Mental models of chemical transformations. Their construction by utilizing a virtual environment in a preparatory course

Abstract

In this research we studied the process of building mental models of different types of chemical transformations of inorganic compounds, made by students aspiring to enter the Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias of Universidad Nacional de Cuyo using the virtual environment of this university. For this purpose, were compared and analyzed the written productions made by the students of three cohorts during the Chemistry course. Meaningful learning involves the construction of mental models consistent with the conceptual models, which are scientifically accepted, and their utilization to explain and predict macroscopic phenomena. As a relevant conclusion, we can mention that the use of multimedia resources benefits the formation of mental models consistent with the conceptual models, but this depends largely on the characteristics of the task requested.