NISE Brown Bag Lecture

Presented by Eileen Lewis, NISE Fellow

Chemistry problem solving is often difficult because it requires the integration of qualitative concepts and quantitative representations of relationships. This lecture is based on a study that identifies the conceptual frameworks required for such successful integration. The study characterizes the reasoning processes, analyzes metacognitive activities, and examines the conceptual models of "novices" and "experts" engaged in the process of solving a nonstandard chemistry problem. While the given problem requires little specific chemistry knowledge and could be solved by a variety of methods, it did require construction of a conceptual representation that proved difficult for both novices and experts.

Analyses were performed on videotapes and written materials produced by eight pairs of undergraduate students and four college chemistry professors in the process of solving this nonstandard chemistry problem. All subjects were encouraged to "think aloud" as they engaged in the processes. These verbal and written protocols were used to illuminate details of problem solving processes. These included characterization of individual and co-constructed conceptual processes, skill at problem analysis and exploration as well as metacognitive activities. The results of these analyses illustrate when knowledge integration processes break down and suggest what is required for successful problem solving.

Eileen L. Lewis is currently the editor of the Field-Tested Learning Assessment Guide (FLAG) Web site for the College Level One Team of NISE. She also conducts workshops for and works with module authors in the ModularCHEM Consortium (MC2), a chemistry systemic reform project based at University of California, Berkeley. She has served as the Director of Assessment and Evaluation for MC2. A long-time chemistry professor at Cañada College in Redwood City, California, she currently teaches in the Chemistry Department at the University of California, Berkeley.