Students’ Use of Magnetic Models to Learn Hydrogen Bonding and the Formation of Snowflakes

Abstract

Magnetic molecular models help students explore molecular structures and interactions. In this study, we investigated how pairs of students used magnetic models to explore hydrogen bonding and the 6-fold symmetry of snowflakes. Fourteen first-year students enrolled in a chemistry unit participated in pairs. Students' interactions with the magnetic models and their peers were video recorded and later transcribed. Students' hand-drawn diagrams, verbal explanations, and gestures were used to evaluate students' conceptual understanding. Students showed distinctly different patterns of interaction depending on their prior knowledge of hydrogen bonding and how they socially interacted. Pairs with alternative prior understanding of hydrogen bonding relied on prompts while using magnetic models to feel the attraction and repulsion between two water molecules. They then constructed a tetrahedral structure and discussed its similarities with the branches of snowflakes. Pairs with a better understanding of hydrogen bonding interacted more with each other, used magnetic models to create ring structures, and explained their similarities with the 6-fold symmetry of snowflakes. Despite gaining a new understanding of hydrogen bonding, most student pairs' explanations did not extend to the massive 3D expansion of molecular structures to form a snowflake. Educators should consider the affordances of magnetic models and students' group dynamics when teaching molecular interactions to explain macroscopic-level phenomena.

EMMAs: Implementation and Assessment of a Suite of Cross-Disciplinary, Case-Based High School Activities to Explore Three-Dimensional Molecular Structure, Noncovalent Interactions, and Molecular Dynamics

“…We also added free-response written and molecular drawing questions to provide more complete insight into students’ perceptions of intermolecular interactions. Supplementing written responses with drawn images has been a useful approach to characterize student conceptualization of intermolecular forces in past work. , The postsurvey also included questions related to student satisfaction, including free-response opportunities for students to express positive aspects of the activities and areas for improvement. In Spring 2022, this survey version was then utilized in a pilot study with an initial version of the activities described here.…”

“…Software packages like PyMOL (Schrodinger, LLC), UCSF-Chimera, Odyssey (Wave function, Inc., Irvine, CA), Avogadro, IQMol (), and Visual Molecular Dynamics (VMD) can allow students to manipulate and move between multiple 3D molecular representations. Many of these tools could be used as a starting point to incorporate computer visualizing into a classroom setting, and there are several existing resources and activities using computational or virtual reality models to facilitate student understanding of 3D molecular structure, dynamics, and/or interactions at the undergraduate level. − There are also some noteworthy examples at the high school level, many of which focus on students considering aspects of protein secondary and tertiary structure. − Our activities add uniquely to this literature by focusing more specifically on atomic-level aspects of noncovalent interactions and three-dimensional molecular structure that are a central aspect of many high school chemistry courses. Many previous activities for high school students effectively used adapted/simplified versions of modern computational technologies or web-based viewers .…”