This study focused on inquiring into undergraduate chemistry professors' efforts in North America to increase student motivation and interest in the subject and the feasibility of methods that connect students to real world applications and societal issues related to chemistry. A survey was distributed to chemistry instructors at post-secondary…

Indigenous science is comprised of the science-related knowledge and associated practices of indigenous cultures. Indigenous science provides rich contexts that can contribute to understanding the relationship of sociocultural life and environmental ethics in certain communities. It can also lead to better reflection upon Western modern views of…

The objective of this study was to analyze visual representations of redox reactions and related content in four Brazilian secondary school chemistry textbooks. The study aimed to identify which representations were used and to evaluate how these representations were linked to one another and to the main text. Data were analyzed regarding…

This paper presents a case study that investigated students' perceptions on the integration of a socio-scientific issue into a general chemistry course at a public university located in northwestern California. The teaching intervention is based on a digital learning environment structured by the software Prezi that students used to explore the…

This paper discusses a set of easy, hands-on experiments that inquire into and differentiate among tattoo inks of varying quality. A classroom scenario is described for integrating these experiments into secondary school chemistry classes. Initial experiences from the classroom are also presented.

Chemistry is traditionally perceived as difficult to comprehend. Its mastery requires that a variety of concepts be linked to form an organized knowledge system. The connections need to be made not only between the concepts associated with the macroscopic level of the chemistry triplet but also between the submicroscopic and symbolic levels. Many…

The aim of this case study was to explore students' application of chemical concepts and their use of arguments in an educational research framework to incorporate and reconstruct indigenous science in chemistry education. This framework fosters education for sustainable development (ESD) in chemistry learning by integrating intercultural and…

This study provides an analysis of selected aspects of the intended curriculum related to redox reactions as represented in secondary chemistry textbooks from the People's Republic of China, with a special view also on Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taiwan, and the Chinese minority in Malaysia. This study reveals how chemistry textbooks deal with visual…

Understanding students' cognitive structures in a specific knowledge domain helps to determine the ''what, how and why'' features of such knowledge, so that we can take these structures into consideration in teaching. The purpose of the present study was to identify students' cognitive structures about solution and dissolution concepts. The study…

This paper revisits the discussion about the objectives of scientific literacy-oriented chemistry teaching, its connection to the German concept of "Allgemeinbildung", and the debate of "science through education" vs. "education through science". About 10 years ago the sociocritical and problem-oriented approach to…

This paper describes a study on research-oriented chemistry teacher education, in which fifty-six advanced, secondary school chemistry student teachers working in teams of two interviewed twenty-eight experienced chemistry teachers. The interviews focussed on teachers' personal viewpoints of how to best teach the different levels of…

This paper discusses a chemistry lesson plan based on the use of ethanol as an alternative and renewable energy source. The lessons were developed by participatory action research and follow a socio-critical and problem-oriented approach to chemistry teaching. This approach specifically focuses on the handling of scientific and technological…

This paper discusses seventh-grade students' explanations of dissolution and combustion and also identifies their understanding of the differences between physical and chemical changes. A teaching strategy was initially negotiated within an action research group and this strategy was then employed in teaching seventh-grade students. The teaching…

Describes a unit on biodiesel from a socio-critical chemistry teaching approach aimed at improving student participation and decision making. Explores the use of biodiesel (chemically changed vegetable oils), especially in Europe. The unit proved to be successful as students participated enthusiastically and social and scientific goals were…

Nine 12th grade students, attending the science section of the upper secondary school in Cyprus, were individually interviewed about their understanding of the changes associated with the process of oxidation/combustion. Each student was instructed to firstly predict what would happen when heating a piece of copper wire or a piece of magnesium…