“Do we need to memorize that?” or cognitive science for chemists

Abstract

In introductory chemistry courses, should students be encouraged to solve problems by reasoning based on conceptual understanding or by applying memorized facts and algorithms? Cognitive scientists have recently studied this issue with the assistance of new technologies. In the current consensus model for cognition, during problem solving the brain relies on ''working memory'' to sequentially process small elements of knowledge. Working memory is able to hold and manipulate virtually all elements that can be recalled ''with automaticity'' from long-term memory, but very few elements that are not recallable. As one consequence, students can reliably solve well-structured science problems only if most of the facts and algorithms needed to solve the problem have previously been well memorized. To achieve automaticity in recall, facts and procedures must be committed to memory (assimilated) and then tagged with associations to other knowledge (accommodated) in the brain's conceptual frameworks. Accommodation can be assisted by guided inquiry. Articles citing methods that can assist students in the development of automaticity are listed, and implications for chemistry instruction are discussed.

Decision-Based Learning: ″If I Just Knew Which Equation To Use, I Know I Could Solve This Problem!″

“…DBL addresses this issue by requiring that users attend to a single decision at a time, and thus do not overwhelm their working memory. Another issue is that long-term memory requires that information be organized within a conceptual framework . DBL addresses this issue by organizing the relationships between concepts, procedures, and conditional decisions required to solve problems in a model that students internalize in long-term memory.…”

“…Automaticity, or the ability to carry out processes from long-term memory, is another issue in cognitive psychology that is addressed by DBL. As students internalize the DBL model, they will be able to automatically use the information from the model to solve problems, without burdening their working memory …”

Hochschule: Besser vorbereitet ins Labor

“…Diese sind weniger im Kurzzeitgedächtnis, sondern eher im Langzeitgedächtnis verankert und für den Lernprozess nutzbar. 8) Nur wenn die Studierenden die Laborversuche strukturiert vorbereiten, sinkt ihre kognitive Belastung in der Laborsituation, können sie dabei wissensbasiert entscheiden und erleben das Lernen im Labor als motivierend. 9)…”

Factors affecting learning of vector math from computer-based practice: Feedback complexity and prior knowledge

“…Rather, they are elementary procedural skills used as a necessary part of problem-solving tasks that instructors often assume students have mastered with high accuracy and in relatively little time (e.g., Refs. [25][26][27][28][29]). Often to the surprise or chagrin of the instructor, students-especially low-achieving students-typically do not have these skills or they are far from fluent in their use.…”