Exploration of Procedural Knowledge of Bilingual Students in Chemical Equilibrium Problem Solving

Abstract

This research was conducted to explore how procedural knowledge of bilingual students in chemical equilibrium problem-solving skills. This research was a descriptive study of 31 bilingual private high school students. Chemical equilibrium problem solving skills were collected by three problems, while the procedural knowledge was collected by analysis of student answers, self-assessment metacognition questionnaire, and the interview with students and their chemistry teacher. Data collected was analyzed by a phenomenological reduction method. The results of students’ procedural knowledge were categorized into assumption determination (54,84%), strategy development (22,58%), chemical equation (41,94%), factors affecting the equation (61,29%), using the other knowledge (29,03%), quantitative analysis (38,71%), and alternative strategy (25,81%). According to the operator in each framework answer, the result of students’ answers of chemical equilibrium problem-solving skills was classified into phenomenological and formalism answers. In phenomenological answers, students began their framework from the chemical equation to factors affecting the equilibrium shift. In the formalism answer, the students began their framework from the information given in the problems and related it to the stoichiometry and alternative ways to find the final states (goals). In this study was also found some students’ errors in chemical language and chemical equilibrium conceptions.