Social network analysis to measure trust and learning in three undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory contexts

Understanding the link between trust and learning in undergraduate laboratory settings remains an underexplored area in chemistry education research. This study employs social network analysis (SNA) to examine the networks of trust and learning among students, instructors, and teaching assistants in three instructional contexts: expository laboratory instruction (ELI), Argument-driven inquiry (ADI), and course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE). Subjects completed surveys at the beginning and end of the semester to identify whom they knew, trusted, and learned from. These responses were used to calculate network metrics, including density, centrality, and connectedness. Logistic regression quadratic assignment procedure (LR-QAP) was performed on trust and learn networks to measure what, if anything, predicted the learn network. Results showed trust network density increased from pre- to post-semester, and the densities of the learn networks increased from ELI to ADI to CURE. In both the ADI and CURE sections, trust was a significant predictor of learning. These findings emphasize the importance of building trust in undergraduate lab settings and reinforce the idea that more interactive learning environments help promote trust.