A phenomenological approach to understanding the role of bodily activity in chemical imagining

In this thesis, I present an in-depth look at the role of bodily activity when university general chemistry students talk and solve problems about submicroscopic three-dimensional chemistry phenomena. This approach entails elucidating what the experience of problem solving is like for these students by examining several case studies. I found that students, when asked to predict the shape (molecular geometry) of small molecules, use their bodies to test and enact three-dimensional geometric configurations in the process of finding a solution. They physically test various possible shapes during this process with their hands and sometimes full bodies. In addition, I found that expressive gestures enact chemistry ideas beyond verbal description, demonstrating that chemical knowledge can exist in the action of the body. Students showed accurate knowledge of the Bohr model of the Hydrogen atom with their hands. Insight into these phenomena is achieved through moment-to-moment analysis of students’ experiences during video-recorded interviews. It involves tracing parallel streams of speech, bodily activity, gaze, and body orientation through time. My work argues that researchers and instructors must pay close attention to students’ situated, bodily activity to fully appreciate their chemistry problem-solving strategies and knowledge. It suggests that written, verbal, or drawn assessments may not capture all of what students know about three-dimensional relationships in chemistry.