Understanding and Explanation

Abstract

In 2004 I began collaborating on a research project with a developmental psychologist, multimedia design expert and cognitive scientist, and a content expert. Our goal was to explore and evaluate design principles for multimedia simulations in chemistry education; especially ideas associated with kinetic molecular theory and associated concepts of diffusion, Gas Laws, and phase change. As a feature of exploring high school chemistry students’ understanding of the chemistry concepts, which we hoped our simulations assisted them to learn, we developed assessment questions that asked students to apply their learning to a different context, a process often called transfer. An example of one of these questions is presented below.