Date of Graduation

1983

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

The subjects of this study were fifty-two year college chemistry students. These students were of varying majors enrolled at Potomac State College of West Virginia University at Keyser, West Virginia. The following hypotheses were tested using post-test procedures. (1) There will be a positive correlation between the scores on a commercially available standardized general reading test and the final chemistry grade. (2) There will be a positive correlation between the mean scores on special chemistry reading tests and final chemistry grades. (3) There will be a positive correlation between the standardized general reading test scores and the average test scores of the special chemistry reading tests. (4) There will be a positive correlation between scores on the special and technical vocabulary test and the average scores obtained on the special chemistry reading tests. (5) There should be a significant difference between the average chemistry reading test scores of students that were provided with vocabulary lists and definitions and those students who were not so provided. These hypotheses were tested using the null form. The null hypothesis was accepted ((alpha) = 0.05) for hypothesis 1 through 4. The null hypothesis was rejected ((alpha) = 0.05) for hypothesis 5. In addition the following conclusions were drawn. (1) Chemistry instructors should take into consideration the reading level of their textbook and the reading ability of their students when they are selecting a new textbook for their course. (2) The use of vocabulary lists and definitions in chemistry which are isolated from the chapter reading assignments do not help students comprehend their textbook reading assignments. (3) There is a positive relationship between the student's score on the special chemistry vocabulary test given at the start of the semester and the student's final chemistry exam average. (4) A student who is a good general reader does not necessarily have to be a good reader of chemistry textbooks.

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