Examining links between students’ mental imagistic abilities and their perceptions of chemical representations

It is a long-held pervasive belief that for a student to gain expertise in chemistry, they must be able to mentally visualise molecular phenomena (Zare, 2002; Kozma & Russell, 2005; Gkitzia et al., 2020). In recent years however the term “aphantasia” has been popularised to describe individuals lacking visual mental imagery and is believed to characterise 2-5% of the population (Zeman et al., 2015). Furthermore, research has been conducted to explore and understand the distinction between ‘visual’ and ‘spatial’ imagery (Blazhenkova, 2016; Pounder et al., 2021). Those who can visualise images typically associate visual mental imagery with spatial mental manipulations, yet paradoxically aphantasia has been found to be overrepresented in math and science occupations (Zeman, 2021). As part of a research higher degree project, several research questions are under consideration: Do students with and without visual imagery perform differently in chemistry related tasks? How do students without visual imagery solve problems that are ‘normally’ achieved using it? Is a bias towards teaching methods that utilise visual imagery detrimental to students that lack it? Should instructors move away from the notion that it is essential for students to be able to create visual mental models? Or instead, would it be necessary to provide additional support for those who cannot? In this presentation the findings from a pilot study addressing several of the above questions will be discussed. I will examine some specific outcomes from the performance of 18 first-year chemistry students who possessed a range of visualisation abilities as they completed eight tasks related to chemistry and visualisation. I will also discuss how my findings intend to guide the future of the project. REFERENCES Blazhenkova, O. (2016). Vividness of object and spatial imagery. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 122 (2), 490-508. Kozma, R. & Russell, J. (2005). Students Becoming Chemists: Developing Representationl Competence. In: Gilbert, J.K. (eds) Visualization in Science Education. Models and Modeling in Science Education, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3613-2_8 Gkitzia, V.,  Salta, K., & Tzougraki, C. (2020). Students’ competence in translating between different types of chemical representations. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 21(1), 307-330. Pounder, Z., Jacob, J., Evans, S., Loveday, C., Eardley, A., & Silvanto, J. (2021). Individuals with congenital aphantasia show no significant neuropsychological deficits on imagery-related memory tasks. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/gqayt Zare, R. N. (2002). Visualizing chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education, 79(11), 1290. Zeman, A. Z.,  Dewar, M., & Della Sala, S. (2015). Lives without imagery-Congenital aphantasia. Cortex, 73, 378-380. Zeman, A. (2021). Blind Mind's Eye. American Scientist Magazine, 109(2), 110-117

Online, virtual, and adaptive learning environments: improving the journey through large first year chemistry courses

Problem The first-year experience is critical for student engagement, retention, and success. The transition from high school is optimally supported through: constructive teaching, supportive learning environments, student and staff interactions, academic challenge, active learning, and collaboration both on- and off-campus. In 2014 we undertook a successful restructure of our first year chemistry curriculum with the aim to improve individual learning progressions. With an awareness of transitional issues, we identified a critical need to introduce more flexible learning options by offering online delivery of key components of our courses. Many students experience challenges in their on-campus experiences; lecture clashes and inflexible timetabling are prime examples, as are the external pressures on students due to personal, family, or financial demands. These issues mean that many students seek more flexibility in their learning experiences, and the ability to access their course material online. Action To this end, we have developed a new blended alternative to one of our core first year courses, which was offered in the summer semester. The instructional design was informed by both chemical education research and technology enhanced learning research. In this presentation we describe the intention of each element of the course, how these were embedded and how they were evaluated for effectiveness, including the challenges faced by traditional chemistry academics working with new media and learning technologies. The outcome was a successful hybrid course with associated recommendations for practice. Reflection A survey and student interviews were conducted in order to evaluate the student perception of their learning experiences, especially when compared with face-to-face learning activities. Student performance was also compared with semester 1 and 2 of the same year, where the course was delivered in a more traditional mode. The outcomes of this evaluation will be presented at the conference