JCE Online Journal of Chemical Education
 | Subscriptions  | Software Orders  | Support  | Contributors  | Advertisers  | 

JCE Print
   Current Issue
 Previous Issues
 Supplements
 Search JCE Index

JCE Digital Library
   DigiDemos
 QBank
 SymMath
 WebWare

JCE Software
   Latest Releases
 Software & Video
 Downloads
 Support

Only@JCE Online
   JCE Online Store
 JCE HS CLIC
 JCE Discussion Forums
   Biographical Snapshots
 ChemEd Resource Shelf
 Featured Molecules
 Hal's Picks
 Project Chemlab
 Reviewed WWW Sites
 "Web-Ed" Articles

About JCE
   Features
 Publications
 Operations
 Outreach
 Contact Us


  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2002  > April  >
Research: Science and Education
Chemical Education Research
Solving Quantum Number Problems: An Examination of Novice Performance in Terms of Conceptual Base Requirements
Dilek Ardac
Department of Secondary School Science and Mathematics, Bosphorus University Faculty of Education, Istanbul, Turkey
Cover
April 2002
Vol. 79 No. 4
p. 510
Abstract
Novices possess a highly fragmented and incoherent knowledge base with several inconsistencies and gaps that seriously limit problem-solving performance. The problem-solving process carried out by 55 freshman students in a general chemistry course as they attempted to solve low- and high-demand problems on quantum numbers was scrutinized, revealing that the students filled in the gaps in their knowledge base with a number of self-generated rules that were analogous to some basic principles, but also showed notable logical and conceptual discrepancies. These self-generated rules guided students' decisions during problem solving and gave meaning to material that was highly symbolic. However, once these students were given the opportunity to reflect on their problem solving through a tutorial session, they were quick to recognize the inconsistencies. The reformulation of the erroneously established rules was expeditious, as evidenced by the significant (p < .001) improvements in performance after the tutorials.
More Information
*  Citation
 Ardac, Dilek. J. Chem. Educ. 2002 79 510.
*  Keywords
 CER Problem Solving; Chemical Education Research; Quantum Chemistry; Teaching/Learning Theory/Practice
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 March 1, 2002
March 16, 2005
<< Previous Article Table of Contents Next Article >>
  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2002 > April > Page 510


Subscriptions
 Subscription Info
 Order Forms

JCE HS CLIC

Our Secondary School editors work hard to distill all the JCE materials to produce a fraction of particular interest to high school teachers. We call it CLIC.
 JCE HS CLIC

Contributions Welcome
JCE welcomes your submission
 Contributors' Corner

Advertisers
In recent years we have worked hard to better match our advertisers with our readers. When shopping for chemistry education materials, visit our advertisers' WWW sites first.
 Recent Advertisers

Be An Ambassador
Take JCE along on your outreach missions. Copies of the Journal, guest access to JCE Online, our publications catalog, and more are available for your participants.
 Outreach with JCE

Comments to
jceonline@chem.wisc.edu		 Copyright © Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society.
All rights reserved.