The The Effects of Using Particulate Diagrams on AIMS Students’ Conceptual Understanding of Stoichiometry

The lack of conceptual understanding of stoichiometry among high school students is a validconcern not only because it impedes students’ problem-solving ability in stoichiometry butalso because it is a significant predictor of performance in college Chemistry. High schoolChemistry teachers, therefore, should evaluate and update their classroom practices to bestsupport conceptual learning, especially in the topic of Stoichiometry. This study investigatesthe effects of a visual-based pedagogical approach on the understanding of four concepts ofstoichiometry, namely the concepts of representative particles, mole ratio, limiting reagentand theoretical yield among tenth-grade Chemistry students at AIMS, Saraburi, Thailand.The approach involves systematic and extensive use of particulate diagrams in the instructionof stoichiometry concepts in a real classroom setting. The study further examines the attitudesof the students towards the method. The study employed the one- group pre-test post-testdesign. A Conceptual Stoichiometry Test (CST), and an Attitude Towards the Use of ParticleDiagrams (ATPD) questionnaire were the instruments used to collect data. Data wereanalyzed using the paired-sample t-test. Key results indicate that the approach had asignificant and positive effect on the students’ conceptual understanding of stoichiometry andthat the students generally had a favorable attitude towards the use of the method

PRE-CLASS TUTORIAL (PCT): LEARNING STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE STUDENTS' UNDERSTANDING OF THE P–V–T DIAGRAM ON THERMODYNAMICS

This research was motivated by students' difficulties drawing and interpreting P-V-T diagrams to describe thermal processes and the ideal gas cycle. The method used in this study is a quasi-experimental method by comparing the results of the students' pre-test and post-test. This research was conducted on 21 students in one of the public schools in Pandeglang, Banten. Based on the study's results, PCT improved students' understanding of drawing and interpreting P-V-T diagrams to describe thermal processes and the ideal gas cycle. Several conceptual difficulties founded during the research. First, the most difficult in P-V, P-T, and V-T diagrams, respectively, is to draw the adiabatic process. Second, the percentage of students who answered the P-V diagram correctly was higher than those who answered the P-T and V-T diagrams. Third, students were more interested in and understood processes with unique characteristics such as isobaric, which means constant pressure; isochoric, which means constant volume and isothermal, which means constant temperature

Verifying a medical protocol with temporal graphs: The case of a nosocomial disease

Objective: Our contribution focuses on the implementation of a formal verification approach for medical protocols with graphical temporal reasoning paths to facilitate the understanding of verification steps. Materials and methods: Formal medical guideline specifications and background knowledge are represented through conceptual graphs, and reasoning is based on graph homomorphism. These materials explain the underlying principles or rationale that guide the functioning of verifications. Results: An illustration of this proposal is made using a medical protocol defining guidelines for the monitoring and prevention of nosocomial infections. Such infections, which are acquired in the hospital, increasemorbidity andmortality and add noticeably to economic burden. An evaluation of the use of the graphical verification found that this method aids in the improvement of both clinical knowledge and the quality of actions made. Discussion: As conceptual graphs, representations based on diagrams can be translated into computational tree logic. However, diagrams are much more natural and explicitly human, emphasizing a theoretical and practical consistency. Conclusion: The proposed approach allows for the visualmodeling of temporal reasoning and a formalization of knowledge that can assist in the diagnosis and treatment of nosocomial infections and some clinical problems. This is the first time that one emphasizes the temporal situation modeling in conceptual graphs. It will also deliver a formal verification method for clinical guideline analyses

An experimental evaluation of the understanding of safety compliance needs with models

Proceedings of: 36th International Conference on Conceptual Modeling, ER 2017, Valencia, Spain, November 6–9, 2017Context: Most safety-critical systems have to fulfil compliance needs specified in safety standards. These needs can be difficult to understand from the text of the standards, and the use of conceptual models has been proposed as a solution. Goal: We aim to evaluate the understanding of safety compliance needs with models. Method: We have conducted an experiment to study the effectiveness, efficiency, and perceived benefits in understanding these needs, with text of safety standards and with UML object diagrams. Results: Sixteen Bachelor students participated in the experiment. Their average effectiveness in understanding compliance needs and their average efficiency were higher with models (17% and 15%, respectively). However, the difference is not statistically significant. The students found benefits in using models, but on average they are undecided about their ease of understanding. Conclusions: Although the results are not conclusive enough, they suggest that the use of models could improve the understanding of safety compliance needs.The research leading to this paper has received funding from the AMASS project (H2020-ECSEL grant agreement no 692474; Spain’s MINECO ref. PCIN-2015-262) and the AMoDDI project (Ref. 11130583). We also thank the subjects that participated in the experiment

Correspondence-based analogies for choosing problem representations

Mathematics and computing students learn new concepts and fortify their expertise by solving problems. The representation of a problem, be it through algebra, diagrams, or code, is key to understanding and solving it. Multiple-representation interactive environments are a promising approach, but the task of choosing an appropriate representation is largely placed on the user. We propose a new method to recommend representations based on correspondences: conceptual links between domains. Correspondences can be used to analyse, identify, and construct analogies even when the analogical target is unknown. This paper explains how correspondences build on probability theory and Gentner's structure-mapping framework; proposes rules for semi-automated correspondence discovery; and describes how correspondences can explain and construct analogies

Sketch-Based Interfaces to Support Collaborative Conceptual Design Learning

In order to gain a better understanding of online collaborative conceptual design processes this paper investigates how student designers make use of Lyceum, a shared virtual synchronous environment when engaged in conceptual design. The software enables users to talk to each other and share sketches when they are remotely located. The paper describes a novel methodology for observing and analysing collaborative design processes by adapting the concepts of grounded theory. Rather than concentrating on narrow aspects of the final artefacts, emerging 'themes' are generated that provide a broader picture of collaborative design process and context descriptions. Findings on the themes of 'grounding – mutual understanding' and 'support creativity' complement findings from other research, while important themes associated with 'near-synchrony' have not been emphasised in other research. From the study, a series of design recommendations are made for the development of tools to support online computer-supported collaborative work in design using a shared virtual environment

Supporting Computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW) in conceptual design

In order to gain a better understanding of online conceptual collaborative design processes this paper investigates how student designers make use of a shared virtual synchronous environment when engaged in conceptual design. The software enables users to talk to each other and share sketches when they are remotely located. The paper describes a novel methodology for observing and analysing collaborative design processes by adapting the concepts of grounded theory. Rather than concentrating on narrow aspects of the final artefacts, emerging “themes” are generated that provide a broader picture of collaborative design process and context descriptions. Findings on the themes of “grounding – mutual understanding” and “support creativity” complement findings from other research, while important themes associated with “near-synchrony” have not been emphasised in other research. From the study, a series of design recommendations are made for the development of tools to support online computer-supported collaborative work in design using a shared virtual environment