Challenging Misconceptions in the Chemistry Classroom: Resources to Support Teachers

El fet d'explicar i aprendre química pot ser considerat un repte i és freqüent que els estudiants desenvolupin concepcions alternatives de la química que se'ls ensenya. Aquest article relata un projecte de la Royal Society of Chemistry del Regne Unit que pretén ser una ajuda per al professorat. El projecte ha desenvolupat materials d'aula per identificar i encarar aquests conceptes erronis o concepcions alternatives. Aquests materials es van publicar l'any 2002 i ara s'estan donant a conèixer a través de la Societat Catalana de Química. El projecte es basa en una visió constructivista de l'aprenentatge i pretén no només posar de manifest les concepcions alternatives en l'aprenentatge de la química, sinó també donar resposta al com i al perquè es produeix aquest aprenentatge erroni. El professorat que conegui les concepcions alternatives més freqüents i que alhora sigui capaç d'anticipar on i quan els aprenentatges dels seus alumnes no es corresponen amb el que pretén ensenyar, estarà ben preparat per evitar o modificar algunes d'aquestes concepcions alternatives de la química.Teaching and learning chemistry can be challenging, and may often be complicated by students developing misconceptions of the chemistry they are taught. This article reports a pro - ject to support teachers, undertaken for the Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK. The project developed classroom materials to support teachers in identifying and challenging misconceptions. These materials were published in the UK in 2002, and are now being made available in translation by the Societat Catalana de Química. The project was informed from a constructivist stance where the aim is not just to recognise when students misunderstand the chemistry, but also to appreciate how and why such learning errors occur. A teacher who is both familiar with common misconceptions, and who is able to anticipate where and when learning is likely to distort teaching, is well equipped to avoid some of the common learning difficulties in the subject

Conceptual confusion in the chemistry curriculum: exemplifying the problematic nature of representing chemical concepts as target knowledge

Abstract: This paper considers the nature of a curriculum as presented in formal curriculum documents, and the inherent difficulties of representing formal disciplinary knowledge in a prescription for teaching and learning. The general points are illustrated by examining aspects of a specific example, taken from the chemistry subject content included in the science programmes of study that are part of the National Curriculum in England (an official document published by the UK government). In particular, it is suggested that some statements in the official curriculum document are problematic if we expect a curriculum to represent canonical disciplinary knowledge in an unambiguous and authentic manner. The paper examines the example of the requirement for English school children to be taught that chemical reactions take place in only three different ways (i.e., proton transfer; electron transfer; electron sharing) and considers how this might be interpreted in terms of canonical chemistry and within the wider context of other curriculum statements, in order to make sense of neutralisation and precipitation reactions. It is argued that although target knowledge that is set out as the focus of teaching and learning cannot be identical to disciplinary knowledge, the English National Curriculum offers a representation of chemistry which distorts and confuses canonical ideas. It is suggested that the process of representing the disciplinary knowledge of chemistry as curriculum specifications is worthy of more scholarly attention

Vive la Différence? Comparing “Like with Like” in Studies of Learners’ Ideas in Diverse Educational Contexts

This paper considers the status of educational research that looks to replicate previous findings in a novel educational context, taking as its focus an active area of research in a range of national contexts: studies into students’ ideas about scientific topics. The paper considers the circumstances under which a “replication” study should be considered to offer original new knowledge worthy of publication in international research journals. It is argued here that there are sound principled reasons to expect studies undertaken in different educational contexts to be able to contribute to a progressive research programme, and so researchers should be encouraged to undertake such work. However, technically competent papers submitted to prestigious journals will be rejected if they are considered to merely replicate previous work without offering novel empirical or theoretical content that is considered to make an original contribution. This paper explores the basis for welcoming research “testing-out” published findings in new contexts and considers the place of such studies within a progressive research programme. This analysis can inform research design for those looking to explore learners’ ideas in local educational contexts, by offering clear guidance on the forms of research likely to offer significant contributions to public knowledge.Peer Reviewe

Secondary students' values and perceptions of science-related careers: responses to vignette-based scenarios.

There has been concern about the attractiveness of science-based careers to many adolescent learners, and it has been suggested that school science may not always recognise or engage personal values that are important to young people in making life choices. The present study discusses interview comments made by upper secondary level students in England when 15 young people were asked to give their personal responses to brief vignettes describing scientific careers. Using an interview-about-scenarios approach, the students were asked about whether they would feel comfortable working in the scientific careers represented. The career areas were purposefully selected because they might be considered to potentially raise issues in relation to personal values or commitments that some students might hold. A range of student perceptions relating to the mooted careers were elicited (positive, negative and indifferent), but all of the participants raised issues that impacted on the acceptability or attractiveness of at least one of the mooted scientific careers, in terms of aspects of their own personal beliefs and values systems. It is recommended that teachers and career advisors should be aware of the range of value-related considerations that influence student views of science-related careers and should consider exploring aspects of science-based careers that link to values commonly shared by young people. This exploratory study also offers indications for directions for further research exploring how learners' value systems impact upon their perceptions of science and scientific work.We acknowledge the support of the John Templeton Foundation under grant number: 15389

Secondary school teachers' perspectives on teaching about topics that bridge science and religion

The question of where to locate teaching about the relationships between science and religion has produced a long-running debate. Currently, Science and Religious Education (RE) are statutory subjects in England and are taught in secondary schools by different teachers. This paper reports on an interview study in which 16 teachers gave their perceptions of their roles and responsibilities when teaching topics that bridge science and religion and the extent to which they collaborated with teachers in the other subject area. We found that in this sample, teachers reported very little collaboration between the curriculum areas. Although the science curriculum makes no mention of religion, all the science teachers said that their approaches to such topics were affected by their recognition that some pupils hold religious beliefs. All the RE teachers reported struggling to ensure students know of a range of views about how science and religion relate. The paper concludes with a discussion about implications for curriculum design and teacher training

Developing teaching with an explicit focus on scientific thinking

This article describes an attempt to integrate teaching about an aspect of science ‘content’ with an aspect of the nature of science (NOS), through the development of a practical research-informed teaching module for use in key stage 3 (ages 11–14). The module concerned electrical circuits, and the NOS aspect focused on the role of models and analogies in scientific work. The module offers one example of a general approach that may be adopted in developing curricular schemes of work that build synergy between teaching about NOS and specific science topics. This article reports the outcomes of an evaluation of teachers using the module for the first time, and reflects on the limitations of randomised field trials for determining the efficacy of pedagogic innovations.The work reported here was made possible by ESRC Grant Number: RES-179-25-0003

Secondary students’ values and perceptions of science-related careers: responses to vignette-based scenarios

Abstract: There has been concern about the attractiveness of science-based careers to many adolescent learners, and it has been suggested that school science may not always recognise or engage personal values that are important to young people in making life choices. The present study discusses interview comments made by upper secondary level students in England when 15 young people were asked to give their personal responses to brief vignettes describing scientific careers. Using an interview-about-scenarios approach, the students were asked about whether they would feel comfortable working in the scientific careers represented. The career areas were purposefully selected because they might be considered to potentially raise issues in relation to personal values or commitments that some students might hold. A range of student perceptions relating to the mooted careers were elicited (positive, negative and indifferent), but all of the participants raised issues that impacted on the acceptability or attractiveness of at least one of the mooted scientific careers, in terms of aspects of their own personal beliefs and values systems. It is recommended that teachers and career advisors should be aware of the range of value-related considerations that influence student views of science-related careers and should consider exploring aspects of science-based careers that link to values commonly shared by young people. This exploratory study also offers indications for directions for further research exploring how learners’ value systems impact upon their perceptions of science and scientific work

A Cross-National Study of Students’ Understanding of Genetics Concepts: Implications from Similarities and Differences in England and Turkey

This research is aimed at exploring 16- to 19-year-old students’ understanding of fundamental genetics concepts, which has considerable importance for developing conceptual understanding of genetics related phenomena. A cross-national descriptive research method was used to explore English and Turkish students’ understandings of genetics concepts. Data were collected by a two-tier multiple choice diagnostic instrument, The Two-Tier Genetics Concept Test, which required students to justify their choice of option by giving a reason. The results indicate that there are some differences between the English students’ and Turkish students’ understanding of fundamental concepts of genetics; however, there are some notable similarities between the alternative conceptions held by students in the two samples. The common alternative conceptions seen in both of the groups indicate that understanding the concepts occurred regardless of contextual factors. Nevertheless different proportions of the common alternative conceptions and different levels of understanding suggest that conceptualisations develop under the influence of different educational contexts.The authors gratefully acknowledge help of Chris Graham (Thurston Community College, Cambridge, UK), who provided the English data and helpful comments.This work was made possible in part by time spent by the first author as a visiting academic at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, through the support of The Council of Higher Education in Turkey.Peer Reviewe