PROCEEDINGS OF THE 21ST ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2018
San Diego, California
Shape Thinking: Covariational Reasoning in Chemical Kinetics
Page: 1298
This work addresses the following research question: In what ways do students use mathematics in combination with their knowledge of chemistry and chemical kinetics to interpret concentration versus time graphs? The study was designed and implemented using a resource-based model of cognition as the theoretical framework. Data was collected through the use of an assessment involving short-answer test items administered to 109 students in a first-year, non-majors chemistry course at a Swedish university. The student responses were translated from Swedish to English and subsequently coded. Data analysis involved using the shape thinking perspective of graphical reasoning as a methodological framework, which was adapted to analyze the covariational reasoning used by students in the context of chemical kinetics. Open-coding and considerations of shape reasoning have provided insight into student understanding of mathematical models of chemical processes.