Promoting Representational Competence to Facilitate Understanding and Epistemological Thinking In Chemistry

本提案将调查和研究高中生和大学生对化学的理解。在这项研究的过程中，pi将建立一个基于计算机的化学学习环境（称为ChemSense）。ChemSense的开发将是迭代的，这意味着学生使用ChemSense作为学习工具的结果将用于重新设计ChemSense，以便在三年项目结束时，设想一个强大的基于计算机的化学学习工具。从基础研究的角度来看，pi希望描述：(a)哪些表征对学生学习化学最有帮助，(b)学生如何学习一般的科学原理，以及(c)他们将学习从计算机环境转移到其他学习环境的能力。

This proposal will investigate and study high school and college students' understanding of chemistry. During the course of this study, the PIs will build a computer-based learning environment for chemistry (called ChemSense). The development of ChemSense will be iterative, meaning that the results of students' use of ChemSense as a learning tool will be used to reengineer ChemSense so that by the end of the three-year project, a robust computer-based tool for learning chemistry is envisioned. From a basic research perspective, the PIs wish to characterize: (a) which representations were most helpful for students to learn chemistry, (b) how students learn general scientific principles, and (c) their ability to transfer learning from the computer environment to other learning situations.