Table 2 List of strategies reported by participants
From: Visual chunking as a strategy for spatial thinking in STEM
Strategy | No. reporting | Example self-report |
|---|---|---|
Contrasting colors | 9 | I thought it was easiest to identify differences if the color change was from a bright color, like yellow or green, to a darker color, like red or purple. |
List of color names | 9 | At first, I tried to just memorize a list of three to four elements (colors), and if they changed, I would identify them as different molecules. |
Piecemeal | 7 | Furthermore, I tried looking at certain sections of the molecule and memorized that color. |
Focus on Shape | 7 | I also tried to memorize the formation of the structure by its orientation. |
Unknown | 6 | I used the color change in the molecules. |
Color tone/pattern | 6 | Saying the letters made it slightly confusing to really focus on the molecule and arrangement; therefore, instead of looking at bonds, I spent most of my time just looking at colors and the overall tone of the molecule |
Redundancy | 3 | On the molecule, I looked for recurring colors because those stand out to me more than shapes and spatial arrangement. |
Mental imagery | 2 | I would try closing my eyes between seeing two molecules so that the image would remind floating in my mind. |
Count no. of colors | 1 | I tried counting the number of colors, not necessarily thinking about the colors themselves but while just thinking about how many occurrences there were of each color. |