Promoting links and developing students' criteria for visualizations by prompting judgments of fidelity

Chemistry students struggle to bridge molecular, symbolic, and molecular representations of chemical phenomena. For example, students view chemical equations, such as 2H₂ + O₂ → 2H₂O as math problems to solve instead of breaking and forming bonds among atoms (Krajcik, 1991). Research demonstrates that powerful visualization tools can help students add normative ideas about phenomena on a molecular level (Pallant & Tinker, 2004). However, students need support to connect these ideas to symbolic and everyday ideas, develop criteria for these ideas and sort and refine the links among ideas to build coherent understandings of complex phenomena (Linn & Eylon, 2006). Past studies show that students have rich intuitive abilities to critique representations, do well reacting to representations in design settings but have trouble articulating their ideas (diSessa, 2002). We hope to build upon these existing capabilities to help students link pre-designed, interactive visualizations to the real world and promote the development of criteria for these connections.