To What Extent do Freshmen University Chemistry Students Master Chemistry Calculations?

Rusek, Martin; Vojíř, Karel; Bártová, Iveta; Klečková, Marta; Sirotek, Vladimír; Štrofová, Jitka

doi:10.17344/acsi.2021.7250

Cited by 6 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 20 publications

(29 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The problem with understanding chemistry equations was also revealed in Rusek et al's [34] study. College students struggled with even simple equations when faced with stoichiometry problems.…”

Section: Students' Chemical Equations Abilitiesmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Despite this, over half of these students were unable to balance chemical equations at a high-school level (see [71])-a finding consistent with prior research. Rusek, et al [34] encountered challenges among students when solving chemical calculation problems, particularly with chemical equations, where failure was predominantly due to an inability to balance the equations properly.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From the perspective of chemistry studies, students need to master the topic of chemical reactions, including stoichiometry, throughout their course of study. Insufficient ability to work with chemical equations can, among other things, lead to complications in practical laboratory work, which is an integral part of studying chemistry (see e.g., [34]). For this reason, this topic deserves further attention.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Between Symbols and Particles: Investigating the Complexity of Learning Chemical Equations

Hamerská,

Matěcha,

Tóthová

et al. 2024

Education Sciences

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study explores the pedagogical challenges in teaching chemical equations, focusing on the ability to balance chemical equations and understanding related basic chemical concepts among chemistry teacher students. Based on Johnstone’s representation theory, we examined the efficacy of digital tools designed to enhance equation-balancing skills. The key findings of this study seem to be the disconnection between students’ procedural proficiency in balancing equations and their conceptual understanding of underlying chemical reactions. Surprising was the relatively low ability to balance chemical equations when compared to the expected level of upper-secondary school students. An analysis of the results showed that students could be distinguished into four different groups of solvers based on their total score and solving time: efficient, persistent, impulsive, and inefficient solvers. Utilizing an eye-tracking study, the findings reveal a predominant reliance on symbolic representations, with additional sub-microscopic representations provided by digital applets failing to significantly improve equation-balancing capabilities. This reliance potentially hinders students’ ability to conceptualize reactions at the particulate level, impacting overall chemistry comprehension. This study underscores the need for a pedagogical shift toward integrating multiple representations into chemical education to bridge the gap between procedural skills and deep conceptual understanding. By highlighting the limitations of current teaching approaches and the use of digital tools, this research contributes to improving chemical education strategies, fostering a more integrated and nuanced understanding of chemical principles among students.

show abstract

Section: Students' Chemical Equations Abilitiesmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Between Symbols and Particles: Investigating the Complexity of Learning Chemical Equations

Hamerská,

Matěcha,

Tóthová

et al. 2024

Education Sciences

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is a basic and fundamental concept in chemistry . In recent years, some research has been done on the calculation of chemical equations. − Fiebig and Melle suggested that the calculation of chemical equations was difficult to teach, in part because of a lack of appropriate teaching methods. On this basis, Fach et al examined teaching methods for calculating chemical equations and pointed out that an introductory course on calculating chemical equations should provide students with a program that includes all the necessary steps.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Eye-Tracking Study on the Effects of Displayed Teacher Enthusiasm on Students’ Learning Procedural Knowledge of Chemistry in Video Lectures

Huangfu,

Li,

Ban

et al. 2024

J. Chem. Educ.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Teacher enthusiasm is known to affect students' learning in traditional classroom environments, but it is unclear how displayed teacher enthusiasm can optimize learning of chemistry procedural knowledge in multimedia learning environments. In this context, the present study used eye-tracking technology and quantitative analysis to examine how displayed teacher enthusiasm in video lectures affects students' positive emotions, visual attention, cognitive load, and learning outcomes. Measures were collected from 128 eighth-grade middle school students. An EyeLink 1000 Plus eye-tracker was used to capture the students' eye movements. The percentage of total fixation duration, percentage of fixation count, mean pupil size, and blink rate were used as metrics to analyze the eye-gaze data. The results showed that an enthusiastic teacher positively affected students' positive emotions, reduced students' cognitive load, and made students more concentrated on the learning-content area. Additionally, the higher level of displayed teacher enthusiasm improved learners' learning outcomes.

show abstract

“…Solving chemical equations and calculating quantities of reactants and products, as well as concentrations of solutions, are a traditional part of virtually every secondary and tertiary chemistry class and are skills that extend beyond the chemistry laboratory 1,2 and can be considered a lifelong skill. 3 There are basically two approaches to dealing with chemical equations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Comparison of the Speed of Solving Chemistry Calculation Tasks in the Traditional Way and with the use of ICT

Dojer,

Kristl,

Šorgo

2023

ACSi

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Efficiency of time use is a key factor in chemistry calculation tasks, affecting both, personal and professional domains. This study is dedicated to finding the fastest methods for accomplishing chemistry tasks. Our investigation delves into the comparative temporal outlays made by students as they engage three different approaches: using an electronic calculator, a basic calculator app on a smartphone, and a desktop computer calculator. As part of our research, we examine a cohort of 52 Slovenian university students, preservice teachers who were actively enrolled in chemistry and related science programs, spanning the academic years of 2019 and 2022. The results from 2019 show that students can solve the chemistry tasks most quickly using electronic calculator and take the most time to calculate the tasks using smartphones (Δmean = 133 s; ΔSD = 5 s; Δmin = 97 s; Δmax = 131 s). An even larger difference is observed from the 2022 study year (Δmean = 189 s; ΔSD = 129 s; Δmin = 170 s; Δmax = 625 s). In summary, although smartphones are recognised as a multitasking device, replacing traditional single-purpose devices, they have not been able to outperform them.

show abstract

To What Extent do Freshmen University Chemistry Students Master Chemistry Calculations?

Cited by 6 publications

References 20 publications

Between Symbols and Particles: Investigating the Complexity of Learning Chemical Equations

Between Symbols and Particles: Investigating the Complexity of Learning Chemical Equations

An Eye-Tracking Study on the Effects of Displayed Teacher Enthusiasm on Students’ Learning Procedural Knowledge of Chemistry in Video Lectures

The Comparison of the Speed of Solving Chemistry Calculation Tasks in the Traditional Way and with the use of ICT

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About