Testing and improving students' understanding of three-dimensional representations in chemistry.
Date
1989
Authors
Tuckey, Helen Patricia
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Abstract
Three-dimensional visualisation is an important skill in
chemistry but one in which many students experience difficulty.
The main aims of this research were to identify the nature,
extent and particularly the reasons for university students'
difficulties in three-dimensional thinking and to devise teaching
strategies for overcoming them. The research was restricted to
the simpler aspects of three-dimensional thinking; it dealt only
with rotation and reflection of simple molecules.
The component steps required for the solution of
three-dimensional problems were identified, and students'
competence in these steps was tested. Pretest results showed that
the students initially had poor visuaIisation skills. The main
reasons for their difficulties were identified to be: (a)
inability to visualise the three-dimensional structures of
molecules, using the depth cues; (b) lack of precise
understanding of the meaning of the phrases used in the questions
(such as rotation about the X-axis; reflection in the XY plane);
(c) inability to visualise the orientation of the axes and planes
and of the positions of the atoms after an operation.
A ninety minute remedial instruction programme on those aspects
which caused difficulty was found to be enough, as shown by an
analysis of covariance, to improve the students' visualisation
skills very significantly (p < 0,01).
Description
A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty
of Education, University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, for the
degree of Master of Education.
Keywords
Chemistry -- Study and teaching (Higher)