| The purpose of this study was to determine the learning styles and problem-solving strategies of African-American college students in general chemistry, along with the strategies of instruction teachers use in general chemistry courses. Three factors; learning style, problem-solving strategy, and strategy of instruction were used as variables to determine whether they had an effect on the achievement of African-American college students in general chemistry courses.;The design of the study was divided into three naturalistic case studies involving: (1) a chemistry class at a historically Black university (HBCU), consisting of majors in all science disciplines, (2) another chemistry class at the HBCU, consisting of honors science majors, and (3) a chemistry class at a predominantly White university, consisting of science majors; all of which were located in the southeastern part of the United States. The methodology used to collect data included; in-depth interviewing, overt participant observations, and talk-aloud problem-solving sessions.;This study sought to answer several questions pertaining to how students achieve in general chemistry, and whether their achievements affect their future academic choices in the sciences. This study found that, if African-American students' learning styles were matched with their teacher's strategies of instruction, achievement was greater, but if and only if, a specific successful problem-solving strategy profile was used, when solving the chemistry problems. Additionally, when students were successful in their chemistry course, these students chose to continue in their chosen science major. However, those students who were unsuccessful in their chemistry course, on the average, chose to change their major outside of all science disciplines. |
