Research report

We examined ninth-grade students' explanations of chemical reactions using two forms of an open-ended essay question during a learning cycle. One form provided students with key terms to be used as 'anchors' upon which to base their essay, whereas the second form did not. The essays were administered at three points: pre-learning cycle, post-concept application, and after additional concept application activities. Students' explanations were qualitatively examined and grouped according to common patterns representing their understandings or misunderstandings. Findings indicated that more misunderstandings were elicited by the use of key terms as compared to the non-use of key terms in the pre-test. Misunderstandings in the key term essay responses generally involved the misuse of these terms and their association with the concept. Findings also indicated significant positive shifts in students' understanding over the learning cycle. No perceptible increase in understanding occurred after additional application activities. Differences in gender were observed, with females showing equal or greater understanding compared to males, contradicting reports that males typically outperform females in the physical sciences and supporting the need to reconstruct assessment techniques to better reveal the conceptual understandings of all students.