Strategies Used by Grade 12 Physical Sciences Students in Solving Chemical Equilibrium Problems

Autor/inn/en	Mensah, Alfred; Morabe, Olebogeng Nicodimus
Titel	Strategies Used by Grade 12 Physical Sciences Students in Solving Chemical Equilibrium Problems
Quelle	In: African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 22 (2018) 2, S.174-185 (12 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Mensah, Alfred)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1029-8457
DOI	10.1080/18117295.2018.1475908
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Grade 12; Chemistry; Problem Solving; High School Students; Low Achievement; High Achievement; Computation; Knowledge Level; Skills; Physical Sciences; Secondary School Science; Protocol Analysis; South Africa + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; School year 12; 12. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 12; Chemie; Problemlösen; High school; High schools; Student; Students; Oberschule; Schüler; Schülerin; Studentin; Unterdurchschnittliche Leistung; Wissensbasis; Skill; Fertigkeit; Natural sciences; Naturwissenschaften; Naturwissenschaft; Südafrika; Süd-Afrika; Republik Südafrika; Südafrikanische Republik
Abstract	Previous research on students' difficulties in learning chemical equilibrium has shown that students hold misconceptions about this topic, and this often results in unintended learning. However, recent developments in human learning from the behavioural sciences perspective indicate that students' difficulties in learning are much more than misconceptions. The purpose of the study was to identify the knowledge and skills that students lack in successfully solving chemical equilibrium problems involving calculation of the equilibrium constant, K[subscript c]. Participants of this study included three students from a high-achieving school and four students from a low-achieving school in the Bohlabela district of Mpumalanga province of South Africa. Data sources included transcripts of students' think-aloud protocols, video recordings of students' problem-solving performance and students' written answers. Results showed that students at the low-achieving school applied personal algorithms exclusively at a superficial level in all phases of the problem-solving process, and committed many errors. Their main difficulty was a lack of conceptual awareness of how a chemical reaction progresses to equilibrium. On the other hand students at the high-achieving school demonstrated conceptual understanding in solving problems in familiar contexts, but lacked the skills for dealing with problems in an unfamiliar context; few errors were observed in their solutions. The results suggest that contextual knowledge is of a higher-order type, and is likely to emerge after students have acquired considerable skills in self-regulation. The implications of the results for teaching of chemical equilibrium are discussed. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01