Developing and evaluating systems thinking in first-year organic chemistry

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dc.contributor.advisor Pilcher, Lynne A.
dc.contributor.coadvisor Potgieter, Marietjie
dc.contributor.postgraduate Reynders, Micke
dc.date.accessioned 2023-02-15T10:27:18Z
dc.date.available 2023-02-15T10:27:18Z
dc.date.created 2023-04-20
dc.date.issued 2023-02
dc.description Dissertation (MSc (Science Education))--University of Pretoria 2022. en_US
dc.description.abstract Powerful arguments recently advocate introducing systems thinking in chemistry education to equip graduates to address sustainability challenges. This study focused on developing teaching and assessment materials to foster the development of systems thinking understanding, skills and attitudes in first-year organic chemistry and to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention to facilitate the development of systems thinking learning. We designed a systems thinking intervention to scaffold the development of systems thinking skills from a molecular-level foundation to sustainable action using concept maps and system-oriented concept mapping extensions (SOCMEs) as visualization tools. In the intervention, 18 students engaged in a jigsaw cooperative learning approach to learn about the chemical principles and real-world implications of the system of Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate, an anionic surfactant commonly used in laundry detergents. The research questions that guided this study asked which systems thinking skills students were developing during and after the intervention and what evidence suggested that students were developing a sustainable action perspective. We used a mixed-methods research design to collect and analyse data from students' perceptions, reflections, and demonstrations during and after the learning process. We used a concurrent triangulation design to compare the evidence from multiple perspectives to create a holistic understanding regarding the extent to which the intervention facilitated the development of systems thinking skills and a sustainable action perspective. We found that students were developing the ability to identify the concepts and relationships within the system. However, they needed help integrating the parts of the system to visualize the whole. During focus group interviews, students acknowledged that they were used to thinking about chemistry topics in isolation and were not used to imagining the real-world implications of chemistry. Evidence also suggested that students engaged deeply with the relevant topic of surfactants and gained an understanding of the system. The intervention enabled meaningful learning as students' moved between different levels of granularity to view the system as a whole and not just as a collection of parts. In conclusion, evidence suggested that students made meaningful progress towards developing systems thinking skills and a sustainable action perspective. en_US
dc.description.availability Unrestricted en_US
dc.description.degree MSc (Science Education) en_US
dc.description.department Chemistry en_US
dc.description.sponsorship National Research Foundation of South Africa ( Grant number: 137941) en_US
dc.description.sponsorship 2021 UP Scholarship of Teaching and Learning ( SoTL) en_US
dc.description.sponsorship Student Registration Grant, University of Pretoria en_US
dc.description.sponsorship UP Postgraduate Masters Research Bursary en_US
dc.identifier.citation Reynders, M 2023, Developing and evaluating systems thinking in first-year organic chemistry, MSc dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria en_US
dc.identifier.doi 10.25403/UPresearchdata.22100015 en_US
dc.identifier.other A2023
dc.identifier.uri https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/89575
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher University of Pretoria
dc.rights © 2022 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
dc.subject Systems thinking en_US
dc.subject Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) en_US
dc.subject Chemistry Education en_US
dc.subject Organic Chemistry en_US
dc.subject General Chemistry en_US
dc.subject Systems Thinking in Chemistry Education ( STICE) en_US
dc.subject Sustainability en_US
dc.subject UCTD
dc.title Developing and evaluating systems thinking in first-year organic chemistry en_US
dc.type Dissertation en_US


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