How We Simplify, Circumvent, or Distort Causal Mechanistic Reasoning in Chemistry

• Vicente Talanquer ^[1]
  1. [1] University of Arizona

     University of Arizona

     Estados Unidos

     
• Localización: Journal of chemical education, ISSN 0021-9584, Vol. 101, Nº 5, 2024, págs. 1793-1797
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Calls for reform in science and chemistry education emphasize the importance of engaging students in building causal-mechanistic explanations of relevant phenomena. However, mechanistic reasoning (MER) is cognitively taxing and may not be the most productive approach in all types of tasks and contexts. Consequently, it is common for chemistry educators to simplify or circumvent MER when building explanations. This commentary briefly describes and discusses some common MER shortcuts that chemistry educators use and their potential effects on student learning.