Correct Interpretation of Chemical Diagrams Requires Transforming from One Level of Representation to Another
Volunteer non-major chemistry students taking an introductory university chemistry course (n = 17) were interviewed about their understanding of a variety of chemical diagrams. All the students’ interviewed appreciated that diagrams of laboratory equipment were useful to show how to set up laborator...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Kluwer Academic Publishers
2008
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/16649 |
| _version_ | 1848749236845281280 |
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| author | Chittleborough, G. Treagust, David |
| author_facet | Chittleborough, G. Treagust, David |
| author_sort | Chittleborough, G. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Volunteer non-major chemistry students taking an introductory university chemistry course (n = 17) were interviewed about their understanding of a variety of chemical diagrams. All the students’ interviewed appreciated that diagrams of laboratory equipment were useful to show how to set up laboratory equipment. However students’ ability to explain specific diagrams at either the macroscopic or sub-microscopic level varied greatly. The results highlighted the poor level of understanding that some students had even after completing both exercises and experiments using the diagrams. The connection between the diagrams of the macroscopic level (equipment, chemicals), the sub-microscopic level (molecular) and the symbolic level (equations) was not always considered explicitly by students. The results indicate a need for chemical diagrams to be used carefully and more explicitly to ensure learner understanding. Correspondingly, students need to interpret visual chemical diagrams using meta-visualization skills linking the various levels of representation, and appreciating the role of the diagrams in explanations need to be developed. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:17:44Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-16649 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:17:44Z |
| publishDate | 2008 |
| publisher | Kluwer Academic Publishers |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-166492019-02-19T05:34:59Z Correct Interpretation of Chemical Diagrams Requires Transforming from One Level of Representation to Another Chittleborough, G. Treagust, David Non-major Chemistry Representations First-year university Chemical diagrams Explanations Volunteer non-major chemistry students taking an introductory university chemistry course (n = 17) were interviewed about their understanding of a variety of chemical diagrams. All the students’ interviewed appreciated that diagrams of laboratory equipment were useful to show how to set up laboratory equipment. However students’ ability to explain specific diagrams at either the macroscopic or sub-microscopic level varied greatly. The results highlighted the poor level of understanding that some students had even after completing both exercises and experiments using the diagrams. The connection between the diagrams of the macroscopic level (equipment, chemicals), the sub-microscopic level (molecular) and the symbolic level (equations) was not always considered explicitly by students. The results indicate a need for chemical diagrams to be used carefully and more explicitly to ensure learner understanding. Correspondingly, students need to interpret visual chemical diagrams using meta-visualization skills linking the various levels of representation, and appreciating the role of the diagrams in explanations need to be developed. 2008 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/16649 10.1007/s11165-007-9059-4 Kluwer Academic Publishers fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Non-major Chemistry Representations First-year university Chemical diagrams Explanations Chittleborough, G. Treagust, David Correct Interpretation of Chemical Diagrams Requires Transforming from One Level of Representation to Another |
| title | Correct Interpretation of Chemical Diagrams Requires Transforming from One Level of Representation to Another |
| title_full | Correct Interpretation of Chemical Diagrams Requires Transforming from One Level of Representation to Another |
| title_fullStr | Correct Interpretation of Chemical Diagrams Requires Transforming from One Level of Representation to Another |
| title_full_unstemmed | Correct Interpretation of Chemical Diagrams Requires Transforming from One Level of Representation to Another |
| title_short | Correct Interpretation of Chemical Diagrams Requires Transforming from One Level of Representation to Another |
| title_sort | correct interpretation of chemical diagrams requires transforming from one level of representation to another |
| topic | Non-major Chemistry Representations First-year university Chemical diagrams Explanations |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/16649 |