Investigating the Effects of Teaching and Learning Tools in Chemistry Education
Creators: name: St-Onge Carle, Myriam
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2022
Subjects: Chemistry Education
Visualization
Symbolism

description: My research focused on three projects: (1) investigation of the mental models of students of the microscopic world using a molecular dynamic visualization, (2) evaluation of an online module on students’ skills related to electron-pushing formalism, and (3) a two-part investigation of how 10 essential learning outcomes (LOs) about delocalization were intended, enacted, and achieved. Project 1: Exploring participants mental models of the sub-microscopic level after viewing a molecular dynamic visualization. The effect of two molecular dynamic simulations on students’ mental models about motion, collisions, and probabilistic thinking was investigated via a qualitative study. We administered a worksheet and interviewed the participants both before and after they viewed the visualizations. The analysis showed that (1) participants all had a motion mental model, (2) participants used different mental models depending on the situation, (3) participants had conflicting mental models of randomness of the sub-microscopic level, and (4) participants experienced cognitive dissonance when viewing the simulation. Project 2: Evaluation of OrgChem101.com online module of students’ skills using EPF. We investigated students’ skills on the electron-pushing formalism after using an online learning module called “Organic Mechanisms: Mastering the Arrows” using a quantitative experimental method. There were significant learning gains between the pre- and post-test, especially with questions that asked students to draw the products of a reaction. After using the learning tool, students used more analysis strategies, such as mapping, attempted more questions, and made fewer errors. Project 3.1: Determining essential LOs for delocalization and how they are taught, practiced, and assessed. The 10 LOs about delocalization (i.e., resonance) were determined from a textbook analysis then investigated for how they are being enacted, meaning how they were taught, practiced, assessed. We have found that five themes emerged from the analysis: (1) Several of the essential intended LOs we identified are not represented in the textbooks’ teaching explanations, practice questions, or professors’ assessments; (2) The concepts related to delocalization are often taught, practiced, and assessed without associated justifications; (3) There is a large gap between when delocalization is taught and when it is used in context; (4) The link between delocalization and other concepts (e.g., reactivity) is not explicitly explained in most teaching materials; and (5) The language used around delocalization may be misleading (e.g. resonance, stability). Project 3.2: Investigating how the 10 essential delocalization LOs are achieved on summative examination. We then analyzed how the students achieved the 10 essential LOs about delocalization on a summative assessment by analyzing 12 questions related to the concept. We found that students sometimes struggled to identify when delocalization could occur, that some of the LOs built on one another, and that some strategies (visualizing electrons, listing properties, and expanding the structures) more often led to the correct answer. We also found that when explicitly asked students in organic chemistry one was more successfully than in organic chemistry II and that the opposite occurs when asked within a mechanism. Our analysis of student reasoning showed that the dominant modes of reasoning were aligned with the related expectations and explanations in the course. When asked to justify the contribution of resonance structures to the resonance hybrid, most answers analyzed showed a descriptive mode of reasoning; when asked to explain why a given proton was more acidic than another, most answers contained relational and linear causal reasoning.