Mastery of a problem solving strategy for improving high school chemistry student achievement

Abstract

This investigation determined the correlation between problem-solving strategies and student achievement. Problem solving is an important part of real-world application and many students have not acquired the essential skills to work through complex problems that they may encounter everywhere. Student interviews, teacher and student surveys, prelab and postlab assessments, and journal writings were analyzed to determine an improvement of student understanding through the implementation of the DRUFAS problem-solving strategy. As a result of integrating DRUFAS an increased proficiency in answering complex problems occurred in a high school chemistry classroom.