Understanding and Enhancing the Use of Multiple External Representations in Chemistry Education

Theories on learning with Multiple External Representations (MER) claim that low prior knowledge learners in science have difficulties using MER, which are seen as necessary to achieve a conceptual understanding. In two experiments, we analyze the mechanisms underlying the learning of chemistry with MER. Our first experiment focuses on how MER can support learning. We found no difference in learning gains of conceptual understanding, regardless of the format (whether MER were provided or not). It is concluded that chemical MER on themself cannot be seen as learning aids. The second experiment compares three types of instructional aids (prompts, prompts with an answer, and note-taking) to determine which types of aids enhance learning with MER. Contrary to the findings of Seufert (Learn Instr 13:227?C237, 2003), path-analysis suggests that the lowest prior knowledge group benefits the most from instructional aids such as prompts and note-taking. These aids guide learners?? attention towards one specific representational format (symbols), while other formats (submicroscopic representations) receive less attention.     

Using observation of teaching to improve quality: finding your way through the muddle of competing conceptions,confusion of practice and mutually exclusive intentions

This paper begins by reviewing some of the different models of third-party observation of university teaching that can be found in the literature. Having analysed these, it argues that—if ‘peer’ is taken to indicate equality of status—only one is genuinely a model of peer-observation. It proposes an alternative categorisation of third-party observations of teaching dependant on who controls the information generated by the process. A preferred six-dimensional model based on control by the person being observed of the data-flow, and other procedural aspects, is presented and explored. Evaluative comments, by university teachers who have undertaken the process, are presented to illustrate the benefits of adopting this model.     

The assessment of adolescent female athletes using standing and reactive long jumps

The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability of two long jump tasks and their ability to predict 10 m sprint performance in elite adolescent female athletes. Eight junior national-level female track and field athletes completed three standing (SLJ) and reactive long jumps (RLJ) on portable force plates, followed by three 10 m sprints. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) and coefficients of variation (CV) were calculated to examine reliability. Linear regression results identified the best predictor of average and best 10 m sprint time from the jump kinematic and kinetic measures. The ICCs and CVs indicated good reliability for the majority of kinetic measures however, better reliability was reported for the SLJ. The SLJ was a good predictor of best and average 10 m sprint time, with average horizontal power the best predictor of performance (best; R2 = 0.751, p = 0.003, Standard Error of Estimate (SEE)% = 2.2 average; R2 = 0.708, p = 0.005, SEE% = 2.5).     

Understanding Possibilities and Limitations of Abstract Chemical Representations for Achieving Conceptual Understanding

When learning with abstract and scientific multiple external representations (MERs), low prior knowledge learners are said to have difficulties in using these MERs to achieve conceptual understanding. Yet little is known about what these limitations precisely entail. In order to understand this, we presented 101 learners with low prior knowledge of abstract scientific MERs to see (a) how many, and what kind of ideas (propositions) learners remembered from these MERs and (b) what the impact of these ideas is on conceptual understanding of the content. Propositional analysis indicates that learners created flawed internal representations. The discussion analyses the potentials that the learners have in using abstract representations to increase their understanding of scientific information and possible effects of instruction.