Conceptual change of freshmen engineering students in thermochemistry

• Main Author: Urmeneta, Gracia Urubio
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2004
• Subjects: Engineering students; College freshmen; Thermochemistry; Concepts; Chemistry; Secondary Education
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_doctoral/51; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etd_doctoral/article/1050/viewcontent/CDTG003780_P.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

Researches have shown that conceptual change teaching strategies had been found to be effective in helping students change their alternative conceptions to scientific conceptions across culture and across different ages in other countries in the world. In this study, the researcher would like to determine the effectiveness of conceptual change teaching strategy to bring about conceptual change of freshmen engineering students in thermochemistry and also to determine if this strategy could bring about a significant change in the learning approaches of the students. Before the conceptual change teaching intervention, the freshmen engineering students' prior conceptions of energy in solution processes, of energy in general and on direction of heat flow were determined. Using phenomenography freshmen engineering students' conceptions in solution process, consist of four descriptive caterogies from a macroscopic perspective: (1) water gives energy, (2) water and salt give energy, (3) salt gives energy and (4) reaction gives energy. From a microscopic prospective, categories of students conceptions identified at the microscopic level were: 1) energy is absorbed to break chemical bond of the salt, 2) energy is released to break the chemical bond of the salt, 3) energy is absorbed when ions and water molecules interact and 4) energy is released when ions and water molecules interact. In the analysis of students' conceptions on the direction of heat flow, three descriptive categories identified were: (1) heat flows from a body of higher temperature to a body of lower temperature then reach thermal equilibrium, (2) heat flows from a body of lower temperature to a body with a higher temperature then reach thermal equilibrium, and (3) heat of two bodies add up to reach thermal equilibrium resulting to a higher temperature. The analysis of the freshman engineering students' conceptions about energy showed that four types of links primarily characterized their conceptions: characteristics, type-of/example-of, lead-to, and part-of types. Prior conceptions guided the selection of some of the classroom activities during the conceptual change teaching intervention. The result indicated that there was a significant change in freshman engineering students' conceptions by comparing students answers to the conceptual understanding test given prior to and after conceptual change teaching. This significant change was revealed by the conceptual trace analysis and statistical analysis by comparing the means of the pretest and posttest of the conceptual understanding test on thermochemistry. Result of this study also showed that there was a significant change in the deep and achieving approaches to learning fo the students as measured by the Biggs' Learning Approach Questionnaire (Form B). Also this study showed that the students conceptual change was related to students change in their deep and achieving approaches to learning.