Research on Student Understanding of Solution Phenomena in College Chemistry

化学(12)这个项目的目标是建立一个有良好基础和系统的描述，说明学生如何使用定性和定量的描述对解决方案进行一般的化学推理。这项工作的重点是深入研究学生对溶液中化学现象的概念(同一性、浓度和反应性)，如何使用定性(亚微观、宏观和符号)表示来描述这些概念，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到学生对学习任务提出的概念，特别是当这些概念与科学界接受的概念背道而驰，甚至可能发生冲突的时候。如果不考虑这些概念，有两个典型的结果：转瞬即逝的、肤浅的学习或几乎没有学习。与此同时，有明确的证据表明，大学生在对化学体系的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，从而将数学程序变成盲目应用的算法。因此，应该将多种表征联系在一起的基本概念经常缺失，学生更不能使用测量来设计和进行有目的的调查。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)背景下发展的小平面聚类法。通过与一小群不同的学生的深入合作，绘制与溶液的三种化学现象和四种不同表现形式相关的学生概念的空间。这项研究是在咨询芝加哥地区四所大学环境中教授普通化学的教师的基础上进行的，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。这些深入的研究为设计一个基于计算机的评估系统奠定了基础，该系统可以用来进一步定义这一领域中学生理解的概念空间，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：化学现象方面的集群预计将对在不同学生群体的本科生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。该项目最初对普通化学产生了最重大的影响，普通化学是学生在许多不同的STEM职业道路上取得成功的关键课程，包括许多化学科学以外的领域。普通化学课程内容改革的主要举措是在学生使用数字信息进行推理的具体数据相对较少的情况下进行。这个项目为学生在遇到包括量化在内的多种表示时提供了更多的洞察力。除了普通化学，这项工作预计还将影响其他教学环境，在这些环境中，学生必须进行定性和定量的描述，包括其他化学课程、卫生专业、生命、地球和环境科学。此外，本研究还发现了K-12教育中存在的问题，使本研究具有一定的现实意义。

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.