Multiple representations in chemistry learning: A study on teachers’ literacy

Abstract

It has been acknowledged that chemistry learning involves macroscopic, submicroscopic, and symbolic representations that should be comprehended by both students and teachers. Since very little research was geared toward investigating high school teachers’ understanding and practices of multiple representations in chemistry learning in Indonesia, this study was carried out to explore such knowledge gap. The method used was descriptive quantitative. Seventy-five chemistry teachers in East Java province participated in this study. They were surveyed using a validated questionnaire asking their understanding of multiple representations. The findings suggest that 49.33% of the participants do not know multiple representations, although, in fact, they practiced these representations in the classroom and employed media that explain chemistry macroscopically, sub-microscopically, and symbolically in learning. Chemistry teachers involved more macroscopic and symbolic representations in learning rather than submicroscopic. Therefore, there is a mismatch between teachers’ understanding and classroom practices with regard to the enactment of multiple representations in chemistry learning.