Students’ categorizations of organic compounds
Students’ categorizations of organic compounds
复制标题
学生对有机化合物的分类
DOI：
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发表时间：
2008
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
J. Mensah
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
D. Domin;Mohammad Al;J. Mensah
Categorization is a fundamental psychological ability necessary for problem solving and many
other higher-level cognitive tasks. In organic chemistry, students must establish groupings of
different chemical compounds in order not only to solve problems, but also to understand course
content. Classic models of categorization emphasize similarity as the primary means of
classification: if two items are similar, they belong in the same category and if they are dissimilar,
they belong in different categories. These models also underscore a one-dimensional approach
where a single salient feature is often used as the basis of categorization, even though multiple
salient features may be present. This study examined the critical attribute organic chemistry
students used to categorize eight organic compounds possessing similar salient features related to
structure, functional groups, and stereochemistry and how this primary feature changed over time.
Results from this study support the notion that the critical attribute is not stable, but changes as
student learning progresses. The results also suggest that categorization is a systematic process
involving conscious selection of the critical attribute and that higher-ability students (e.g., honor
students) are more prone to be influenced by the current instructional topic when selecting the
critical attribute.
