Student understanding of chemical equation balancing

Yarroch, William L.

doi:10.1002/tea.3660220507

Cited by 133 publications

(118 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…They interpreted an equation, such as C(s) + O 2 (g) → CO 2 (g), as a composition of letters, numbers, and lines instead of a process of bond formation and breaking. The technique of balancing chemical equations made students picture chemical equations as mathematical puzzles (Ben-Zvi, Eylon, & Silberstein, 1987), and they could even work algorithms without having a conceptual understanding of the phenomena (Nakhleh, 1993;Yarroch, 1985). Thus, while chemists view a chemical reaction represented by an equation as an interactive and dynamics process, students can only construct a static model of it.…”

Section: Difficulties In Comprehending and Interpreting Representationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring visuospatial thinking in chemistry learning

2004

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ABSTRACT:In this article, we examine the role of visuospatial cognition in chemistry learning. We review three related kinds of literature: correlational studies of spatial abilities and chemistry learning, students' conceptual errors and difficulties understanding visual representations, and visualization tools that have been designed to help overcome these limitations. On the basis of our review, we conclude that visuospatial abilities and more general reasoning skills are relevant to chemistry learning, some of students' conceptual errors in chemistry are due to difficulties in operating on the internal and external visuospatial representations, and some visualization tools have been effective in helping students overcome the kinds of conceptual errors that may arise through difficulties in using visuospatial representations. To help students understand chemistry concepts and develop representational skills through supporting their visuospatial thinking, we suggest five principles for designing chemistry visualization tools: (1) providing multiple representations and descriptions, (2) making linked referential connections visible, (3) presenting the dynamic and interactive nature of chemistry, (4) promoting the transformation between 2D and 3D, and (5) reducing cognitive load by making information explicit and integrating information for students.

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Section: Difficulties In Comprehending and Interpreting Representationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring visuospatial thinking in chemistry learning

2004

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“…Equally important, students need to master certain abilities and skills such as visualizing a chemical reaction at the molecular level, reasoning about a macroscopic phenomenon using chemical representations, and coordinating multiple representations (Ben-Zvi, Eylon, & Silberstein, 1987;Gabel & Samuel, 1987;Hesse & Anderson, 1992;Kozma, 2000Kozma, , 2003Krajcik, 1991;Yarroch, 1985). Finally, students need to develop a coherent conceptual framework that integrates their knowledge and skills to establish a scientiÞc theory of the entities and processes that underlie a given observed phenomenon (Kozma, Russell, Jones, Marx, & Davis, 1996;Russell et al, 1997).…”

Section: Theoretical and Empirical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of designing and evaluating molecular animations on how well middle school students understand the particulate nature of matter

2009

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ABSTRACT:In this study, we investigated whether the understanding of the particulate nature of matter by students was improved by allowing them to design and evaluate molecular animations of chemical phenomena. We developed Chemation, a learner-centered animation tool, to allow seventh-grade students to construct ßipbook-like simple animations to show molecular models and dynamic processes. Eight classes comprising 271 students were randomly assigned to three treatments in which students used Chemation to (1) design, interpret, and evaluate animations, (2) only design and interpret animations, or (3) only view and interpret teacher-made animations. We employed 2-factor analysis of covariance and calculated effect sizes to examine the impact of the three treatments on student posttest performances and on student-generated animations and interpretations during class. We used the pretest data as a covariate to reduce a potential bias related to students' prior knowledge on their learning outcomes. The results indicate that designing animations coupled with peer evaluation is effective at improving student learning with instructional animation. On the other hand, the efÞcacy of allowing students to only design animations without peer evaluation is questionable compared with allowing students to view animations.

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“…[25][26][27][28] For instance, students who can successfully balance chemical equations often do not understand the relationship to the particulate or molecular level. 28 Even when students are given diagrams representing molecules before and after a reaction, they have difficulty describing the reaction and writing an equation. 26 In another study, Ben-Zvi et al observed that students held a static view of reactions and lacked an understanding of the dynamic nature where bonds break, atoms rearrange, and new bonds form.…”

Section: Chemical Reactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Design and Use of Molecular Animations that Conflict for Understanding Chemical Reactions

Kelly¹,

Hansen²

2017

Quim. Nova

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publicado na web em 05/04/2017Understanding chemical reactions conceptually involves recognizing characteristics of observable phenomena and envisioning how atoms, ions and molecules move and interact to cause the macroscopic changes. Our research focuses on the development of effective strategies for designing and presenting visualizations (videos and animations) to assist students with making connections between macroscopic and molecular level behaviors of chemical reactions. Specifically, we study how students, who view videos of a redox reaction that exhibits obvious signs of macroscopic chemical change, can determine which molecular animation of a set of contrasting animations is best supported by its fit with experimental evidence. Herein we describe how we develop our videos and animations, and how students are learning from this animation task. Students who select inaccurate animation models are often enticed by a model that is easier to explain and fits with their understanding of reaction equations. We note that even though students indicate a preference for one animation over another, they often revise their drawn representations to fit with features from multiple animations. With the assistance of eye tracking research, we are gaining a better understanding of what students view and how they make sense of it.

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Student understanding of chemical equation balancing

Cited by 133 publications

References 12 publications

Exploring visuospatial thinking in chemistry learning

Exploring visuospatial thinking in chemistry learning

The impact of designing and evaluating molecular animations on how well middle school students understand the particulate nature of matter

Exploring the Design and Use of Molecular Animations that Conflict for Understanding Chemical Reactions

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