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Innovations and Contemporary Perspectives in Chemistry Education

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A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2019) | Viewed by 45303

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Dr. Yael Shwartz

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Guest Editor

Department of Science Teaching, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Interests: socio-scientific issues; teacher professional development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The special issue of the journal Education Sciences is devoted to a substantial contemporary introduction and discussion of chemistry education.

As a guest editor, I invite you to submit a paper for publication in this special issue.

In this issue, we wish to present quality research, that extend our methodological, theoretical and practical understanding, and have the likelihood of informing education policy and practice, about chemistry education. Research studies, extended reviews in chemistry education, and assessment of the effectiveness of innovative practices in the teaching of chemistry, are welcome.

Additionally, Education Sciences invites commentaries and original opinion pieces and/or analysis of issues and events of concern to chemistry education scholars that have international resonance.

Keywords

chemical Literacy
conceptual knowledge
pedagogy
laboratory in chemistry Education
virtual teaching
assessment
curriculum
Teacher Education
sustainability

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 564 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Conflicting Demands of Chemistry and Inclusive Teaching—A Video-Based Case Study

by Simone Abels, Brigitte Koliander and Thomas Plotz

Educ. Sci. 2020, 10(3), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10030050 - 28 Feb 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5084

Abstract

Almost every country in the world is obligated to implement education policies to enable an inclusive school system. However, implementing techniques to be inclusive in schools is a major challenge to teachers, especially to those teaching a subject at secondary level and higher. Most of the literature concerning inclusive science education was published in recent years, and is more normative than empirical. Teachers struggle to transfer these normative demands to their accustomed way of teaching science. In this study, we analyze conflicts a teacher experiences when teaching a so-called ‘hard science’ like chemistry at an inclusive school. On the one hand, inclusive science education should facilitate participation in science specific learning processes for all learners. This broad perspective on inclusion demands that everyone can take part in everyday classroom life. On the other hand, chemistry strives for the understanding of abstract concepts, theories and models, which forms a barrier to learning chemistry for many people. This paper presents an explorative case study focusing on these conflicting demands. To reconstruct the inconsistencies, we analyzed a videotaped teacher–student discourse on atoms. Using the documentary method, a qualitative approach developed by the sociologist Ralf (Bohnsack et al., 2010). distinguishing between explicit and implicit knowledge, it was possible to reveal the orientational frameworks guiding the teacher’s actions. On the surface level, traditional scientific educational approaches structure the discourse. Reconstruction of the discourse is deep, as evidence was found for a participation-oriented framework as well as for the challenges the conflicting demands of chemistry and inclusive teaching put on teaching. We implicate that future professional development courses must not only concentrate on combining chemistry with inclusive pedagogies, i.e., how to teach, but also on the reflection of implicit beliefs concerning inclusive chemistry teaching. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations and Contemporary Perspectives in Chemistry Education)

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11 pages, 735 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analyzing Characteristics of Experts in the Context of Stoichiometric Problem-Solving

by Ozcan Gulacar, Alexandra Tan, Charles T. Cox, Jr., Jennifer Bloomquist, Okechukwu Jimmy and Nguyen Cao

Educ. Sci. 2019, 9(3), 219; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci9030219 - 15 Aug 2019

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4328

Abstract

To gauge the variability in expert problem-solving strategies for stoichiometry problems, a set of experts in different career tracks were studied with the cohort including 17 graduate students in chemistry, three college chemistry instructors, and seven college graduates working in the industry. The goal of the study was to determine whether variability would be observed based upon experience and career trajectories. The data were collected using interviews and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively using the COSINE (Coding System for Investigating Sub-problems and Network) method. Although the method was developed for the analysis of undergraduate problem-solving, it appeared to be effective in examining experts’ problem-solving in chemistry as well. The study revealed similar abilities for succeeding at solving a series of problems, but the strategies were variable for the three cohorts of experts. Specifically, the amount of information used to solve the problems differed across the three cohorts with graduate students focusing more upon each of the specific subproblems within each problem compared to industry chemists utilizing the big-picture approach in lieu of breaking down each problem into respective subproblems. Familiarity with the question types and ability to chunk information were common characteristics observed consistently for the expert participants, which is consistent with existing research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations and Contemporary Perspectives in Chemistry Education)

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19 pages, 1158 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment: A Suggested Strategy for Learning Chemical Equilibrium

by Andres Bernal-Ballen and Yolanda Ladino-Ospina

Educ. Sci. 2019, 9(3), 174; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci9030174 - 5 Jul 2019

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 6183

Abstract

Chemical equilibrium is listed as one of the most complicated concepts to learn, and the origin of this phenomenon is attributed to misconceptions, teaching-related problems, and the use of inappropriate didactic approaches. At the same time, assessment is a crucial fragment of educational activities although its relevance as a learning strategy is underestimated. For that reason, we designed and applied unique assessment approaches related to chemical equilibrium to 33 high school students at Colegio Mayor de San Bartolome (Bogotá, Colombia). The results suggested that assessment instruments focused on the identified misconceptions might reduce the impact (of the misconceptions), and students were able to build concepts related to chemical equilibrium whilst they were being assessed. Problems associated with forward and reverse reactions, differences between initial and equilibrium concentrations, and the indiscriminate use of Le Chatelier’s principle were approached by students and significant improvement was achieved through the assessment. Changes associated with assessment perceptions were accomplished and the proposed strategy suggests that it is plausible to learn during the assessment moment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations and Contemporary Perspectives in Chemistry Education)

19 pages, 792 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Insights into Components of Prospective Science Teachers’ Mental Models and Their Preferred Visual Representations of Atoms

by Aysegül Derman, Nuriye Koçak and Ingo Eilks

Educ. Sci. 2019, 9(2), 154; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci9020154 - 21 Jun 2019

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 12280

Abstract

This study focused on determining the elements of mental models of atomic structure and views on visual representations of models of atomic structure in two sub-cohorts of student teachers studying at a university in Turkey. In total, 141 student teachers participated in this study. In the first cohort, the focus was on 73 freshman science student teachers’ drawings of mental models of atomic structure. The analysis showed a wide variety of individual aspects in the students’ minds when asked to sketch the structure of atoms. The majority of students preferred to draw two-dimensional structures, neglecting the atom’s space-filling character. Concerning the details of atomic structure, the majority of students emphasized only the most essential components of atoms, namely protons, neutrons, and electrons. It was quickly recognizable that these elements were arranged according to different analogies or representations of historical models, particularly related to Bohr’s atomic theory and different representations thereof. Overall, the different visual representations of atomic models the students see in school, almost exclusively serve as the basis for their ideas about atomic structure. Current atomic theory, like quantum mechanical models, are generally not used when students are asked for a “contemporary” model of atoms. Rather it seems that concreteness and functionality are the primary factors leading to the selection of an atomic model when requested. This study is supplemented by data collected from the second cohort of 68 prospective teachers consisting of a diverse group of students ranging from freshman to senior level. The students in this cohort were asked for their preferred illustrations of atoms in textbooks. Open-ended questions about atoms led to further insights. The analysis of the prospective teachers’ drawings indicated that a more careful approach to teaching is necessary to clarify the relationships between different models of atomic structure and to allow students to understand what an appropriate and contemporary understanding of atomic structure should encompass. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations and Contemporary Perspectives in Chemistry Education)

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14 pages, 2045 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Secondary School Students and Internet Forums—A Survey of Student Views Contrasted with an Analysis of Internet Forum Posts

by Johanna Dittmar and Ingo Eilks

Educ. Sci. 2019, 9(2), 121; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci9020121 - 30 May 2019

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4822

Abstract

Students today are increasingly engaged in the use of digital information and communication technologies. The Internet continues to grow and more and more young people are using it worldwide. Educational practices, however, have been slow to adapt to the corresponding developments. For example, Internet forums are generally ignored in most educational practices, including chemistry education, although they are often used to find new information by everyday people. The question therefore arises: Why are such media not used to provoke and promote science or chemistry teaching and learning, while simultaneously developing critical scientific media literacy? To understand how the younger generation learns via Internet forums, this article looks at a survey of Internet forum usage behavior by lower and upper secondary school students (age range 12–17) in relation to chemistry-specific content. The findings are then contrasted with an analysis of user behavior. The final analysis revealed that students are open and critical when using Internet forums, even though such learning is mostly unconnected to formal education. These results can inform science and chemistry teaching by focusing teaching and learning more on Internet forums in order to employ them as an educational medium in science class. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations and Contemporary Perspectives in Chemistry Education)

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16 pages, 709 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Chemistry Lesson for Citizenship: Students’ Use of Different Perspectives in Decision-Making about the Use and Sale of Laughing Gas

by Durdane Bayram-Jacobs, Godfried Wieske and Ineke Henze

Educ. Sci. 2019, 9(2), 100; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci9020100 - 10 May 2019

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 6092

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore how the design of this chemistry lesson for citizenship influences students’ use of different perspectives in decision-making about ‘the use and sale of laughing gas’. In this study, ‘the use and sale of laughing gas among youth’ was chosen as a socio-scientific issue. This chemistry lesson for citizenship was designed according to the 5E instructional approach, and activating pedagogical methods and tools (i.e., group discussion, reading the information cards, taking notes, watching instructional videos) were used. Both the types of perspectives used and the effectiveness of the pedagogies implemented were explored. Twenty-three students from two classes participated in the study. The data were collected through five tools (four worksheets and a questionnaire). The students mainly used ‘scientist’ perspective by focusing on what research says about the possible consequences of inhaling laughing gas. The students also focused on ‘health’; principally, they referred to the relation between the amount of laughing gas used and the damage it may cause. As to the influential pedagogical elements of the lesson, the ‘videos’ were found to be the most effective and informative. In addition, the ‘group discussion’ was also found to be an influential activity of the lesson on making decisions about the use and sale of laughing gas. Therefore, our results suggest that the lesson design supported the students to recognize and use different perspectives to make informed decisions about the sale and use of laughing gas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations and Contemporary Perspectives in Chemistry Education)

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15 pages, 2712 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reflections on a Three-Year-Long Teacher-Centered, Participatory Action Research Experience on Teaching Chemical Bonding in a Swiss Vocational School

by Ivano Laudonia and Ingo Eilks

Educ. Sci. 2018, 8(3), 141; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci8030141 - 10 Sep 2018

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4519

Abstract

Chemistry is considered to be a difficult subject and chemistry education courses are not very popular among many students. Innovations in the curriculum and pedagogy may help to overcome difficulties in learning as well as motivational problems. Participatory action research (PAR) seems to be a suitable approach for developing such an innovation for the chemistry classroom. This paper reflects on the adoption of a PAR model to teacher-centered action research. A project is discussed aiming at iteratively improving lessons on chemical bonding in a Swiss vocational school. The lesson was focusing on self-determined, autonomous learning in small groups in a multimedia-supported learning environment to foster student motivation for learning. The project is based on the cooperation of a chemistry teacher and a PAR expert group of chemistry teachers operating far away from the school. The cooperation was implemented by synchronous and asynchronous digital communication. The lessons have been cyclically developed over three consecutive years of teaching. The findings from the current study indicate that the implemented practice of action research helped to both improve the teacher’s pedagogical repertoire for his chemistry lessons and contributed to the teacher’s continuing professional development in terms of better understanding how student-centered his lessons should be. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations and Contemporary Perspectives in Chemistry Education)

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