Molecular visualization in chemistry education: The role of multidisciplinary collaboration

Visualization tools and high performance computing have changed the nature of chemistry research and have the promise to transform chemistry instruction. However, the images central to chemistry research can pose difficulties for beginning chemistry students. In order for molecular visualization tools to be useful in education, students must be able to interpret the images they produce. Cognitive scientists can provide valuable insight into how novices perceive and ascribe meaning to molecular visualizations. Further insights from educators, computer scientists and developers, and graphic artists are important for chemistry educators who want to help students learn with molecular visualizations. A diverse group of scientists, educators, developers, and cognitive psychologists have begun a series of international collaborations to address this issue. The effort was initiated at the National Science Foundation supported Molecular Visualization in Science Education Workshop held in 2001 and has continued through a series of mini-grants. These groups are investigating characteristics of molecular representations and visualizations that enhance learning, interactions with molecular visualizations that best help students learn about molecular structure and dynamics, roles of molecular modeling in chemistry instruction, and fruitful directions for research on molecular visualization in the learning of chemistry. This article summarizes the value of collaboration identified by participants in the workshop and subsequent collaborations. [Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2005, 6 (3), 136-149]