Sevil Akaygun

Using Static and Dynamic Visuals to Represent Chemical Change at Molecular Level

The study examines the effectiveness of visually enhanced instruction that emphasizes molecular representations. Instructional conditions were specified in terms of the visual elaboration level (static and dynamic) and the presentation mode (whole class and individual). Fifty‐two eighth graders (age range 14–15 years) participated in one of the three instructional conditions (dynamic–individual, dynamic–whole class, and static–whole class) designed to improve molecular understanding on chemical change. The results indicated significantly higher performance for students who used dynamic visuals compared with those who used static visuals. Furthermore, students who used dynamic visuals on an individual basis were more consistent in their use of molecular representations compared with students who received whole‐class instruction with dynamic or static visuals. The results favour the use of dynamic visuals (preferably on an individual basis) over static visuals when presenting molecular representations. The results also imply that the effectiveness of instruction will improve if teachers challenge and question the inconsistencies and contradictions between verbal explanations and corresponding molecular representations

Words or Pictures: A comparison of written and pictorial explanations of physical and chemical equilibria

The features of a concept or principle an individual chooses to highlight in an explanation or description may be related to the medium of communication used. Different aspects of understanding can be revealed through words and through drawings. This two-part exploratory study examined the differences between explanations of physical and chemical equilibria generated by means of words or pictures. Participants included both instructors and students, who were randomly assigned to provide either written explanations or drawings of physical or chemical equilibrium at the macroscopic and particulate levels. For both studies, analyses revealed that significantly different features appeared in the written and pictorial explanations of equilibrium. The written responses focused more on processes such as the dynamic nature of equilibrium, whereas pictorial representations highlighted structural aspects of equilibrium, such as the spatial arrangement of molecules. Regardless of the level of chemistry knowledge, people conveyed the same type of information via the use of different representations and visual tools.

Dynamic Visualizations: Tools for Understanding the Particulate Nature of Matter

Various methods and tools have been used by chemistry instructors to help students visualize the particulate nature of matter. One such method is the use of dynamic computer visualizations to depict molecular structures and processes that occur at the particulate level. The impacts of various kinds of visualizations on students’ understanding of chemical phenomena have been studied by a number of investigators, and the implications of their findings can provide insight to chemical educators. This article reviews research on the effects of dynamic computer visualizations used in chemistry instruction, especially visualizations of the particulate level, and summarizes their implications for educators.

How Does Level of Guidance Affect Understanding When Students Use a Dynamic Simulation of Liquid–Vapor Equilibrium?

In Chapter 13 entitled “How Does Level of Guidance Affect Understanding When Students Use a Dynamic Simulation of Liquid–Vapor Equilibrium?” Akaygun and Jones present research on visualizations of molecular structure and dynamics being powerful learning tools. Scientific visualizations that are enlightening for experts may not only be difficult for novices to interpret, but may also not address misconceptions commonly held by novices. The chapter explores the students’ learning using either a worksheet with a high level of guidance or a more open-ended worksheet with a minimal level of guidance. Students also completed a pre-test and post-test of conceptual understanding and an attitude survey. Results showed that many students were able to correct their understandings after learning with simulation. No difference in conceptual understanding was found between the groups using worksheets of different guidance levels. However, comments about both simulation and worksheets on the evaluation questionnaire were more positive for students who had used the open-ended version. Students who had used the open-ended worksheet were also more likely to focus on the content of the lesson in their remarks, while students who used the more guided worksheets were more likely to focus on the structure of the lesson.

The effect that comparing molecular animations of varying accuracy has on students’ submicroscopic explanations

In this qualitative study, we examined how a group of seventeen first semester General Chemistry students responded when they were shown contrasting molecular animations of a reduction–oxidation (redox) reaction between solid copper and aqueous silver nitrate for which they first viewed a video of the actual experiment. The animations contrasted in that they portrayed different reaction mechanisms for the redox reaction. One animation was scientifically accurate and reflected an electron exchange mechanism, while the other was purposefully inaccurate and represented a physical exchange between the ions. Students were instructed to critique each animation for its fit with the experimental evidence and to ultimately choose the animation that they felt best depicted the molecular level of the chemical reaction. Analyses showed that most students identified that the electron exchange animation was the more scientifically accurate animation; however, approximately half of the students revised their drawings to fit with the inaccurate physical exchange animation. In addition, nearly all students thought that both animations were correct and useful for understanding salient information about the redox reaction. The results indicate that when students are shown contrasting animations of varying accuracy they make errors in deciding how the animations are supported and refuted by the evidence, but the treatment is effective. Contrasting animations promote students to think deeply about how animations fit with experimental evidence and is a promising way to engage students to think deeply about animations.

Responsible Research and Innovation in secondary school science classrooms: experiences from the project Irresistible

Abstract Responsible Research and Innovation has become a core concept in many of the Horizon 2020 programs. In this article the concept of RRI is discussed in context of secondary education, and the interpretation used within the project ‘Irresistible’ is introduced. In the article several ways in which RRI can be incorporated in science classrooms are discussed, connected to the teaching of contemporary research taking place in universities as well as recent innovations coming from industry. The presented modules are designed in groups in which teachers work together with researchers, science educators and science center experts. As one of the educational approaches used in the modules, students created exhibits in which both the scientific content as well as the RRI concepts related to the content are demonstrated for the general public. These exhibits have been very successful as a learning tool.

Nanoeducation: Zooming into Teacher Professional Development Programmes in Nanoscience and Technology

In this chapter, we present four different professional development programmes for in- and pre-service teachers and the accompanying research in the area of nanoscience and technology. First, we will present a review of the literature to lay out the field of conditions and approaches introducing nanoscience and nanotechnology into programmes for in- and pre-service teachers. This introduction will be followed by the four projects. The first study explores the goals and preconditions of introducing nanoscience into pre-service teacher education programmes; the second reports experiences from a programme for pre-service teachers. The third programme offers teachers authentic insights into research facilities. The fourth project reports about the design of an in-service teacher training programme focusing specifically on the use of models to teach and learn important nano techniques, such as atomic force microscopy. Those exemplary projects have been accompanied by different qualitative and quantitative research approaches which will also be outlined. The results of all four programmes clearly show the need for further investigations and course developments, based on the pre- and in-service teachers’ needs. They also give hints on successful tools and structures that could be used in other programmes on nanoscience, in modern scientific areas of interest for education as well.

Interdisciplinary Research Brought to School—Connecting Chemistry and Biology through Nanotechnology †

Nanoscience is a cutting edge and highly interdisciplinary field of research. The experiment presented here is a good example of bringing this interdisciplinary research to school by working with biological and chemical methods. Students first synthesize silver nanoparticles and then test them for their antimicrobial effect in a yeast culture. By observing the yeast growth and the nanosilver-induced suppression over 72 hours, students not only learn about nanoscience but also get an insight into research methods commonly used in the field of toxicology – which is highly relevant for the risk assessment of nanomaterials. Further, attention was given to develop a teaching unit that has close connections to real research, i.e. highlighting typical features of current research like interdisciplinarity, but also standard research procedures like multiple measurements and systematic test analysis to gain more reliable results. Detailed illustrated instructions for all parts of the experiment are included in the Appendix, as well as a brief background on nanosilver, an Excel sheet for the test evaluation and the description of a setup to take time-lapse videos of the experiment.

Size-Dependent Properties of Matter: Is the Size of a Pill Important?.

ABSTRACT This interdisciplinary scientific inquiry lesson specifically utilizes the 5E learning cycle to engage high school students in an investigation on size-dependent properties of matter. In particular, this inquiry lesson focuses on a biologically relevant phenomenon, namely accessibility to a pharmaceutical drug with respect to the size of the pill. In this context, students design and conduct a controlled experiment to test how the accessibility to an encapsulated drug is affected by the change in the size of the pill. Thus, through this investigation, students not only learn about the relationship between the size of a material in terms of surface area-to-volume ratio and the rate of diffusion of molecules, but also extend this knowledge to the importance of size in the context of nanoscale. Additionally, students practice the science process skills involved in undertaking a scientific inquiry.