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On the chemical equilibrium concept: Constrained word associations and conception
Author(s) -
Gussarsky Esther,
Gorodetsky Malka
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of research in science teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.067
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1098-2736
pISSN - 0022-4308
DOI - 10.1002/tea.3660250502
Subject(s) - comprehension , cognition , representation (politics) , word (group theory) , set (abstract data type) , sorting , computer science , concept learning , concept map , cognitive psychology , psychology , natural language processing , cognitive science , mathematics education , artificial intelligence , linguistics , algorithm , philosophy , neuroscience , politics , political science , law , programming language
The use of the method of constrained word associations to gain knowledge on the conception of the chemical equilibrium concept is reported. The analysis provides information on: (a) A general indication of change in the cognitive structure of students associated with chemical comprehension. (b) The comparison of clusters of concepts at pre‐ and postinstruction indicating the associated concepts. (c) A graphical representation of the links among concepts which resulted from instruction.The results obtained by this technique were similar to those obtained by the method of free sorting of a set of concepts. As the latter was found to correlate with problem‐solving ability, it is argued that the method of constrained word associations is a reliable tool for mapping certain aspects of cognitive structure concerned with understanding.