# 3D Object-Based Card-Sorting: A Method for Eliciting Multimodal Reasoning in Chemistry

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a new method using 3D models to study how students reason about complex chemistry concepts like molecular symmetry.

## Contribution

The novel method combines 3D models with card sorting to capture multimodal student reasoning in chemistry.

## Key findings

- The method generates rich data on gestures, model manipulation, and verbal reasoning.
- It reveals both fine-grained and broader conceptual insights into students' thinking.
- The approach supports research on spatial thinking and embodied cognition in chemistry education.

## Abstract

This contribution introduces 3D object-based card sorting
as a
novel method for eliciting and analyzing students’ multimodal
reasoning in chemistry. Building on traditional card sort methodologies,
this approach incorporates manipulable molecular models (either physical
or virtual) to explore how students reason about spatially complex
concepts, such as molecular symmetry. We describe the task design,
illustrate its potential through sample student excerpts, and evaluate
its methodological integrity using the Journal Article Reporting
Standards for Qualitative Research in Psychology. The sorting
interviews generated rich, multimodal data, including gestures, model
manipulation, and verbal reasoning. While the method captures fine-grained,
process-level reasoning, it also affords insights at a coarser grain
size, supporting inferences about students’ conceptual and
epistemological resources as they categorize. This work demonstrates
how 3D object-based card sorting can make students’ reasoning
more visible and analyzable, offering new opportunities for research
on spatial thinking, representation use, and embodied cognition in
chemistry. We conclude by outlining implications for both research
and classroom applications.