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Chemistry Teachers (chemistry + teacher)
Selected AbstractsA framework for teaching scientific inquiry in upper secondary school chemistryJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 7 2010Lisette van Rens Abstract A framework for teaching scientific inquiry in upper secondary chemistry education was constructed in a design research consisting of two research cycles. First, in a pilot study a hypothetical framework was enriched in collaboration with five chemistry teachers. Second, a main study in this community of teachers and researchers was conducted on the process of designing teaching scientific inquiry based on the enriched framework. Also, the enactment by five teachers and 80 students (age 17) of a designed inquiry module on "Diffusion: moving particles" was studied. This resulted in a theoretically and practically founded framework for teaching scientific inquiry, in which an iterative cycle of inquiry for students and a student inquiry community are essential. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47:788,806, 2010 [source] Preservice teachers' pedagogical content knowledge of using particle models in teaching chemistryJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 8 2005Onno De Jong In this article, we describe the results of a study of the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of preservice chemistry teachers in the context of a postgraduate teacher education program. A group of preservice teachers (n,=,12) took part in an experimental introductory course module about the use of particle models to help secondary school students understand the relationship between phenomena (e.g., properties of substances, physical and chemical processes) and corpuscular entities (e.g., atoms, molecules, ions). The module emphasized learning from teaching by connecting authentic teaching experiences with institutional workshops. Research data were obtained from answers to written assignments, transcripts of workshop discussions, and reflective lesson reports, written by the participants. The outcomes of the study revealed that, initially, all participants were able to describe specific learning difficulties, such as problems secondary school students have in relating the properties of substances to characteristics of the constituent particles. Also, at this stage, all preservice teachers acknowledged the potential importance of using models of molecules and atoms to promote secondary school students' understanding of the relationship between phenomena and corpuscular entities. After teaching, all preservice teachers demonstrated a deeper understanding of their students' problems with the use of particle models. In addition, about half of the participants had become more aware of the possibilities and limitations of using particle models in specific teaching situations. Through learning from teaching, the preservice teachers further developed their PCK of using particle models, although this development varied among preservice teachers studied. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 947,964, 2005 [source] Integrating pharmacology topics in high school biology and chemistry classes improves performanceJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 9 2003Rochelle D. Schwartz-Bloom Although numerous programs have been developed for Grade Kindergarten through 12 science education, evaluation has been difficult owing to the inherent problems conducting controlled experiments in the typical classroom. Using a rigorous experimental design, we developed and tested a novel program containing a series of pharmacology modules (e.g., drug abuse) to help high school students learn basic principles in biology and chemistry. High school biology and chemistry teachers were recruited for the study and they attended a 1-week workshop to learn how to integrate pharmacology into their teaching. Working with university pharmacology faculty, they also developed classroom activities. The following year, teachers field-tested the pharmacology modules in their classrooms. Students in classrooms using the pharmacology topics scored significantly higher on a multiple choice test of basic biology and chemistry concepts compared with controls. Very large effect sizes (up to 1.27 standard deviations) were obtained when teachers used as many as four modules. In addition, biology students increased performance on chemistry questions and chemistry students increased performance on biology questions. Substantial gains in achievement may be made when high school students are taught science using topics that are interesting and relevant to their own lives. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 922,938, 2003 [source] Tactile teaching: Exploring protein structure/function using physical models,BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION, Issue 4 2006Tim Herman The technology now exists to construct physical models of proteins based on atomic coordinates of solved structures. We review here our recent experiences in using physical models to teach concepts of protein structure and function at both the high school and the undergraduate levels. At the high school level, physical models are used in a professional development program targeted to biology and chemistry teachers. This program has recently been expanded to include two student enrichment programs in which high school students participate in physical protein modeling activities. At the undergraduate level, we are currently exploring the usefulness of physical models in communicating concepts of protein structure and function that have been traditionally difficult to teach. We discuss our recent experience with two such examples: the close-packed nature of an enzyme active site and the pH-induced conformational change of the influenza hemagglutinin protein during virus infection. [source] | ||||||||||