Stoogiometry: A Cognitive Approach to Teaching Stoichiometry

Abstract

Moe's Mall is a locational device designed to be used by learners as a simple algorithm for solving mole-based exercises efficiently and accurately. The mall functions as a map for setting up solutions to mole-based exercises using dimensional analysis. It clears the cognitive decks of students' easily overburdened short-term memory space, allowing them to focus on the versatility of the mole, rather than stepwise solutions to meaningless exercises. From simple mass-particle-molarity exercises, students can use the mall to progress rapidly to mole-mole, mole-mass, mass-mass, and solution stoichiometry exercises. The mall is easily expanded to help students map solutions to gas stoichiometry problems, such as mass-volume or volume-volume, under nonstandard as well as standard conditions. Thus, Moe's Mall can be used to solve a variety of mole-based exercises using dimensional analysis. Once the learner has acquired this device, she will have developed a scientifically sound schema for the mole concept.