Epistemological Framing of Chemistry Assessment Items

This study explores undergraduate chemistry students' epistemic frames for stoichiometry assessment items. We interviewed 40 introductory chemistry students to understand their experiences of a selection of items which were presented as pairs containing one traditional format item, typical of what is used in their undergraduate course, and a revised form, modified following principles of the Equitable Framework for Classroom Assessment (Siegel, 2007). Our analysis suggests that how the item is presented (i.e., as an exam or homework item) is very important to students' epistemic frame and goals. We found that students perceive efficiency (of time) as one key affordance of conceptual problems. Finally, students are cognizant of differences in problems that elicit understanding of concepts rather than mere mathematical manipulation and place substantial value on the former. Our study is a step towards forms of items that support learning aims and assessment aims as joint goals.