Summary:
The general goal of this thesis is to study the progression of the skills and
the heuristics applied in stoichiometry problem solving.
During this particular research the retrospective think aloud protocol method
was applied. Specifically, it was asked from four groups of five solvers,
school students, first- year university students, graduate students and
teachers, to solve stoichiometry problems based on different thinking skills.
The skills that were studied are the recalling of an algorithm, the skill of
finding an appropriate solving method, the recognition and recalling or
searching for additional data, and the skill of specifying the goals for the
solution of the problem. Teachers have all of these skills, students have them
in less degree, while university students seem to have them in an even smaller
degree.
As far as the heuristics are concerned, it could be supported that all groups
followed the methods of examining fewer cues and integrating less information.
The heuristics that refer to effort- reduction, associated with retrieving and
storing cue values, are applied by all the groups of solvers. Such heuristics
are the heuristic of availability, the heuristic of recognition, the weighted
pros heuristic, and the heuristic of using mathematic formulas and rules.
Keywords:
Progression, Skills, Heuristic Reasoning, Stoichiometry problem solving, Novice-Experts solvers
