Effects of Jigsaw Cooperative Learning and Animation Techniques on Students’ Understanding of Chemical Bonding and Their Conceptions of the Particulate Nature of Matter Ataman Karacop • Kemal Doymus Published online: 25 May 2012 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the effect of jigsaw cooperative learning and computer ani- mation techniques on academic achievements of first year university students attending classes in which the unit of chemical bonding is taught within the general chemistry course and these students’ learning of the particulate nature of matter of this unit. The sample of this study consisted of 115 first-year science education students who attended the classes in which the unit of chemical bonding was taught in a university faculty of education during the 2009–2010 academic year. The data collection instruments used were the Test of Scientific Reasoning, the Purdue Spatial Visu- alization Test: Rotations, the Chemical Bonding Academic Achievement Test, and the Particulate Nature of Matter Test in Chemical Bonding (CbPNMT). The study was carried out in three different groups. One of the groups was randomly assigned to the jigsaw group, the second was assigned to the animation group (AG), and the third was assigned to the control group, in which the traditional teaching method was applied. The data obtained with the instruments were evaluated using descriptive statistics, one–way ANOVA, and MANCOVA. The results indicate that the teaching of chemical bonding via the animation and jigsaw techniques was more effective than the tradi- tional teaching method in increasing academic achieve- ment. In addition, according to findings from the CbPNMT, the students from the AG were more successful in terms of correct understanding of the particulate nature of matter. Keywords Animation technique Á Jigsaw technique Á Chemical bonding Á Spatial visualization Introduction Chemical bonding is one of the most important topics in undergraduate chemistry, and the difficulties students encounter in understanding the concept have been the subject of a great deal of research (Acar and Tarhan 2008; Doymus 2008; Coll and Treagust 2003; Frailich et al. 2009; Othman et al. 2008;O ¨ zmen et al. 2009). According to the literature, the abstract concept of chemical bonding is considered by teachers, students, and chemical educators to be very difficult and complicated (Frailich et al. 2009; O ¨ zmen et al. 2009). More specifically, atomic structure, the particulate nature of matter, the molecule, and the chemical bond are considered abstract concepts. It is also a topic that students commonly find problematic and they develop a wide range of alternative conceptions (Doymus 2008; O ¨ zmen 2008). The concepts of electron, ionization energy, electronegativity, bonding, geometry, molecular structure, and stability are central to much of chemistry, from reac- tivity in organic chemistry to spectroscopy in analytical chemistry (Frailich et al. 2009; Othman et al. 2008). Stu- dents’ misconceptions regarding these concepts are based on the fact that they live and operate within the macro- scopic world of matter and do not easily follow shifts between macroscopic and sub-macroscopic levels (Harrison and Treagust 2000). Some chemical educators have stressed ways to make the learning of chemical concepts more explicit through the A. Karacop (&) Department of Elementary Science Education, Education Faculty, Kafkas University, 36080 Kars, Turkey e-mail: ataman.karacop@kafkas.edu.tr K. Doymus Department of Elementary Science Education, Kazim Karabekir Education Faculty, Ataturk University, 25240 Erzurum, Turkey 123 J Sci Educ Technol (2013) 22:186–203 DOI 10.1007/s10956-012-9385-9