Extreme close-up taken by an electron microscope of a series of fibers of epoxy resin assembling themselves around a two-micrometer wide polystyrene sphere. Sung Hoon Kang, Joanna Aizenberg, and Boaz Pokroy (Harvard University, US)

Fellow Project 2024–2025

Understanding by Means of Sensorimotor Experience
The Role of Embodied Metaphor for Chemistry Learning

Project by

Charlotte Müller
Early-Career Fellow 2024–2025

This project aims to facilitate learning of chemical concepts by emphasizing the domain-specific language of chemistry. Expert knowledge in chemistry is largely metaphoric, with submicroscopic concepts being understood through more accessible concept. Understanding these metaphors, including what they emphasize and obscure, poses a challenge for students. For instance, when students visualize chemical bonds as sticks, they are meant to associate the structural properties of sticks with chemical bonds. However, they might also incorrectly infer that, like sticks, chemical bonds require energy to form. This project will systematically analyze the expert language used in classrooms. Based on the findings from this initial phase, interventions will be developed to support the learning of this metaphorical language.