| Based on the constructivist model of learning, this research is a qualitative and quantitative strategy for investigating the extent to which chemistry students made connections between material presented in different chapters or courses as a function of their exposure to chemistry topics. Specifically, qualitative interviews were conducted once during the process of several semester long chemistry courses to determine the degree to which students had made links between the underlying concepts of electrons, bonding, and molecular geometry, which are all taught in the general chemistry curriculum. Concept maps drawn from the interviews were used as the analytical tool to assess subjects' links between these concepts. The study consisted of two parts, in which the degree of linkage was compared: (1) from students exposed to concept maps in class to those not exposed to concept maps, and (2) from freshmen chemistry level students through senior level chemistry students. |
