Prospective chemistry teachers' conceptions of the conservation of matter and related concepts

Abstract

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.