TY - JOUR
T1 - Building mental models of a reaction mechanism
T2 - The influence of static and animated representations, prior knowledge, and spatial ability
AU - Bongers, Amanda
AU - Beauvoir, Berthorie
AU - Streja, Nicholas
AU - Northoff, Georg
AU - Flynn, Alison B.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank Prof. Ghislain Deslongchamps for creating the animations used in this study and eCampusOntario for funding. Additional thanks to Foster Rose for help with transcribing the think-aloud interviews. We thank Kelli Galloway for her preliminary work in the experimental design.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Royal Society of Chemistry.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/4/1
Y1 - 2020/4/1
N2 - In chemistry, novices and experts use mental models to simulate and reason about sub-microscopic processes. Animations are thus important tools for learning in chemistry to convey reaction dynamics and molecular motion. While there are many animations available and studies showing the benefit of learning from animations, there are also limitations to their design and effectiveness. Moreover, there are few experimental studies into learning chemistry from animations, especially organic reaction mechanisms. We conducted a mixed-methods study into how students learn and develop mental models of a reaction mechanism from animations. The study (N = 45) used a pre-/post-test experimental design and counterbalanced static and animated computerized learning activities (15 min each), plus short think-aloud interviews for some participants (n = 20). We developed the tests and learning activities in a pilot study; these contained versions of an epoxide opening reaction mechanism either as static (using the electron-pushing formalism) or animated representations. Participants' test accuracy, response times, and self-reported confidence were analyzed quantitatively (α = 0.05) and we found that, while participants showed a learning effect, there were no significant differences between the static and animated learning conditions. Participants' spatial abilities were correlated to their test accuracy and influenced their learning gains for both conditions. Qualitative framework analysis of think-aloud interviews revealed changes in participants' reasoning about the test questions, moving toward using rule- and case-based reasoning over model-based reasoning. This analysis also revealed that dynamic and transitional features were incorporated into participants' working mental models of the reaction mechanism after learning from animations. The divergence of participants' mental models for reasoning and visualization could suggest a gap in their mental model consolidation.
AB - In chemistry, novices and experts use mental models to simulate and reason about sub-microscopic processes. Animations are thus important tools for learning in chemistry to convey reaction dynamics and molecular motion. While there are many animations available and studies showing the benefit of learning from animations, there are also limitations to their design and effectiveness. Moreover, there are few experimental studies into learning chemistry from animations, especially organic reaction mechanisms. We conducted a mixed-methods study into how students learn and develop mental models of a reaction mechanism from animations. The study (N = 45) used a pre-/post-test experimental design and counterbalanced static and animated computerized learning activities (15 min each), plus short think-aloud interviews for some participants (n = 20). We developed the tests and learning activities in a pilot study; these contained versions of an epoxide opening reaction mechanism either as static (using the electron-pushing formalism) or animated representations. Participants' test accuracy, response times, and self-reported confidence were analyzed quantitatively (α = 0.05) and we found that, while participants showed a learning effect, there were no significant differences between the static and animated learning conditions. Participants' spatial abilities were correlated to their test accuracy and influenced their learning gains for both conditions. Qualitative framework analysis of think-aloud interviews revealed changes in participants' reasoning about the test questions, moving toward using rule- and case-based reasoning over model-based reasoning. This analysis also revealed that dynamic and transitional features were incorporated into participants' working mental models of the reaction mechanism after learning from animations. The divergence of participants' mental models for reasoning and visualization could suggest a gap in their mental model consolidation.
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U2 - 10.1039/c9rp00198k
DO - 10.1039/c9rp00198k
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85083657030
SN - 1109-4028
VL - 21
SP - 496
EP - 512
JO - Chemistry Education Research and Practice
JF - Chemistry Education Research and Practice
IS - 2
ER -