Thayban Thayban, Habiddin Habiddin, Yudhi Utomo, Muarifin Muarifin
Virtual and concrete models have been of interest in chemistry teaching to improve students’ understanding of a three-dimensional representation of chemical concepts such as symmetry. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of using concrete and virtual models on students’ understanding of symmetry. Students’ understanding was also explored in light of their spatial ability. The study was conducted using a quasi-experimental design with 62 students as participants. Two different instruments, spatial ability and understanding of symmetry tests, were employed for data collection. Data analysis was performed using the Pearson product-moment correlation and two-way variance analysis test. The results showed the virtual model’s contribution to improving students’ understanding of symmetry is higher than that of the concrete model for both students with high spatial ability (HSA) and low spatial ability (LSA). Also, the better students’ spatial ability, the better their understanding of molecular symmetry. © 2021 Slovensko Kemijsko Drustvo. All rights reserved.
Graduate Program, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia; PUI PT Disruptive Learning Innovation (DLI), Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia; Faculty of Sport Science, Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia
