Studying a Multidimensional Kinetics Lab with Evidence-Centered Design and Phenomenographic Studies

This thesis reports a laboratory experiment, “A Kinetics Experiment of the Reaction of Coumarin-102 with Base, Using Fluorescence”, that determines the kinetics of the reaction of a fluorescent dye with base. The reaction is studied by monitoring the loss of coumarin-102 fluorescence during ring-opening saponification by hydroxide using smartphone cameras and near-UV (“black-light”) illumination. We introduced a new experiment that had multiple innovations, including the use of technology. The experiment has been adapted in a manner consistent with the principles of Evidence-Centered Design using content of kinetics and the scientific practice of mathematical reasoning. Student results and the implementation of a version of the experiment under remote learning conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic is also discussed. In this study I am looking for evidence that the students improved their learning and have a better understanding of chemistry concepts after they performed the required tasks. I used Evidence-Centered Design to evaluate students’ results and Phenomenography to evaluate their experiences while performing an experiment. I measured students’ affective, cognitive and psychomotor perceptions by using the Meaningful Learning framework. I also discussed the implications for research and teaching. It is important to understand what learning looks like in lab, what is considered a positive outcome and in which Learning Domain, and what is the evidence of learning in a chemistry laboratory. The results could be used in future research and can also be extrapolated to virtual laboratories.