In thermodynamics, students often struggle to explain concepts like work, heat capacity, enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs Energy. Discourse analysis is one way to better understand how students reason through and develop an understanding of thermodynamics conceptually and mathematically. This project looks at different physical chemistry classrooms and the influences that having students engage in discourse can have on student understanding of thermodynamic concepts. Data were collected by recording and transcribing student and instructor interactions and conversations. These data were then analyzed using Toulmin’s Model of Argumentation to see how well students were able to articulate a scientific argument. These arguments were then analyzed using a rubric that looks at the scientific acceptability of the student generated arguments, and with an analytical approach that examined how well the students are able to translate between macro, sub-micro, and symbolic levels of representation. The transcripts were also analyzed using the Inquiry Oriented Discursive Moves framework to look at the influence of the instructor on student discourse, argumentation, and conceptual understanding. Analysis of the course materials using the levels of representation helped to identify which questions encouraged which representational level of conceptual thinking, and the extent to which they prompt meaningful collaborative discourses. This analysis has led to insights into how encouraging students to engage in discourse was able to help overcome common barriers found in physical chemistry.

Influences of student discourse in overcoming barriers in physical chemistry

249th National Meeting (2015)

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