Visualizations in Teaching Chemistry

Abstract

Acquisition and mastery of chemistry concepts depend on an interpretative framework that is microscopic and requires a three-dimensional dynamic representation. The Visualizations in Chemistry project created a computational environment where students can do simulations of atomic and molecular bonding in order to develop a more intuitive understanding of quantum chemistry. Students used a high performance computing environment to perform calculations and interactively visualize the resulting images. In this paper, we report on one detailed implementation where 7 conceptual areas were evaluated. The results showed improvements in students' visualizations of atoms and molecules, but it was not clear if the students' initial models were replaced. Suggestions for future implementation include more attention to learning in the visual mode, more chemistry background preparation, and use of an improved interface.