The experiential learning unit for promoting students’ understanding of vapor pressure and related concepts

Abstract

© 2020, Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. Vapor pressure is a difficult concept for high school students because it requires understanding at the microscopic level. To better understand the concept, students should clearly understand some prerequisite concepts, such as evaporation, condensation, and pressure. Therefore, this research aims to develop Kolb’s experiential learning activities for providing experience before extending to learn the vapor pressure concept through online resources. The learning unit consists of two main activities that are 1) observing scientific phenomena aims at helping students to gain experience of the concepts, and 2) color manipulatives designing to help students to understand the concepts at the microscopic level. The learning unit had been implemented with grade ten students. The conceptual test and interview had been used to assess student understanding. Results show that some students still have learning difficulties related to vapor pressure and related concepts. They had difficulty in explaining the concepts at the molecular explanation and confused some technical terms. The online resources have been discussed for suggesting a suitable pathway to each group of students.