Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1999 College Students' Understanding of Stereochemistry: Difficulties in Learning and Critical Junctures. Gary Lester Lyon Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Lyon, Gary Lester, "College Students' Understanding of Stereochemistry: Difficulties in Learning and Critical Junctures." (1999). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 7105. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/7105 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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COLLEGE STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING OF STEREOCHEMISTRY: DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING AND CRITICAL JUNCTURES A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Curriculum and Instruction by Gary Lester Lyon B.S., Buena Vista University, 1973 B.A., Drake University, 1987 M A T., Drake University, 1992 December, 1999 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number; 9960076 UMI UMI Microform 9960076 Copyright 2000 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLDEGMENTS The author would like to acknowledge the help, support, and guidance given to him by his research director. Dr. Ronald G. Good, and his committee members, Drs. Frank K. Cartledge, James Wandersee, and Eugene Kennedy. Most importantly, he would like to acknowledge the efforts, support, patience, and counsel of his wife. Dr. Wanda J. Lyon, without whom this work would have been impossible. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments ..........................................................................................................ii List of Tables .......................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ..........................................................................................................x Abstract ......................................................................................................................xvi Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 Background ......................................................................................................... 1 Purpose of the Study ....................................................................................... 2 Research Questions ............................................................................................3 Importance of the Study .................................................................................... 3 Definition of Terms .......................................................................................... 3 Scope and Limitations ........................................................................................ 4 Review of Literature .............................................................................................. 10 Introduction to the Literature ........................................................................ 10 The Nature of Spatial Ability ........................................................................ 11 Relation of Spatial Ability to Performance in Chemistry ....................................12 The Nature of Stereochemistry ........................................................................14 Alternative Conceptions and the Learning of Science .................................... 17 Types of Studies in Alternative Conceptions Research ....................................20 Some Conclusions Derived from Alternative Conceptions Research .................. 21 Alternative Conceptions Research Related to Chemistry and Stereochemistry 22 Concept Mapping as a Tool to Assess Alternative Conceptions ...................... 29 The Use of Concept Maps in Chemistry Instruction and Teaching ...................... 33 Problems in the Use of Concept Maps...........................................................38 Assessing Concept Maps ................................................................................ 39 Reliability and Validity of Concept Map Scores ............................................. 41 Some Alternate Schemes to Evaluate Concept Maps ..................................... 46 Qualitative Evaluation of Alternative Conceptions .......................................... 48 The Interview as a Tool in Qualitative Analysis ............................................. 48 Characteristics of Journals and Journal Writing ..............................................52 The Use of Student Journals in Science Education Research ............................53 Rating Student Journals ....................................................................................56 Evaluating Qualitative Data ........................................................................... 56 Analysis of Clinical Interview Data ................................................................57 Materials and Methods .......................................................................................... 58 Interview s ............................................................................................................. 58 Concept Maps ......................................................................................................71 Student Journals ................................................................................................ 74 The Participants .................................................................................................. 79 Interview 1 Results ............................................................................................ 83 Use of Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion Theory ................................... 83 Representing Pi Bonds .....................................................................................84 Representing Conformera .................................................................................. 88 Nomenclature of an Alkene .............................................................................. 98 Identifying Pairs of Isomers ......................................................................... 103 Using Newman Projections ............................................................................ 109 in Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Geometric Isomerism in Cyclic Molecules .................................................... 115 Summary of Results from First Interview .......................................................117 Interview 2 Results ............................................................................................... 121 Isomers of Dichlorocyclopentane ................................................................... 121 Conformers of Dichlorocyclohexane ............................................................. 130 Isomers of Dichlorocyclohexane .................................................................... 133 Conformers and Geometric