Ninety students in an introductory chemistry class were divided into three groups to test the power of algorithms to increase logical thinking abilities. The experimental group received approximately 10 hours of laboratory instruction based on the use of procedural algorithms. Experiment and control groups were tested for logical thinking…

This study, part of an instructional development project, explores the effects of three different representations of functional algorithms in an introductory chemistry laboratory. Intact classes were randomly assigned to a flowchart, list, or standard prose representation of the procedures (algorithms). At the completion of 11 laboratory sessions,…