The Importance of Development of Representational Competence in Chemical Problem Solving Using Interactive Multimedia

This paper examined various literature to describe the importance of the development of representational competence within the context of chemical problem-solving. Problem-solving ability is one of high order thinking skills using representational competence. Representational competence is the ability to connect each level of multiple representations in chemistry. Students can use chemical multiple representations to solve problems if they are able to formulate a mental image of objects or processes at the submicroscopic level that cannot be physically observed, relate them to macroscopic phenomena and express them in symbolic representation, or vice versa. Submicroscopic representation is a key factor in chemical multiple representations. The inability to represent aspects submicroscopic can hinder the ability to solve problems related to the phenomenon of macroscopic and symbolic representations. Students generally have difficulty with chemistry due to the inability to represent and give explanations about the structure and processes at the level of submicroscopic. Optimal effort to develop this ability can be done using multimedia that integrates the three levels of chemical representations