Students’ struggle with multiple representations

By Fraser Scott2020-02-13T09:29:00

An image showing a salt shaker; NaCl symbols and multiple lattice structures of sodium chloride are coming out of it

Source: All elements © Shutterstock

How important is it for students to be able to move between chemical representations to grasp fundamental chemical concepts and phenomena?

Fraser Scott looks at a study that investigated secondary and undergraduate students’ ability to navigate three levels of representation to fully understand fundamental chemical concepts and phenomena. Researchers examined the students’ understanding of four basic chemical concepts and considered their competence in moving fluently between the three different levels of chemical representations. A number of helpful tips are provided for you to help your students understand chemical representations.

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