Collaborative Research: Developing a Visualization Framework for Chemical Reactions

Columbia University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

Evidence that a chemical reaction has taken place often includes observable phenomena such as changes in color or temperature, the appearance or disappearance of materials or the formation of bubbles in a liquid. Students of chemistry must explain these observations in terms of concepts that necessitate the use of invisible particles such as atoms, ions and molecules. When students encounter challenges to perceive or visualize in their minds the interactions that take place between these unseen particles, learning can be hindered, and students can become discouraged. This project will conduct research on effective strategies to develop and present visualizations that support student learning in General Chemistry. Students will view videos of chemical reactions that exhibit obvious signs of chemical change. This will immediately be followed by watching two animations that provide explanations at the particle level of the reaction in the video. One animation will present a correct description, while the other will contain intentional errors, and students will be asked to analyze and resolve the differences. Ultimately, they will be asked to reflect on the accuracy of each animation. This use of structured errors will facilitate the acquisition of knowledge with regard to student conceptual understanding and analytical reasoning of foundational chemical principles. The understanding and insights revealed through this endeavor, regarding how visualizations can enhance student success, will be of significant value to educators across a wide range of scientific disciplines, from biology, to earth sciences, to physics and more. This visualization framework of videos with companion animations that employ structured errors will challenge students to reflect deeply on their understanding of three fundamental types of chemical reactions: oxidation-reduction, precipitation and acid-base neutralization reactions. Several studies will be undertaken to investigate how students respond to the video of experimental evidence and the animations in variance to each other. Novel eye-tracking studies will be done to examine how the viewing patterns of participants are affected by focusing exercises that students do in connection to their reflection on the visual components of the framework. The eye-tracking research will then be compared to studies that examine how the animations in variance affect the understanding the students demonstrate of the chemical reactions, and how students connect with the animation models in relation to the experimental evidence to revise and construct their understanding. Finally, naturalistic studies will also be conducted to examine how students respond to the tools in the authentic classroom learning environment. Assessment of project products and milestones will employ both a team of advisors with areas of expertise that span the range of research emphases in the project and an external evaluator proficient in the development of visualizations to provide independent perspective of the quality of the videos and animations and their impacts on student learning.