Preston Burdett, “A Qualitative and Quantitative Study: Exploring Anxiety in Undergraduate Level Chemistry Courses”
Mentor: Kristen Murphy, Chemistry & Biochemistry
Poster #33

Participating in undergraduate level chemistry courses can elicit anxious feelings in students. Previous research suggests that anxiety varies among subgroups. Factors within anxiety in chemistry courses are complex components that have been shown to impact academic performance. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, two methods were utilized to measure student anxiety in the context of general chemistry: exploratory factor analysis and student interviews. Further, I will discuss how the findings from confirmatory factor analysis led to the calculation of subscores, which highlights the aspects that most impact anxiety. Understanding students’ anxiety in courses can help further understand how subgroups are independently affected by anxiety. It is vital to explore which groups of students exhibit higher levels of anxiety as this understanding can help instructors create a more equitable learning environment for students with reservations towards learning chemistry.