Computational Chemistry Programs as a Facilitating Tool in the Teaching and learning Process

Abstract

Aims:To verify the influence of the role of ICT's (Information and Communication Technologies) as a teaching and learning process in the classes of chemistry discipline for the 3 rd years high school students, and show the importance of computational chemistry programs as a methodological alternative in the comprehension of chemical concepts of macroscopic and microscopic order. Place and Duration of Study:The research was carried out in a public high school in the city of Macapá-AP, Brazil. Study Design: The sample population was made randomly with 3 rd year high school students and the data was collected through surveys. Methodology: The research was qualitative and initially was made the choice randomly of 54 students of the 3 rd year of high school. The students were divided into two groups: Control Group (CG) and Experimental Group (EG), being each group was constituted by 27 students, where were applied traditional classes for both groups with same contents: chemistry concepts, chemical bonds, polarity of molecules, electronegativity, molecular geometry, physical and chemical properties of the molecules of ozone (O 3 ), water (H 2 O), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ) and to analyze the students' comprehension about the importance and presence of these molecules in contextualization with biotic and environmental factors. The computational chemistry programs (ChemSketch and PhET Simulations) were used in the intervention classes only for students of the EG. Data collection was conducted through of a survey with open-ended and closed-ended questions. Surveys were applied for the groups after the classes (CG) and classes+intervention (EG). The responses of CG and EG were compared considering the same content studied, in order to evaluate the student's learning level and their opinions about the use of ICT's in chemistry classes. Results:The students' responses related to the geometry of the ozone (O 3 ), water (H 2 O) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) molecules showed superiority of GE compared to GC by differences of 40.74%, 29.63% and 37.03%, respectively. Comparing the two groups on the conception of the influence of the geometry on the behavior of molecules studied in the environment, the effect observed was a difference between the results of the groups of 18.52%, being 62.96% (CG) and 81.48% (EG). Molecular geometry is influenced by intra-molecular interactions, which may lead to polar or nonpolar structure and influences the physical properties and increases or decreases the reactivity of the molecule in the environment. The results show that, according to the students of EG, the use of ICT's in the classroom is important and ensures the computational chemistry programs as a facilitating tool, and can aid to improve the learning of concepts that were previously difficult to understand. Conclusion: ICT's together with the contextualization of the contents have proven themselves as a very significant methodology and caused a positive influence in the teaching-learning process, due a strong relationship wit...

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