![]() ![]() For example, some students’ diagrams suggested that the oxygens of two different water molecules could hydrogen bond to the same hydrogen. However, the other half revealed alternative conceptions about the structure of water, the nature of intermolecular interactions and the specific involvement of lone pairs of electrons. Half of the students’ diagrams illustrated the concept of a hydrogen bond correctly, including evidence of it being intermolecular, electrostatic and directional. Student-generated drawings were successfully used to interrogate students’ conceptual understanding However, the diagrams revealed that students conceptualised the intermolecular hydrogen bonds in different ways. Most students were able to adequately represent the bent structure of a water molecule in their diagrams and indicate the covalent nature of the intramolecular bonds. The analysis exposed several difficulties that students face, and new alternative concepts about hydrogen bonding. The diagrams from 60 of these interviews, and interview transcripts, were analysed using an inductive approach, generating different categories relating to the students’ conceptions of hydrogen bonding in a snowflake. ![]() ![]() These prompts slowly reminded students of the idea of hydrogen bonding in a snowflake, and built up to an explicit prompt to illustrate a system of multiple hydrogen-bonded water molecules in a diagram. The researchers used a series of scaffolded prompts to interview first and second year university students. You can find more conceptions about hydrogen bonding in the paper. This research suggests that educators should be aware of challenges around understanding the directionality of hydrogen bonding, due to the position of the lone pairs of electrons and the position of the hydrogen atom.You could also use them as a guide to develop your own prompts for other chemistry concepts. You can use the interview prompts from the published paper in your own practice to assess your students’ understanding of hydrogen bonding.Diagrams could be particularly useful for students who haven’t mastered the right scientific terminology, as they provide another way for them to communicate their understanding.It can reveal students’ mental models and potential alternative concepts. Students should be encouraged to draw diagrams more often.In it, they use student-generated diagrams to investigate students’ conceptual understanding of the nature of hydrogen bonds between water molecules in snowflakes. How do you encode information about electronegativity, molecular shape, molecular orientation and lone pairs of electrons into a single diagram that forms a coherent explanation?Ī new study by researchers from Australia and Taiwan answers this question. The challenge of multiple representations is considerably greater when there are many different fundamental chemical concepts needed to explain another – the concept of hydrogen bonding in water, for example. They can then navigate the challenge of accumulating fragmented knowledge, develop problem-solving strategies and construct a deeper understanding of complex science concepts. Drawing diagrams helps students to construct, organise and communicate their understanding of these concepts. Each form has different characteristics that convey complementary information about a concept. While challenging, the use of multiple representations is beneficial to students. The development of these skills can be used as a means of assessment. This can develop their mental models of science phenomena as they need to select key spatial features and represent them in a visual form. When students create diagrams themselves, it promotes the development of observational and reasoning skills. Source: © Lyubava Matveeva/500px/Getty Imagesĭo your students understand the hydrogen bonding in a snowflake? Why not get them drawing to find out ![]()
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