The way we recall information is dependent upon the knowledge in our memories and the conditions under which we recall the information. Subjects in psychology studies have remembered different information when asked to recall information from a different perspective. A previous study carried out by these authors has shown that write-ups of a chemistry experiment differ significantly when different conditions are used for the write-up. This study extends the previous study to investigate whether different information is recalled when the students are asked to create a write-up for an online experiment under one of three different conditions including changes in perspective. The study investigates whether these perspectives generate a difference in the information recalled and whether these provide a positive or negative impact for creating a quality experiment record. The three conditions are 1) a simple title structure as used in the previous study, 2) questions asking about the personal experiences of the student, and 3) questions about how the student would describe the experiment to another person. Expectations are that the students would recall more formal information in the first condition, more personal information about their experiences in the second condition, and an increase in the amount of instructional information on how to do the experiment in the third condition. Understanding what information students record under different conditions will help with the design of questionnaires for recording experiments that are supportive for learning and ensuring that the right information is saved in the experiment record. Understanding the effects that different perspectives have on the experiment story that students tell might also provide insights into different techniques for encouraging students to share their knowledge and understanding about experiments.

Changing perspective: How do we make sure students record the most useful information about their experiments?

247th National Meeting (2014)

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