Various studies have found that transformed curricula in chemistry are encouraging students to reason more effectively and retain these abilities longer. This has been particularly salient in transformed courses using three-dimensional learning, such as Chemistry, Life, the Universe and Everything (CLUE) and its organic chemistry counterpart, Organic Chemistry, Life, the Universe and Everything (OCLUE). Previous research within the context of these courses, as well as more traditional course experiences, primarily focused on how students used causal mechanistic reasoning or models while engaging with learning tasks. That is, CLUE and OCLUE had been characterized according to student reasoning abilities on prompts but little work had been done to characterize the student experience and perspective with CLUE and OCLUE.The work presented within sought to address this gap by employing open-ended questions about student perceptions of their classrooms to minimize prompting in responses. Student responses to these questions were then analyzed using qualitative methods. The primary goals were to characterize student perceptions of transformational intent and elements of the classroom cultures that socialize students into particular ways of doing and thinking. The qualitative methods employed were supported by theoretical frameworks that acknowledge the salience and importance of culture and included: sociocultural theory/perspectives, Reinholz and Apkarian’s four frames of culture, and Schein and Schein’s framework of organizational culture.Using inductive thematic analysis, grounded theory, and narrative analysis, the work within was able to arrive at four main conclusions: 1) students in courses designed with three-dimensional learning perceive the use of knowledge is expected and assessed; 2) the perception questions we used to collect data could be easily and reliably incorporated into other courses; 3) students in organic chemistry seem to perceive “critical thinking” to entail the use of knowledge, clarifying an amorphous, yet ubiquitous, term in science education; and 4) students’ perceptions of thinking and learning and influenced by their previous experiences.These conclusions are all related via a sociocultural perspective on teaching, learning, and thinking in chemistry education. Aside from characterizing the student experience in the context of the transformed courses at Michigan State University (MSU), an underlying goal was to highlight how the frame of learning cultures can act as a connective tissue between diverse, yet robust, studies that holistically characterize learning environments and the interactions within. Of course, more work needs to be done, but it is my belief that student perceptions through the lens of such social and cultural lens can offer us invaluable insights into our course design, enactment, and assessment as well as the factors that influence student thinking and learning more broadly.
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