Research on Student Understanding of Solution Phenomena in College Chemistry

这个项目的目标是构建一个有充分基础的系统描述，描述普通化学学生如何使用定性和定量描述来推理解决方案。这项工作的重点是深入研究学生对溶液中的化学现象（同一性、浓度和反应性）的概念，如何使用定性（亚微观、宏观和符号）表征来描述这些概念，以及量化如何帮助或阻碍这些概念和描述。智力价值：当代关于学习的研究表明，有效的教学需要考虑学生对学习任务的观念，特别是当这些观念与科学界所接受的观念不同或有潜在冲突时。当不考虑这些概念时，有两种典型的结果：短暂的、肤浅的学习或根本没有学习。与此同时，有明确的证据表明，大学生在对化学系统进行推理方面存在重大问题。此外，他们倾向于用算法而不是概念来处理计算和数字，从而将数学过程变成盲目应用的算法。结果，应该连接多个表征的基本概念经常缺失，学生不太能够设计和进行有目的的调查使用测量。该项目采用了Minstrell（1992,2001）在基本物理概念（例如，力和运动，加速度等）的背景下开发的facet集群方法，通过与一小群但不同的学生深入合作，绘制出与三种化学现象和四种不同形式的表征相关的学生概念空间。这项研究是在与芝加哥地区四所大学的普通化学教师协商后进行的，其中包括三所社区学院（肯尼迪·金学院、哈罗德·华盛顿学院和哈珀学院）。这些机构服务于传统上在STEM学科中代表性不足的学生群体。深入的研究为设计基于计算机的评估系统奠定了基础，该系统可用于进一步定义学生在该领域的理解概念空间，并为教师提供诊断信息。这个项目正在制作这样一个系统的原型。更广泛的影响：化学现象的Facet集群预计将对在不同学生群体的本科科学中实施有效的教学、学习和评估实践所需的知识库产生重大影响。该项目对普通化学产生了最显著的初步影响，普通化学是许多不同STEM职业道路（包括化学科学以外的许多职业）学生成功的关键课程。在普通化学课程内容改革的主要举措中，有关学生利用数值信息进行推理的具体数据相对较少。这个项目为学生在遇到包括量化在内的多种表征时的行为提供了额外的见解。除了普通化学之外，这项工作还有望影响其他教学和学习环境，在这些环境中，学生必须使用定性和定量描述，包括其他化学课程、卫生专业、生命、地球和环境科学。此外，在K-12教育中也发现了所研究的问题，使本研究具有大学预科科学教育的相关性。

Chemistry (12)The objective of this project is the construction of a well-grounded and systematic description of how students in general chemistry reason about solutions using qualitative and quantitative descriptions. The work focuses on in-depth studies of students' conceptions of chemical phenomena in solution (identity, concentration, and reactivity), how these are described using qualitative (submicroscopic, macroscopic, and symbolic) representations, and how quantification helps or hinders these conceptions and descriptions. Intellectual Merit: Contemporary research on learning indicates that effective instruction needs to take into account the conceptions that students bring to learning tasks, especially when those conceptions diverge from, and potentially conflict with, conceptions accepted by the scientific community. When these conceptions are not taken into account, there are two typical results: fleeting, superficial learning or little learning at all. At the same time, there is clear evidence that college students have significant problems reasoning about chemical systems. Furthermore, they tend to treat calculations and numbers algorithmically rather than conceptually, thus turning mathematical procedures into blindly-applied algorithms. As a result, underlying concepts that ought to link multiple representations are frequently absent and students are less able to design and carry through on purposeful investigations using measurement. The project adapts the Facets cluster approach that Minstrell (1992, 2001) developed in the context of basic physics concepts (e.g., forces and motion, acceleration, etc.) to map the space of students' conceptions related to the three chemical phenomena of solutions and the four different forms of representation through in-depth work with a small but diverse group of students. The research is being done in consultation with faculty who teach general chemistry in four college environments in the Chicago area, including three community colleges (Kennedy-King College, Harold Washington College, and Harper College). These institutions serve student populations that are traditionally underrepresented in the STEM disciplines. The in-depth studies lay the groundwork for the design of a computer-based assessment system that could be used to further define the conceptual space of student understanding in this domain as well as provide diagnostic information to instructors. This project is producing a prototype of such a system. Broader Impacts: Facet clusters for chemical phenomena are expected to have significant impacts on the knowledge base required for implementing effective teaching, learning and assessment practices in undergraduate science with diverse student populations. The project is having its most significant initial impact in general chemistry, a key course for the success of students in many different STEM career tracks, including many outside the chemical sciences. Major initiatives in the reform of general chemistry course content have proceeded with relatively little specific data about student reasoning using numerical information. This project is providing additional insight into what students do when they encounter multiple representations including quantification. Beyond general chemistry the work also is expected to impact other teaching and learning environments where students must work with qualitative and quantitative descriptions, including other chemistry courses, health professions, life, earth, and environmental sciences. In addition, the problems being studied also are found in K-12 education, making this research relevant to pre-college science education.