To be or not to be a model? Exploring chemistry students’ ideas about general and specific meta-modeling knowledge regarding reaction mechanisms in organic chemistry

Abstract

Developing and using models is recognized as a core scientific practice. This includes, among other things, the reflection on models at the epistemic level, referred to as meta-modeling knowledge (MMK), which encompasses both media-oriented and methodological perspectives regarding models. In organic chemistry, reaction mechanisms function as central models to describe, explain, and predict chemical reactions. Given the discipline- and context-dependent character of MMK, we distinguish between general MMK and specific meta-modeling knowledge (SMMK) related to organic reaction mechanisms. While prior work has examined students’ challenges with models and modeling as well as mechanisms in organic chemistry, little is known about how students’ general MMK and their discipline-specific epistemic perspective on reaction mechanisms interact in shaping students’ reasoning. To address this, we conducted a qualitative interview study with 22 chemistry students. The study explored how students perceive the modeling character of reaction mechanisms and patterns across students’ ideas within the SMMK and MMK dimensions. The findings show that students expressed a diverse range of ideas, from viewing reaction mechanisms as pictorial representations of reaction pathways to understanding them as epistemic tools used in inquiry processes or for practical purposes. Students’ ideas varied not only within the SMMK dimension but also in how these were related to ideas within the MMK dimension, indicating multiple, coexisting epistemic ideas. Different patterns emerged across the identified student groups: some students demonstrated comparable ideas across both dimensions, whereas others showed rather varying ideas within and across the two dimensions.