Authentic Assessment Tool for the Measurement of Students' Understanding of the Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion Theory

Abstract

There are various types of instructional media related to Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) but there is a lack of diversity of resources devoted to assessment. This research presents an assessment and comparison of students' understanding of VSEPR theory before and after tuition involving the use of the foam molecule model (FMM) and hands-on activities in which students created models that represented 13 molecule shapes. It was found that the molecules that were created correctly before and after tuition were in the system without lone pair electrons (AX[subscript 2]) and the system with lone pair electrons (AX[subscript 2]E[subscript 2]). The molecules with which the students had most misconceptions, before and after tuition, were from the system without lone pair electrons (AX[subscript 5]) and the system with lone pair electrons (AX[subscript 2]E). These findings suggest that the FMM can be used as an assessment tool to reduce misconceptions about VSEPR theory.