<p> Certain concepts in the final year of Ontario's high school chemistry course, SCHOA, are often difficult for students to understand. This project presents the results of a study of selected computer programs that could be used to enhance the teaching of selected difficult concepts in an attempt to make them easier to understand. </p> <p> The identification of the difficult concepts was an important component of this project. They were identified by means of a student survey, teacher interviews, literature review and personal experience. The difficult concepts were identified, in order of decreasing difficulty, as: 1. Buffers, 2. Solubility, 3. Redox, 4. Independent Investigation, 5. Acid/Base Equilibrium, 6. Reaction Mechanisms, 7. Free Energy. </p> <p> Two programs were selected for evaluation - The Electric Chemistry Building and Chem1 Problem Proctor and a checklist was established to examine these computer programs. The two programs address the identified difficult concepts and use a variety of teaching techniques (tutorial, drill and simulation). </p> <p> Chem1 Problem Proctor consists of tutorial and drill lessons, suitable for use by students of SCHOA. The key objectives of this program are to encourage problem-solving and to promote an understanding of the principles underlying the chemistry concepts. The program accomplishes this to various degrees of success by requiring the student to make decisions, to make qualitative estimates before some of the calculations and by asking questions related to the concept but not necessarily part of the solution to the problem. </p> <p> The Electric Chemistry Building is a simulation of a building made up of three laboratories, two of which were evaluated in this project. The key objective of this program is to develop problem-solving skills by providing students with the opportunity to design and perform experiments, make observations and draw conclusions. </p> <p> Based on the evaluations of Chem1 Problem Proctor and The Electric Chemistry Building in this project, both programs appear to be worthwhile for use in SCHOA. The Electric Chemistry Building is a very good simulation program which would enhance the teaching of the difficult concepts of SCHOA. Chem1 Problem Proctor is a good tutorial/drill program which should be improved with respect to its presentation of chemical notation and mathematical formulae, and the feedback to its drill questions. Once these aspects of the program are corrected, it will also be effective in enhancing the teaching of difficult concepts of SCHOA. </p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

This thesis reports a series of studies into textbook authors', teachers' and students' use of analogies to improve students' understanding of abstract chemistry concepts. The five research problems considered: (a) the nature and extent of analogy use in textbooks; (b) the views of textbook authors and editors concerning analogies; (c) how, when, and why analogies were used by experienced chemistry teachers; (d) the development of an instrument to determine chemistry students' understanding of analogies; and (e) how chemistry students use the analogies presented as part of their chemistry instruction.Study One reports the findings of an investigation of ten chemistry textbooks used by Australian students for the nature and extent of analogy inclusion. The study found that, while used sparingly, analogies were employed more frequently in the beginning of textbooks and that the analogies used concrete analog domains to describe abstract target concepts. There was considerable use of pictorial-verbal analogies although simple analogies comprised a substantial proportion and stated limitations or warnings were infrequently employed.Study Two involved interviews with the authors of eight of the above mentioned textbooks to determine authors' views on analogies and their use in textbooks and teaching. The study identified a relationship between how frequently analogies were used by the author and what he or she considered to be the characteristics of a good chemistry teacher. Each author had a good understanding of the nature of analogy and each sought a flexible environment for its use - most arguing that analogies are better used by teachers than printed in textbooks. They appeared to favour analogies embedded in text or placed in margins rather than as post-synthesisers or advance organisers.Study Three reports an investigation into six chemistry teachers' use of ++ / analogies in Western Australia and England. This study found that the teachers drew upon their experiences and professional reading as sources of the analogies that tended to be spontaneously used when they felt their students had not understood an explanation. The analogies tended to map functional attributes of abstract target concepts with some teachers using the blackboard to illustrate pictorial analogies and some including statements of limitations.Study Four describes the development of analogy maps - instruments used to determine the effectiveness with which students map given analogies. The iterative development process engaged classroom-based research methods to develop an instrument of value both for teaching and for school-related research. A rating system enables researchers to compare students' effectiveness at mapping analogies with variables such as analogy type.Studies Five and Six describe how a combination of interviews and analogy map surveys were used to investigate how students used analogies in chemistry. The study found that students felt more confident with pictorial-verbal analogies although they were not necessarily able to map these analogies better than verbal (only) analogies. Also, student mapping confidence appeared not to depend upon the level of enrichment supplied and added enrichment did not necessarily aid mapping performance. Further, the analogy maps were useful as a means to identify alternative conceptions and there was little evidence that the analogy maps contributed to the formation of alternative conceptions in the learners.The final chapter draws together and discusses the assertions made in all of the previous studies before considering the contribution of the thesis to theory building. The implications of the research are discussed and suggestions made for future research on analogies in chemistry education. The chapter ++ / concludes by outlining examples of how and where the findings of this research have begun to be disseminated.

The intent of this study is to identify correlations that might exist between Web-based instruction and higher assessment scores in secondary education. The study framework was held within the confines of a public high school chemistry classroom. Within this population there were students identified as gifted and talented (GT) as well as those without this designation. These two classifications were examined for statistically higher assessment scores using a two-tailed t-test. Results indicated that females outperformed males on pre- and post- instructional unit tests. All subgroups improved their logical-thinking skills and exhibited positive attitudes towards Web-based instruction. In general, Web-based instruction proved beneficial to improving classroom performance of all GT and non-GT groups as compared to traditional classroom instruction.

The purpose of the study was to conduct documented research on two of the recently designed teaching methods of high school chemistry, the Chemical Education Material Study (CHEM Study) and the Chemical Bond Approach (CBA). An attempt was made to answer certain questions concerning differences in the two methods.

Yes / The abstract nature of physical chemistry and spectroscopy makes the subject difficult to comprehend for many students. However, bridging arts and science has the potential to provide innovative learning methods and to facilitate the understanding of abstract concepts. Herein, we present a high-school project based on the conversion of selected infrared absorbances of well-known molecules into audible frequencies. This process offered students a unique insight into the way molecules and chemical bonds vibrate, as well as an opportunity to develop their creativity by producing musical pieces related to the molecules they synthesized. We believe that experiencing chemistry from an alternative viewpoint opens up new perspectives not only for student learning but also for the decompartmentalization of scientific and artistic disciplines. / This project was supported by the Royal Society (Partnership Grant no. PG\170122 to NPEB and NG and University Research Fellowship no. UF150295 to NPEB) and the Academy of Medical Sciences/the Wellcome Trust/the Government Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy/the British Heart Foundation springboard Award [SBF003\1170 to NPEB].

Kinetic studies determining the second order rate constants for the monoepoxidation of cyclic dienes, 1,3-cyclohexadiene and 1,3-cyclooctadiene, and the epoxidation of cis-/trans-2-hexenes by dimethyldioxirane (DMDO) were carried out using UV methodology. Consistent with published results, the kinetics of cis-/trans-2-hexenes by DMDO showed greater reactivity of the cis-isomer compared to that of the trans-compound. Molecular modeling studies for the epoxidation of a series of cis-/trans-alkenes, by DMDO were carried out using the DFT approach. The mechanism of epoxidation by DMDO was modeled by determining the transition state geometry and calculating the electronic activation energies and relative reactivities. The calculations were consistent with a concerted, electrophilic, exothermic process with a spiro-transition state for all cases. Kinetic studies for the monoepoxidation of the cyclic dienes showed a greater reactivity for 1,3-cyclohexadiene compared to that for 1,3-cyclooctadiene. The DFT method was employed to successfully model the transition state for the monoepoxidation of the cyclic dienes by DMDO and successfully predict the relative reactivities. Student misconceptions, at the high school and/or middle school level involving energy changes and chemical reactions have been prevalently noted in literature (by ACS and AAAS). Two examples of these misconceptions are: 1) heat is always needed to initiate a chemical reaction and 2) all chemical reactions create or destroy energy. In order to address these types of misconceptions, an educational module detailing the influence of energy changes on chemical reactions has been developed in conjunction with the Bio-bus program for middle and high school students. Visual aids and hands-on activities were developed in the module to potentially help students overcome/deal with the common misconceptions. Surveys were designed to access the situations (determine the extent of the misconceptions) and the effectiveness of the educational module, before and immediately after the module and one-month later to determine retention. The educational module has been presented to approximately 100 high school students from underrepresented communities. Pre-survey data confirmed the presence of the common misconceptions reported in the literature. Data from the post-survey indicated the new instructional module enhanced the student’s interest of science and expanded their content knowledge and laboratory skills. The post-survey data (immediately following the module) showed a significant difference in two out of five misconceptions when compared to the pre-survey data. However, this significance decreased when the 1-month post-survey data were compared to the pre-survey data.

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