Research on Student Understanding of Solution Phenomena in College Chemistry

大学化学中学生对溶液现象的理解研究

• 批准号: 0736791
• 负责人: Donald Wink
• 金额: $ 14.99万
• 依托单位: University of Illinois at Chicago
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-09-01 至 2012-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0736791&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Research; Student; Understanding; Solution; Phenomena

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.

化学（12）该项目的目的是构建一个良好的，系统的描述，描述了一般化学中的学生如何使用定性和定量描述有关解决方案的原因。这项工作重点是对学生在解决方案（身份，集中和反应性）中的化学现象概念的深入研究，如何使用定性（亚镜下，宏观和符号）表示这些概念，以及量化如何帮助或阻碍这些概念和描述。智力优点：当代学习研究表明，有效的教学需要考虑到学生为学习任务带来的概念，尤其是当这些概念与科学界接受的概念差异并可能与可能发生冲突时。 当不考虑这些概念时，有两个典型的结果：瞬息万变，肤浅的学习或几乎没有学习。 同时，有明确的证据表明，大学生在化学系统方面存在重大问题。此外，他们倾向于以概念上的方式对待计算和数量算法，从而将数学程序转化为盲目应用的算法。结果，应该链接多个表示形式的基本概念通常不存在，并且学生不太能够使用测量来设计和进行有目的的调查。该项目适应了Minstrell（1992，2001）在基本物理概念（例如力量和运动，加速等）背景下开发的方面群集方法，以绘制与解决方案的三种化学现象相关的学生概念的空间以及与一小部分但多样化的学生进行的深入工作，这四种不同形式的代表性形式。这项研究是在与教师协商的，该教师在芝加哥地区的四个大学环境中教通用化学，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）。这些机构为STEM学科中传统上代表性不足的学生群体提供服务。深入的研究为设计基于计算机的评估系统设计的基础是进一步定义该领域中学生理解的概念空间，并向讲师提供诊断信息的基础。该项目正在生产这种系统的原型。更广泛的影响：预计化学现象的方面集群将对具有不同学生人群的本科科学实施有效的教学，学习和评估实践所需的知识库产生重大影响。 该项目在一般化学中具有最大的初始影响，这是学生在许多不同STEM职业轨道上成功的关键课程，包括许多化学科学之外的许多课程。通用化学课程内容改革的主要举措的主要数据相对较少有关使用数值信息的学生推理的具体数据。该项目在遇到包括量化在内的多个表示形式时提供了更多的见解。除了一般化学外，这项工作还有望影响其他教学环境，学生必须使用定性和定量描述，包括其他化学课程，卫生职业，生活，地球和环境科学。此外，在K-12教育中也发现了研究的问题，这项研究与大学前科学教育有关。