Computerized Molecular Modeling: Enhancing Meaningful Chemistry Learning

Model perception and understanding the spatial structure of organic molecules has been a source of difficulty for many chemistry students. To alleviate these problems we have introduced an innovative teaching/learning approach that employs a combination of virtual and physical models in an organic high school chemistry curriculum. We studied the effect of this approach on enhancing meaningful learning in chemistry. Experimental group students were more capable of defining and implementing new concepts in organic chemistry than their control group counterparts. When required to explain their answers, most of the experimental group students used mainly sketches of ball-and-stick models and some space-filling models. Experimental group students understood the model concept better and were more capable of applying transformation from one-dimensional to twoor three-dimensional molecular representations and vice versa.