An exploration of chemistry students' conceptions of light and light-matter interactions in the context of the photoelectric effect

Light is used ubiquitously across science and engineering to explore, characterise, understand matter, and catalyse processes. Relative to its utility in science and engineering, very little research has been conducted on how students develop an understanding of light-matter interactions, especially...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of science education 2020-04, Vol.42 (6), p.861-881
Main Authors: Balabanoff, Morgan E., Al Fulaiti, Haiyan, Bhusal, Shikshya, Harrold, Archer, Moon, Alena C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case Studies
Chemistry
Cognitive Structures
Concept Formation
Engineering
Inferences
Intuition
knowledge analysis
Knowledge Level
knowledge-in-pieces
Light
Light-matter interactions
Organic Chemistry
postsecondary chemistry
qualitative
Quantum Mechanics
Science Instruction
Scientific Concepts
scientific reasoning
Student Attitudes
Students
Thinking Skills
Undergraduate Students
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Summary:Light is used ubiquitously across science and engineering to explore, characterise, understand matter, and catalyse processes. Relative to its utility in science and engineering, very little research has been conducted on how students develop an understanding of light-matter interactions, especially at the quantum level, which is necessary to understand many modern applications. To begin addressing this gap, we present results from a cross-sectional qualitative investigation of postsecondary chemistry students' conceptions of light and light-matter interactions in the context of the photoelectric effect. A knowledge analysis of the interviews resulted in a model of students' understanding that consisted of three distinct levels of knowledge. These levels were distinct from each other based on the features of students' cognitive structure and treatment of wave-particle duality. The lowest level reasoning constructed fragmented explanations and relied on intuition; and described light behaviour as only a wave or a particle. In contrast, the highest level reasoning coordinated observations and inferences to construct mechanistic explanations of the photoelectric effect; and described light behaviour as both wave and particle. These results provide a starting point for characterising how students conceptually transition from the classical, macroscopic view to the quantum view.
ISSN:0950-0693
1464-5289
DOI:10.1080/09500693.2020.1736358