonremedial class compared with those directly admitted. Implications for this study emphasize the importance of remedial science course pedagogy and curriculum influencing student success and retention.