In organic chemistry, spatial reasoning is critical for
reasoning about spatial relationships in three dimensions and representing
spatial information in diagrams. Despite its importance, little is
known about the underlying cognitive components of spatial reasoning
and the strategies that students employ to solve spatial problems
in organic chemistry. Although prior research suggests that individual
differences in visual–spatial ability (assumed to measure facility
in visual–spatial imagery) predict success on spatial problems
in organic chemistry and explain sex differences in organic chemistry
achievement, it is unclear whether students rely on visual–spatial
imagery while engaged in chemistry problem solving. In the present
study, we investigated which strategies students use to solve spatial
chemistry problems and the relationships between strategy choice,
spatial ability, and sex. To that end, we explored the use of alternative
problem-solving strategies, such as algorithms and heuristics, that
may obviate the impact of visual–spatial imagery on problem
solving. The results indicated that students employ multiple strategies
that include heuristics and the construction of external diagrams
rather than relying exclusively on imagistic reasoning. Importantly,
we observed students’ choice of strategy to be independent
of visual–spatial ability, and we observed that women employ
strategies differently than men after instruction in the domain.
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