Physical chemistry education - The 2014 themed issue of chemistry education research and practice

The aim of this study is to determine prospective chemistry teachers' creative comparisons about the basic concepts of inter- and intramolecular forces, and to uncover the relationship between these creative comparisons and prospective teachers' conceptual understanding. Based on a phenomenological research method, this study was conducted with 101 prospective chemistry teachers studying in the Chemistry Education Department at a state university in Turkey in the academic year 2011–2012. The research made use of two data collection instruments, a creative comparison questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The concepts of “non-polar covalent bonds, dipole–dipole force, hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds, covalent bonds, polar covalent bonds, and van der Waals force” were set out in the creative comparison questionnaire and the prospective teachers were asked to complete the sentences about these concepts (example: ionic bond is like .......... because ...........). Content analysis techniques were employed in the analysis of the creative comparisons set out in the questionnaire. The analysis of the data revealed that the prospective teachers generally developed their creative comparisons based on the formation and strength of the different bonds and that they also had alternative conceptions, particularly regarding the formation of covalent bonds, hydrogen bonds, and the van der Waals force. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in order to learn more about this and obtain detailed information about the level of understanding of the prospective teachers. Twelve prospective teachers were selected for the interviews on the basis of the creative comparisons they had developed in the creative comparison questionnaire. The analysis of the interviews showed that the level of conceptual understanding of the prospective teachers was not tightly linked to the complexity of their creative comparisons. However, it was seen that the creative comparisons submitted by the prospective teachers could be used to infer their conceptual understanding. Also, these creative comparisons could be helpful in determining what the prospective teachers' alternative conceptions were.

The purpose of this study was to obtain prospective chemistry teachers' conceptions about acids and bases concepts. Thirty‐eight prospective chemistry teachers were the participants. Data were collected by means of an open‐ended questionnaire and semi‐structured interviews. Analysis of data indicated that most prospective teachers did not have difficulties about macroscopic properties of acids and bases. However, despite chemistry instruction, most of the prospective teachers were found to have problems in understanding the neutralization concept, the distinction between strength and concentration of acids and linking the acids and bases topic to daily life. These findings have some implications for teacher education programs.

The aim of this study was to determine the learning styles of prospective chemistry and science teachers, and to examine the effects of different learning styles on their self-regulated learning skills. The survey method which is one of the quantitative research methods was used in this study. A total of 251 prospective chemistry and science teachers from the Departments of Chemistry and Science Education of three different public universities participated in the study. The Self-Regulated Learning Skills Scale was used to determine the self-regulated learning skills of the prospective teachers, and the ‘Maggie McVay Lynch Learning Style Inventory’ was used to determine the prospective teachers’ learning styles. The results showed that 61.8% of prospective chemistry and science teachers had a visual learning style, followed by a moving or kinaesthetic learning style (19.9%) and an auditory learning style (18.3%). Furthermore, a statistically significant difference was determined in the prospective chemistry and science teachers’ lack of self-directedness scores. Keywords: Learning style, prospective chemistry and science teachers, self-regulated learning

The aim of the study was to investigate prospective gymnasium teachers' conceptions of chemistry learning and teaching. Data were collected through individual interviews with nine prospective teachers at one German university. Phenomenography served as the methodological framework for the study. The findings revealed that chemistry learning is conceptualized as gaining knowledge, problem-solving and constructing personal understandings; and that chemistry teaching is conceptualized as transferring knowledge, problem-posing and interacting with pupils. The majority of the prospective teachers' conceptions of learning chemistry were considered reproductive rather than constructive and their conceptions of chemistry teaching were viewed as facilitating reproductive learning. Comparisons of the dominant conceptions of learning chemistry and teaching chemistry held by each prospective teacher revealed mixed support for the assumption that if one holds a reproductive (or constructive) conception of teaching, then (s)he will also hold a reproductive (or constructive) conception of learning. Support for the assumption was found in the reproductive-oriented relationship between conceptions of learning chemistry as gaining knowledge and of teaching chemistry as transferring knowledge, but not found in the relationships between learning chemistry as problem-solving and teaching chemistry as problem-posing and between learning chemistry as gaining knowledge and interacting with pupils.

Prospective teachers' beliefs have a beneficial effect on their knowledge and actions. Furthermore, teachers' pedagogical content knowledge is an essential contributor to teachers' impact on students' academic outcomes. However, examining how prospective teachers' beliefs influence their pedagogical content knowledge is still unclear. The current study investigates prospective mathematics teachers' beliefs and pedagogical content knowledge. We recruited three undergraduate students in the mathematics department consisting of one male and two female participants in this study. By assigning two interviews, a test, and observation, we examined three prospective mathematics teachers' pedagogical content knowledge and their beliefs about the nature of mathematics, mathematics learning, and mathematics teaching. Prospective mathematics teachers' test, interview, and observation results were analyzed in three stages: data condensation, presentation, and conclusion drawing and verification. The findings point out that traditional beliefs (instrumentalist and platonist views) are more dominant in prospective teachers' beliefs about the nature of mathematics. Moreover, the more sophisticated prospective teachers' beliefs about the nature of mathematics, mathematics learning, and mathematics teaching are, the higher one's content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge levels are. Implications of this study, mathematics teacher educators should assist and foster prospective teachers in developing constructivist or problem-solving beliefs.

This study investigated the quality and extent of understanding of certain well-known theoretical concepts which prospective teachers of chemistry in Yemen possess. In addition to the concepts of the conservation of atoms and mass, and the mole, the concepts of atomic mass and balancing chemical equations were chosen for this study. An instrument was built first, then administered to 173 junior and senior prospective chemistry teachers. The results showed that the prospective teachers' understandings of most of the concepts ranged from a partial understanding with specific misconception to no understanding. Only on balancing chemical equations did the prospective teachers show good understanding. The results showed that most prospective teachers depended on mere memorization of the concepts without meaningful understanding. It also found that the prospective teachers' knowledge about the concepts was fragmented and not correlated. The study attributed the prospective teachers' misconceptions to defective instruction. Finally, the study concluded that more effective teaching methods are needed to ensure a sound understanding of these concepts. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34: 181–197, 1997.

The main purpose of this paper is to present Slovenian and Finnish prospective chemistry teachers? perceptions of their future profession, especially with regard to their understanding of the role of the triple nature of chemical concepts (macro, submicro and symbolic) and their representations in chemistry learning. A total of 19 prospective teachers (10 Slovenian, 9 Finnish) at master?s level in chemical education participated in the research. The prospective teachers? opinions were gathered using an electronic questionnaire comprising six open-ended questions. The study revealed many parallels between Slovenian and Finnish prospective chemistry teachers? perceptions of their future profession and their understanding of the role of the triple nature of chemical concepts, especially particle representations, in chemistry learning. The majority of the prospective teachers from both countries believe that personal characteristics are the most important attribute of a successful chemistry teacher. Thus, they highly value teachers? enthusiasm for teaching and the use of contemporary teaching approaches in chemistry. The prospective teachers displayed an adequate understanding of the role of the triple nature of chemical concepts (i.e., particle representations) in the planning and implementation of a specific chemistry lesson.

This chapter focuses on learners’ alternative conceptions. Since prospective teachers in general, and prospective computer science teachers in particular, face difficulties in gaining the notion of alternative conceptions, it is important to address this issue in the MTCS course and to deliver the message that a learning opportunity exists in each pupils’ mistake (or misunderstanding). Several pedagogical tools for exposing learners’ alternative conceptions are presented as well as three activities to be facilitated in the MTCS course.

In order to study the beliefs of Turkish prospective chemistry teachers about teaching chemistry, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 12 prospective teachers. Analysis of the interviews revealed that most of the prospective teachers held intermediate (transition between constructivist and traditional) beliefs about chemistry teaching. Most of the student teachers exhibited inconsistencies in their beliefs about teaching chemistry. The findings indicate the complexity of the teachers’ belief systems and imply the significance of identifying prospective teachers’ beliefs for the design of teacher education programs.

Molecular symmetry plays a central role in chemistry education with regard to predicting chemical properties such as bonding and spectroscopic transitions. Better understanding of the symmetry of molecules requires high visual-spatial thinking ability. Conventional teaching methodologies, with limited teaching aides, fall short in providing a detailed understanding of scientific theories and related concepts. Incorrect understanding has been known to perpetrate concepts that are not consistent with the consensus of the research community or alternate conceptions. This work elaborates a methodology designed to discover the alternate conceptions stemming from teaching molecular symmetry in a typical classroom environment and the impact of the virtual laboratory (VL) environment in correcting these misconceptions. Three significant contributions presented in this paper include: (1) the development of a media and information-intense VL experiment platform designed to enhance understanding of symmetry elements and point groups of molecules with diverse structural geometries. (2) the development of an instrument, Molecular symmetry Alternate Conception Test (MACT), designed to capture and estimate the extent of alternate conceptions. (3) the successful identification of typical alternate conceptions amongst students in the context of molecular symmetry. In addition to perceived alternate concepts in symmetry education, the results indicate a significant statistical improvement of 156% in understanding of molecular symmetry concepts (p < 0.05) after subjecting students to the interactive VL platform. This study also shows identifying bond angles and planarity as concepts crucial for students. It is also implicit that estimations of discrimination skills related to identifying concept-based learning may be relevant for perceiving alternate concepts among learners.

This study identifies some alternative conceptions of chemical kinetics held by secondary school and undergraduate students (N = 191) in Turkey. Undergraduate students who participated are studying to become chemistry teachers when they graduate. Students’ conceptions about chemical kinetics were elicited through a series of written tasks and individual interviews. Several alternative conceptions exhibited by secondary school students persisted among undergraduates, indicating the persistence of such alternative conceptions. The results suggest that students’ lack of understanding in thermodynamics and chemical equilibrium significantly influences their conceptions about chemical kinetics. Implications for instructional approaches particular to chemical kinetics are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of prospective physical education teachers on the concepts of &amp;ldquo;physical education teacher&amp;rdquo; and &amp;ldquo;physical education course&amp;rdquo; through the metaphors. In this study which was structured with the approach of qualitative research, the model of phenomenology, which defines the common meaning of the experience of individuals related to a concept was used. 167 prospective physical education teachers who were enrolled at the department of Physical Education and Sports Education at the Sports Sciences Faculty of Ankara University were included in the study. The content analysis method was used to analyze the data of this study which were collected via the method of semi-structured forms. Within this context, the metaphors formed by the prospective teachers were divided into categories based on their common properties in MS Excel, and a frequency calculation was made. As a result of the analysis, the metaphors that were formed in relation to both the concepts were collected under four categories. It was concluded that the prospective teachers perceived the physical education course as a course that provides children with fun and pleasing moments, relaxes them and is needed for the healthy continuation of their lives, while they perceived a physical education teacher as a person who is found familiar by students, helps them, guides them and is a multi-dimensional person who does everything.

The creative comparisons prospective chemistry teachers make about “chemistry” and the “chemist” may reflect how they perceive these concepts. In this sense, it seems important to determine which creative comparisons prospective teachers make with respect to these and how these can change after the history of chemistry is treated in the classroom. This study seeks to investigate the impact of the basic History and Philosophy of Chemistry course on prospective chemistry teachers’ perceptions towards chemistry and the chemist. The study was conducted during the 2012–2013 academic year at a state university in Turkey with 38 prospective chemistry teachers. A creative comparisons questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used as data collection instruments in the study. This questionnaire was administered to the prospective teachers in the form of a pre-test, post-test, and retention test. Results of the analysis showed that the prospective teachers produced creative comparisons related to chemistry in the pre-test that mostly relied on their own experiences and observations, but that in the post-test and retention test, their comparisons mostly contained references to the role of chemistry in daily life, its development, and its facilitating aspects. Similarly, it was observed that in the pre-test, the prospective teachers made creative comparisons regarding the chemist that related mostly to the laboratory, but that the post-test and retention test rather contained the aspects of chemists as researchers, meticulous persons, facilitators and managers. Also, 18 prospective teachers were engaged in interviews to understand their prior knowledge about chemistry and the chemist, as well as the reasons for the changes in their creative comparisons. The results of the interviews indicated that a large majority of the prospective teachers were able to fully reflect on their inadequacy about their previous knowledge about “chemistry” and “chemist,” and it was seen that they could explain the reason they changed their creative comparisons as an outcome of the History and Philosophy of Chemistry course. In the light of these results, it can be said that the History and Philosophy of Chemistry course may help prospective chemistry teachers in their perceptions about both chemistry and the chemist and may add depth to their knowledge.

Notes on Contributors

The purpose of this study is to compare alternative conceptions of chemistry teachers and Grade 11 students on the subject of ‘rate of reaction’. This study was conducted with a total of seventy chemistry teachers and seventy two grade 11 students. To collect data, a ‘rate of reaction’ concept test comprising 9 lead and 10 sub-questions (in total 19 items) were employed. Also, a structured interview session was conducted with 10 chemistry teachers and 13 grade 11 students. Since the chemistry teachers and grade 11 students possessed similar alternative conceptions, it can be deduced that the chemistry teachers seem to have been principal source at transmitting their alternative conceptions to the grade 11 students. It is recommended that, a common database or website should be created to afford the current chemistry teachers to easily access to improved teaching materials and/or instruments in chemistry education. Key words: alternative conception, chemistry teacher, grade 11 students, rate of reaction.