How visuospatial thinking boosts chemistry understanding

An illustration of two hands miming the structure of Ammonia

Source: © Rose Rodionova/Shutterstock

Encourage your students to use their hands to help them get to grips with complex chemistry concepts

Visuospatial thinking is a hugely important component of problem solving in science. A recent study looked at how chemistry students use gesture, particularly hand gesture, to identify and understand molecular structures. The study reinforced findings from previous papers that showed students use imagistic reasoning as a starting point for learning new concepts.

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