Organic chemistry laboratories (OCLs) are central to undergraduate chemistry education, yet their pedagogical potential often remains underutilized. Traditional laboratory experiments, largely focused on verification and technical skill development, frequently fail to promote a deeper conceptual understanding, scientific reasoning, and critical thinking. As the demands of modern chemical science and industry increasingly emphasize adaptability, problem-solving, and inquiry, laboratory instruction must evolve beyond prescriptive protocols. This paper critically synthesizes literature from chemistry education research to examine the limitations of conventional OCL practices and to evaluate contemporary pedagogical approaches aimed at enhancing student engagement and learning. Particular emphasis is placed on guided-inquiry and question-driven laboratory designs, which balance structured scaffolding with opportunities for student decision-making, interpretation, and reflection. These approaches are shown to foster conceptual reasoning, authentic inquiry, and metacognitive development, while remaining scalable across diverse institutional contexts. Problem-based learning and related instructional models are discussed as complementary strategies within broader inquiry-oriented laboratory frameworks rather than as standalone solutions. Across the reviewed studies, an effective OCL design consistently aligns clearly articulated learning goals with opportunities for reflection, argumentation, and iterative problem-solving. By integration of evidence-based pedagogical strategies, this review highlights practical pathways for reimagining organic chemistry laboratories as intellectually engaging environments that support both technical proficiency and deeper scientific understanding.

ABSTRACT Extensive research has demonstrated the effectiveness of concept maps in fostering students' conceptual understanding. However, less is known about how cognitive and motivational variables interact to influence chemistry learning outcomes in ecologically valid settings. This study examined the role of effort, prior knowledge, interest, and perceived competence in predicting learning retention and knowledge transfer among undergraduate chemistry students ( N = 647). Hierarchical regression and mediation analyses revealed that effort was a strong predictor of both retention and transfer, emphasizing the importance of active engagement in chemistry learning. Additionally, effort and concept map quality mediated the relationship between prior knowledge and learning outcomes, highlighting the interplay between cognitive resources and motivational engagement. Interestingly, interest was negatively associated with learning retention, suggesting that cognitive load in chemistry learning may impact student motivation. These findings underscore the importance of instructional strategies that combine motivational scaffolding with concept mapping to enhance student learning. Implications for chemistry education, instructional design, and future research directions are discussed.

Since 2015, research on local wisdom in science education has shown consistent growth, with a notable surge in 2023. While studies integrating local wisdom into physics, biology, and mathematics are abundant, bibliometric analyses focusing on chemistry education remain limited. This study aims to map research trends using data from the Web of Science database, which has been analyzed using VOSviewer and RStudio. The results reveal fluctuations in publication trends from 2015 to 2024, with Indonesia among the top 10 contributor countries. Indonesia’s cultural and geographical diversity—spanning multiple islands and ethnic groups—makes it a rich source for local wisdom-based educational research. Education Sciences, a journal based in Switzerland, is the most active publisher, with 26 related articles. Frequently used keywords include learning models, performance, engagement, achievement, pedagogy, and knowledge. Despite increasing interest, Indigenous knowledge remains underexplored in chemistry education. Therefore, integrating local wisdom requires a thoughtful selection of pedagogical strategies, learning content, and relevant chemistry concepts. The findings underscore that this remains a promising area of research that warrants further investigation.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) has gained increasing attention across education research; however, its role within chemistry education remains conceptually diffuse and methodologically fragmented. This systematic review examines how EI and related affective constructs have been conceptualised, enacted, and investigated within chemistry education research between 2015 and 2025. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, an initial search of the Scopus database yielded 292 records, which were reduced through screening and eligibility procedures to 32 articles. Studies were included if they examined emotional or affective processes within chemistry or closely related STEM learning contexts, while studies lacking disciplinary relevance or affective constructs were excluded. To reduce potential bias, screening and coding decisions were independently reviewed by a second researcher. Findings were analysed using a narrative thematic synthesis aligned with the review questions. Because EI-related research spans heterogeneous disciplinary contexts, a second-level disciplinary relevance appraisal was conducted, resulting in a final analytic dataset of 17 studies comprising 8 core chemistry–affective investigations and 9 conceptually relevant studies. A narrative thematic synthesis revealed four interrelated patterns: (1) EI is rarely adopted as an explicit theoretical framework in chemistry education, yet emotional competencies aligned with EI are structurally embedded in disciplinary learning practices; (2) affective demands emerge prominently in laboratory inquiry, representational reasoning, and socio-scientific instructional contexts; (3) existing research is shaped by methodological patterns that privilege self-report measures over process-oriented analyses of emotional dynamics; and (4) persistent conceptual gaps constrain the field's capacity to theorise emotions as constitutive of chemical meaning-making. By synthesising chemistry-specific and conceptually adjacent literature, this review advances an epistemic–affective perspective on EI in chemistry education and articulates an integrative agenda for future research. The findings highlight the need for explicit theorisation of EI grounded in disciplinary practices, methodological innovation capable of capturing situated emotional processes, and culturally responsive research that extends beyond predominantly Western contexts.

Grouping approaches are commonly employed in chemistry education research to better understand variation. Traditionally used as a tool for data dimensionality reduction, these approaches are used as a tool to help researchers interpret complex data sets that can inform instructional strategies or target interventions. Among these techniques, cluster analysis, and in particular k -means clustering, has gained popularity for its simplicity and applicability to continuous variables. However, k -means cluster analysis is limited by its algorithmic nature, including assumptions of equal variance between clusters. Latent profile analysis, a model-based alternative within the mixture modeling framework, offers greater flexibility by allowing probabilistic group membership and the modeling of individual variances and covariances across latent profiles. This methods-focused study compares k -means clustering and latent profile analysis using data from undergraduate organic chemistry students enrolled in courses with either traditional or specifications grading. By examining students’ affective traits, this study highlights the strengths and limitations of each grouping approach. Findings support the broader adoption of mixture modeling in chemistry education research to explore heterogeneity.

Empathy and its impact on students’ learning experience remains an under-researched topic in the field of affective chemistry education research. The purpose of this study was to investigate tertiary students’ understanding and perceptions of empathy with regard to their lived experience at university. This qualitative study consisted of individual semi-structured interviews with 13 undergraduate students enrolled in first-year chemistry courses at an Australian university. Abductive thematic analysis of students’ interview responses revealed that students perceived empathy predominantly as cognitive and behavioural processes. Participants perceived some university teaching roles, such as tutors and laboratory demonstrators, to be higher in empathy than others, such as lectures and course coordinators. In addition, participants did not perceive university infrastructure, either people-based ( i.e. student support centre, technical support infrastructure, inclusion and disability infrastructure, etc. ) or technology-based ( i.e. online enrolment and timetabling platforms and learning management systems) to be empathetic. Participants described factors such as context and lived experience influencing their perception of empathy at university. Furthermore, participants made suggestions on ways to improve how empathy could be shown to students, including improving teacher communication; implementing empathetic course design in first-year chemistry courses; showing more leniency towards students; and increasing ease of use and access to infrastructure. This study aims to investigate empathy from the chemistry student perspective and help identify where teacher empathy could be best deployed within student–teacher interactions, specifically in tertiary chemistry education settings.

This study examines teacher candidates’ reasoning about solution concentration units (mass percent, molarity, and molality), with a focus on difficulties seen in definitional tasks and item-based applications. A 12-item diagnostic test informed by Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), Dual Process Theory (DPT), Conceptual Change Theory (CCT), and Representational Competence Theory (RCT) was administered to 152 teacher candidates. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposefully selected teacher candidates to clarify the reasoning routes underlying their response choices. Quantitative findings showed an overall accuracy of 70.29%, but performance was notably low on some items ( e.g. , Item 5: 32.30%), particularly when tasks required coordinating unit meaning with the correct referent and managing conversions and proportional reasoning. Error coding revealed recurring response patterns across five categories: definitional confusion (DC), unit mistake (UM), ratio-reasoning mistake (RR), superficial decision (SD), and computational mistake (CM). Interview evidence suggested that, within the formats of this instrument, some teacher candidates relied on cue-based responding and limited checking rather than explicitly grounding choices in the intended referent meaning ( e.g. , solution volume vs. solvent mass). Interpreted through CLT, DPT, CCT, and RCT, the findings suggest that effective instruction may require more than definitional recall and routine calculation. It may also benefit from supports that explicitly connect formula, unit, and problem context and encourage checking during problem solving. The study aims to contribute to chemistry education research by offering a theory-informed interpretation of recurring error patterns in concentration tasks based on integrated test and interview evidence.

Engaging in the practice of modeling is one of the core skills identified in the Next Generation Science Standards for K-12 Science Education. Drawing on the findings of fifty years of chemical education research on students’ comprehension of atomic theory and the nature of matter, we argue that student's capacity to model abstract chemical phenomena is important to acquire a deeper conceptual understanding. In this project, we explored how the knowledge of what counts as a scientific model is structured across six modeling dimensions in undergraduate general chemistry students and how that perception interplays with their interpretation of different atomic models. Analysis of semi-structured interviews shows that students possess relatively unsophisticated and unstable knowledge of the nature of scientific models. However, we observed a temporal improvement when their ideas are situated in a context over the course of the interview. Also, students interestingly invoked different ideas to justify the most accurate way of representing the atom, falling back on their perceptions of what serves as a good scientific model. These results have implications for supporting student engagement in the practice of modeling in general chemistry, specifically, when external feedback would be useful for supporting learners in integrating their content knowledge with their modeling knowledge.

Chemical literacy is a core construct in chemistry education, reflecting students’ ability to understand chemical concepts, coordinate macroscopic, sub-microscopic, and symbolic representations, and apply chemistry knowledge meaningfully. In Indonesia, persistent regional disparities in educational quality remain a challenge, particularly in provinces with lower human development indicators. West Nusa Tenggara has recently been identified as a region with relatively high general illiteracy rates, raising concerns about students’ chemical literacy at the upper secondary level. This study aimed to investigate the chemical literacy levels of Grade XI students enrolled in State Islamic Senior High Schools across West Nusa Tenggara. A quantitative research design was employed involving 654 students selected through multi-stage cluster sampling based on regional Human Development Index classifications. Data were collected using the Chemical Literacy Instrument (CLI), a validated three-tier diagnostic assessment designed to capture students’ conceptual understanding and reasoning across macroscopic, sub-microscopic, and symbolic levels. The instrument consisted of ten items covering core chemistry topics commonly taught in senior secondary education. Descriptive statistical analyses were conducted to categorize students’ chemical literacy into nominal, functional, conceptual, and scientific illiteracy levels. The results reveal critically low levels of chemical literacy. Only 12.62% of students demonstrated nominal literacy, 9.16% reached the functional level, and merely 1.12% achieved conceptual literacy, while 77.10% of students were classified as scientifically illiterate. This study provides novel large-scale empirical evidence on chemical literacy in Islamic secondary education contexts within developing regions, highlighting persistent representational and conceptual gaps that remain underexplored in existing chemistry education research. The findings underscore the need for instructional approaches that explicitly support representational competence, diagnostic assessment, and conceptual integration to strengthen chemical literacy development in secondary chemistry education.

This special issue focuses on the research and development, as well as pedagogical approaches, of the implementation of green and sustainable chemistry practices within the framework of chemistry education, as showcased at ECRICE 2024.The 16th European Conference on Research in Chemical Education took place at NOVA School of Science and Technology, Campus da Caparica, Portugal, between September 5 and 7, 2024.This conference on research in chemical education represented a significant opportunity to share new findings and advancements in the field.Understanding how learners acquire knowledge and how to facilitate and stimulate this process is vital.It is essential to explore several learning environments, embracing new educational tools and innovative approaches that integrate neuroeducation, technology, and artificial intelligence into chemical education to enhance student engagement.However, in the current context, these efforts alone are not sufficient.It is imperative to view these initiatives through the lens of sustainability, particularly in alignment with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 1 Therefore, ECRICE 2024s theme was "Chemical Education for Sustainable Development: Empowering Education Communities", Figure 1.The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed by the United Nations and adopted in 2015, emphasise sustainable and environmentally friendly chemistry.Since then, educational systems have begun to integrate these goals, promoting a future that values both human and environmental well-being. 1,2As a result, practical chemistry education increasingly reflects sustainability and green chemistry (GC) principles, integrating them in the curriculum. 2,3Teachers play a crucial role by incorporating green activities, microscale experiments, and ecofriendly reactants, significantly influencing students' sustainable practices and behaviours. [3][4]4][5][6] Laboratory work plays a pivotal role in chemistry education, 7-9 not only because it helps connect theory to practice, boosts motivation, increases students' interest in learning science, supports the acquisition of laboratory skills and techniques, and improves understanding of fundamental procedural and conceptual knowledge (such as concepts, principles, laws, and theories), but also because it also fosters scientific attitudes like rigour, persistence, reasoning, critical thinking, creativity, objectivity, curiosity, responsibility, and cooperation.Engaging in laboratory activities enhances critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, enabling students to apply the scientific method through trial and error.It also improves scientific reasoning by familiarising students with processes of scientific inquiry.Moreover, it can inspire curiosity and support personal growth by promoting social skills through collaborative activities.Ultimately, laboratory work is rooted in active learning: 10-14 it transforms students into active participants by allowing them to experiment, manipulate materials, and directly engage with scientific phenomena.And knowing these, the focus of implementing green (GC) and sustainable chemistry (SC) in schools is rooted in school laboratory practices. 14,15It is important to note that although sustainable chemistry (SC) provides a broader perspective than green chemistry (GC), green chemistry aims to minimise waste, reduce energy consumption, and improve safety in chemical processes to lessen harmful impacts; it mainly focuses on

Abstract This study is part of a project presented at ECRICE 2024 to investigate problems with chemical mathematics. Research in chemistry education has repeatedly shown that students at school and university have problems applying their mathematical skills correctly in chemistry. As one possible trigger, we can identify the cognitive load that arises during chemical mathematical tasks. Elementary arithmetic tasks are of particular interest here, as these are rarely examined in the problems with chemical mathematics, although they build the basis of all advanced mathematical topics in chemistry (stoichiometry, laboratory work, kinetics, …). This study investigates the cognitive load during elementary chemical and mathematical arithmetic tasks as one possible trigger for the problems with mathematical tasks. For this purpose, we use both eye-tracking and self-reports with N = 31 students from our university. The central result is that although the students subjectively perceive more cognitive load during typical chemical arithmetic tasks, the cognitive load measured by eye-tracking does not indicate this. This mismatch of physiological and subjective cognitive load measurements shows that learners perhaps have more subjective stress with chemical calculations but their working memory still has capacities. Consequently, educators could work more on the conceptual understanding of chemical units.

Chemistry education frequently faces challenges due to the abstract nature of chemical concepts, limited visual media, and insufficient student engagement. In contrast, the Merdeka Curriculum highlights the importance of deep learning, emphasizing conceptual understanding, scientific reasoning, and meaningful learning experiences. Augmented Reality (AR) offers promising affordances for addressing these issues through interactive, context-rich three-dimensional representations. This study employed a PRISMA-based Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of 12 empirical articles published between 2015 and 2025 in Scopus-indexed databases, major international publishers, and accredited SINTA journals. The findings reveal a marked increase in AR research in chemistry education between 2023 and 2025, with research and development (R&D) and quasi-experimental designs predominantly conducted at the senior secondary level. Across studies, AR consistently enhances conceptual understanding, multi-level representational competence, higher-order thinking skills, and student engagement. Moreover, AR aligns strongly with the pedagogical principles of the Merdeka Curriculum, particularly project-based learning, authentic assessment, differentiated instruction, and the development of the Pancasila Student Profile. These insights position AR as a strategic innovation for advancing deep and meaningful chemistry learning. Further research is recommended to investigate the long-term effects of AR and its integration within inquiry-based and project-based instructional models.

I Asked ChatGPT to Do My Research: Welcoming Artificial Intelligence to the Chemistry Education Research Team

Digital technologies have grown quickly, and e-learning environments have grown too. This has changed higher chemical education a lot, especially in fields like analytical chemistry that require a lot of lab work. This article examines the educational potential of digital technologies in teaching analytical chemistry and suggests a framework for their systematic incorporation into the curriculum. The study is predicated on a narrative review of contemporary research in digital chemistry education, emphasizing virtual laboratories, blended learning formats, and learning management systems, alongside a reflective analysis of university teaching practices. Reviews of the literature on chemistry education show that research on simulations, virtual labs, and blended learning is growing steadily. They also show that when these methods are used together based on sound pedagogical principles, they have a positive effect on students' understanding of concepts and their interest in the subject. Empirical studies focused on analytical chemistry indicate that online courses, virtual analytical experiments, and technology-enhanced assessments can facilitate the development of professional competencies, as long as they complement, rather than substitute, actual laboratory experience. The article delineates four principal dimensions of digital integration in analytical chemistry education: facilitation of conceptual learning, preparation and simulation of laboratory activities, digital assessment and feedback, and enhancement of communication and collaboration. It ends with suggestions for creating blended analytical chemistry courses that use a single digital learning environment to combine classroom and lab work with virtual experiments, problem-based tasks, and ongoing formative assessment.

Chemistry education routinely confronts the dual challenge of conceptual abstraction and representational complexity. Pedagogical technologies can improve outcomes, but only when their use is framed by clear didactic conditions that align purposes, content structures, methods, and assessment. This article elaborates a comprehensive set of didactic conditions for effective chemistry instruction and translates them into a methodological foundation suitable for secondary and higher education. Building on research in chemistry education, cognitive load theory, formative assessment, universal design, and active learning, the paper synthesizes how alignment to disciplinary “big ideas,” representational scaffolding across macroscopic, submicroscopic, and symbolic levels, structured inquiry in the laboratory, and data-informed feedback loops interact to foster durable understanding, procedural fluency, and scientific reasoning. The study proposes an operational model that integrates backward design, diagnostic entry assessments, carefully staged practice with fading guidance, and inclusive access pathways supported by educational technologies such as molecular visualization, adaptive homework, learning analytics, and virtual laboratories. The discussion addresses threats to validity and equity, including misconceived tool-led adoption, cognitive overload from multimedia resources, and the risk of tracking students into low-expectation paths. The article concludes with an evaluation framework combining outcome mastery, growth measures, and indicators of metacognitive regulation, providing a roadmap for institutions seeking to scale technology-supported chemistry teaching without sacrificing rigor or inclusivity.

Research on chemistry education has consistently centered on students' conceptual and procedural knowledge. However, there is a clear need to prioritize how learners apply chemical thinking to address complex real-world problems. This gap highlights the need to understand how students and teachers connect molecular-level reasoning with broader social, ethical, and environmental contexts. A systematic review is the clear solution to address this issue. It will map trends, gaps, and strategies that foster the development of chemical thinking. This study provides a comprehensive overview of chemical thinking research in chemistry education through bibliometric and thematic analysis. A total of 59 scopus-indexed articles published between 2012 and 2025 were analyzed using the bibliometrix package in R and the biblioshiny interface. The analysis focused on publication trends, thematic evolution, collaboration networks, and instructional strategies. The results are clear: most studies target secondary and undergraduate learners, emphasizing causal reasoning, structure, property relationships, and representational competence. However, there are significant gaps in research concerning preservice teachers, assessment practices, and contextual approaches such as project-based and socio-scientific learning. Future studies must integrate reasoning, modeling, and sustainability-oriented frameworks. Effective strategies include inquiry-based, reflective, and socially relevant approaches. These approaches promote conceptual understanding and ethical reasoning. They offer valuable guidance for curriculum innovation and teacher education in chemistry

As chemistry expandsacross interdisciplinary boundaries and diversecareer sectors, examining how professional identity is constructedbecomes crucial for understanding field dynamics and career developmentpatterns. This study investigates how individuals at various levelsof education and professional careers in chemistry define and describechemistry identity. Using semistructured interviews with undergraduatestudents and chemistry professionals across academic, industry, andgovernment job sectors, we investigated the ways participants (N = 43) described and characterized a chemist or a “chemistryperson,” including how this characterization influenced self-identificationand evaluation of others in the field. Drawing on Social IdentityTheory, our analysis reveals that there is a notion of a “true”or more “legitimate” chemist within the community basedon a “pure chemist” stereotype, which is characterizedby having a chemistry degree, conducting research in academia, anddoing molecular-level work. In practice, this means that there aregroups within the community excluded, including biochemists, chemicalengineers, chemistry education researchers, and chemists in industry,based on ideals of “academic purity” that privilegeand reserve rigor only to certain chemistry subdisciplines and jobsectors. The results indicate a basic tension between the characterizationof chemistry as the “central science,” and the increasinglybounded identity practices that limit impositions of interdisciplinaryviews. Deeper examination of our data reflects how chemistry identityis constructed within practices of morality that place “pure”chemistry at the top, while systematically marginalizing those whowork across disciplinary lines. These exclusionary practices continue,as they are framed to be maintaining scientific integrity, and notbias, making them difficult to challenge while also creating sustainedproblems for diversity and retention in the field.

Assessment communicates to studentsthe takeaways froma course.Unfortunately, studies have demonstrated that assessment in generalchemistry courses typically includes lower-cognitive demand questioning,such as recalling information and calculation-based questions. Tosupport chemistry instructors’ inclusion of higher-cognitivedemand questions, chemistry education researchers have developed research-basedassessment tools (e.g., Three-Dimensional Learning -3DL - and conceptinventory). However, previous reports have highlighted a low uptakeof these tools. To explore the reasons behind this slow adoption,instructors’ thinking about these types of assessment toolsshould be probed. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conductedwith 19 general chemistry instructors to explore whether and how instructorswould use four different types of multiple-choice questions, includinga standard conceptual question, a calculation-based question, a 3DLquestion, and a concept inventory-type question in their courses’exam/midterm, homework, and/or in-class activity. Instructors in thisstudy were interested in using the research-based assessment toolsin at least one assessment context (i.e., home, in-class, or exam).The most common modification described by the instructors across thefour types of questions was shifting the format from close to open-endedas it allows instructors to better understand student thinking andcan promote better conversations among students in class settings.Finally, the analysis of interviews shows variations in instructors’expectations for the cognitive demand of questions on exams. Takentogether, these findings suggest a need to further probe instructors’assessment literacy to inform the development of professional developmentprograms and policies that would support higher-quality assessmentin general chemistry courses.

Analytical chemistry is a sub-branch of chemistry that focuses on the qualitative and quantitative analyses of chemical compositions of substances. Bibliometric analysis is an important tool to identify research gaps and research trends in a particular field. Although some bibliometric studies focusing on analytical chemistry research have been found in the current literature, no study focused on analytical chemistry education research has been found yet. Therefore, in this study, the current state of analytical chemistry education research was attempted to be revealed through a bibliometric analysis of relevant articles in the Web of Science (WoS) database between 2000 and 2024. The data collection process was conducted in accordance with the current PRISMA standards and a total of 742 articles were included in the scope of the research. The data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel, Harzing's Publish or Perish, VOSviewer, and Biblioshiny software. The results showed that the number of publications has increased significantly since 2010, with a peak of 81 articles in 2021 and 1,916 citations in 2023. The United States was the leading country with 1,061 publications, while the National University of Singapore ranked first among the institutions with 24 articles. The most productive journal was the Journal of Chemical Education, with 693 articles published. The article by Elgrishi et al. (2018) was the most influential article; Endler Marcel Borges was the most prolific author, and the keyword “analytical chemistry” was the most frequently used keyword. Overall, these results show that since the year 2010, there has been a growing interest in analytical chemistry education research.

Innovation competence is a critical skill today, enabling individuals to generate and apply innovative ideas. Its influence on students’ mastery of chemical concepts and the factors shaping this relationship remain underexplored. This scoping review analyzes 31 studies to address three research questions: (1) How does innovation competence influence students' mastery of chemical concepts? (2) What factors shape this relationship? (3) What strategies can educators implement to foster innovation competence and chemical mastery? Findings reveal a positive correlation between innovation competence and chemical mastery, influenced by motivation, teaching strategies, and curriculum design. Practical strategies include problem-based learning, collaborative projects, and hands-on activities. While these insights provide valuable guidance, further research is needed to fully understand the interplay between innovation competence and chemical learning. This study offers actionable recommendations for enhancing teaching practices and advancing future research in chemistry education.