(Talk aloud)
A topic in research methodology
Think aloud (or talk aloud) is a means of eliciting aspects of a person's thinking whilst they undertake a task.
In effect this is a data collection technique based on observation which is interventionist rather than naturalistic (that is what is observed is set up by the researcher, and not the normal activity of the participant.)
"In 'think aloud' techniques, students may be asked to talk through their thinking as they complete a task. This may allow us to identify thinking that is not directly observable…
Think aloud can be very useful, but has some drawbacks. It can only access thinking the participant is aware of (and much of our thinking is pre-conscious, i.e., occurs without our conscious awareness), and it is only suitable for tasks where the person has capacity to talk about what they are doing as they do it. Moreover, it is suggested that in most studies about a tenth of potential participants prove incapable of talking about what they are doing, and still do it, whatever the task!
Where think aloud is not feasible, it may be possible to use stimulated recall, where students are video-recorded completing a task and then interviewed to ask them about what they might have been thinking or feeling at different points in the recording…"
Taber, 2013: 279-280
Spatial thinking in organic chemistry
A study which used 'think-aloud' was reported by Keller and Habig (2023) to investigate the value of augmented reality ('AR') in learning organic chemistry (a subject where many complex three-dimensional molecular structures are usually represented on flat surfaces such as text-book pages). The augmented reality presented manipulable three-dimensional simulations triggered by viewing two-dimensional images.
In their study, Keller and Habig asked participants who had studied with support of the AR tool to work through four tasks that required the ability to interpret two-dimensional representations of chemical structures, and mentipulate those structures, whilst giving a verbal account of their thinking.
Source cited:
- Keller, S., & Habig, S. (2023). Supporting spatial thinking in organic chemistry through augmented reality – an explorative interview study. In N. Graulich & G. Shultz (Eds.), Student Reasoning in Organic Chemistry. Research advances and evidence-based instructional practices (pp. 19-35). Royal Society of Chemistry.
- Taber, K. S. (2013). Classroom-based Research and Evidence-based Practice: An introduction (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
My introduction to educational research:
Taber, K. S. (2013). Classroom-based Research and Evidence-based Practice: An introduction (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
