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Developing a new teaching approach for the chemical bonding concept aligned with current scientific and pedagogical knowledge
Author(s) -
Nahum Tami Levy,
MamlokNaaman Rachel,
Hofstein Avi,
Krajcik Joseph
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
science education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.209
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1098-237X
pISSN - 0036-8326
DOI - 10.1002/sce.20201
Subject(s) - curriculum , concept learning , mathematics education , chemistry education , process (computing) , sociology of scientific knowledge , science education , foundation (evidence) , concept map , computer science , teaching method , chemistry , engineering ethics , psychology , pedagogy , epistemology , engineering , social psychology , archaeology , enthusiasm , history , operating system , philosophy
The traditional pedagogical approach for teaching chemical bonding is often overly simplistic and not aligned with the most up‐to‐date scientific models. As a result, high‐school students around the world lack fundamental understanding of chemical bonding. In order to improve students' understanding of this concept, it was essential to propose a systemic treatment, namely, revising the scientific content, the pedagogical approach, and the assessment methods regarding this concept. Therefore, the main goal of this study was to build a conceptual framework that provides an advanced scientific and pedagogical foundation regarding the chemical bonding concept—one that will guide chemistry curriculum developers as well. A conceptual framework for a new teaching approach was constructed with lead‐chemistry teachers, science (chemistry) educators, and research chemists. We suggest that chemical bonding should be taught based on elemental principles and by using the idea of a continuum of bond strengths. Our process includes the formulation of learning goals aligned with current scientific knowledge. Moreover, we suggest that constructing assessment tasks on carefully specified learning goals, which are described in terms of learning performances , may enable educators to foster and examine much deeper levels of students' understanding. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 91: 579–603, 2007