The Thursday Morning Tandem Lectures
Challenges of the Future for Chemical Education Peter Fensham Professor of Science Education Monash University Clayton, Victoria, Australia
Aleksandra Kornhauser Director, International Centre for Chemical Studies University of Ljubljana Ljubljana, Yugoslavia
Abstract of Professor Fensham's Presentation
Abstract of Professor Kornhauser's Presentation
forms. In all countries the curriculum for a subject like chemistrv is a resultant of a variety of societal demands. Some uf these arc oftm pourly ~mdersr,xdur r~yrese~itnl i~tnoii::t he dccision makers oi cheniical c~~rriculum. If these pnn vsses cin be made more overt, there is a chance that currkulum development in chemistry will become more realistic than i t has often been in the last two decades. The second level is that of the individual teacher. I t is argued that whatever the nature of the overall curriculum, there is still scope for a chemistry teacher to contribute effectively t o the education in chemistry of hisher students. Chemistry, as distinct from its curricular definitions in education, is always a way of doing and a way of knowing. In education we have for too long lost sight of the former and in doing so, done badly the latter. The emerging recognition of the technology of chemistry and recent research into the cognitive understanding of teachers and students provide exciting challenges to teachers for improved chemical education in the years ahead.
Selected Paragraphs Defining Chemistry for Compulsory Schooling My thesis is that hitherto most of our efforts in the definition of chemical education have been based on three assumptions. These are:
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Journal of Chemical Education
The future of chemical education, and therefore to a great extent also of chemistry, depends on our creative adaptability towards: (i) challenges of chemistry; chemistry is increasing in the wlunir uicoitenr, in the icupe and the level of m.~thtii~~itiial furniul.~tion;,.I chrmical conrepti, .ts well as ~nits disw~ification; (ii) challenges of society: the needs of man, which increase with the growth of population and the rising level of civilization, can he met only by a greater proportion of howledge in productive work-and chemistry offers much through its technology and applications in everyday life; (iii) challenges of the individual: learning chemistry supports development of creativity, logic and responsibility. These challenges of the future also challenge the chemistry teacher to introduce efficient methods of chemical education, problem solving being one of them. Next to this, a new method of chemistry learning, developed a t the University of Ljubljana, will be presented and illustrated by examples for secondary and tertiary levels. This is learning chemistry by recognition of common parts and variables of chemical compounds or reactions and their structuring into patterns. Pattern recognition can he used as an integral method in the transfer of knowledge, supporting memory and intellectual processes, as well as setting hypotheses for research.
(Kornhauser, Continued)
(Fensham, Continued) (i) that chemistry in secondary education hasically is preparatory and slective for university and other forms of higher eduea-
tion, iiil chemistrv is what chemists know in the sense of coenitive
chemists ought to fascinate everybody
It is possible to state some alternative bases for defining chemistry in the compulsory years of schooling. Theseare: (a) For the great majority ofstudents their secondary school study of chemistry will be their terminal course.
(b) School chemistry should provide most students with a sense of success and interest. A few may he so rewarded in these ways
that they will wish to pursue it further either later in schooling or in higher education. (c) All students should, if possible, become aware of the cantrihutions chemists have made and are still making to the daily lives of citizens, and (d) Since in the past only a small minority (including ourselves) have been fascinated bv chemical knowledee ver se, it is most unlikely that this is likkly to change in thenekt generation of schooling. Making - Chemistry Teaching.More Effective
The central problem of chemical education is how to teach it so that meaningful learning takes place. Whatever the nature of the course to be taught this problem remains. In the end it will be the quality of the interactions between a teacher and herhis learners that will largely determine how chemistry is learnt. It is heartening to be able to report that there is now much more concerted research activity into this central problem than there was ten or even five years ago. Practicing chemists and research chemists move easily
METHODOLOGICAL
W Philosophy
QUESTIONS or PROBLEM Anwwsrequ~reanact8v interploy betreenthe right side and the left ride
claims:
value
Knowledge
Tronrformotions
Theories
\/ V
Principles 8
Conceptual Systems
Records
C o n c e p t % : Regularities in Events or Objects
EVENTS OBJECTS CONCEPTUAL Comporobilty of chemical events
H O W doocid vory in aqueous ~olution?
Next to the needs of society and the growing field of chemistry, chemistry teaching has also to cope with the problems of the individual. Chemistry is not easy to learnand consequently not easy to teach. The "alphabet of chemistry," i.e. the minimum "critical knowledge" of facts and theories needed for basic understanding of this discipline, is pxt~naive. Abstract and the ~ ~ ~ conceDt8 ~ ~ use of ~ mathematics make i t more demanding to st;dy. Another prerequisite is the precise work expected in the laboratory. Many an individual also fears the responsibility for the use and misuse of chemical achievements. The enrollment in chemistrv studies is often low, and even some chemists think that we could-and should-not do anything about this phenomenon, forgetting that chemistry is really necessary if we are to solve society's ~ r o b l e m sas well as being an excellent tool for development ;IT -y-~,tn,ttit. w o r k h g airirude., c r r , i t i \ . l t y . Iq$ a t i d ~ t h e r i n t t l l t . < t w i l :kill*, and r t ~ p ~ t i ~ i h i I : t v . ~
Learning Chemistry by Pattern Recognition
The growth of chemistry in both the quantity and quality of its data and concepts described above is especially ohvious in some of its branches. Organic chemistry, for example, offers a great number of facts about compounds-their structures, physical properties, reaction mechanisms and their utility in society. Memorizing such facts would not be real learning, since facts without their interrelationship is not knowledge. Memory is also a very unreliable companion of ours, functioning only if we use what it has stored. Searching for systems is therefore a necessity, especially in sciences rich in data. A dialectic theory of systems, once m a d y the domain of philosophers, is increasingly attracting scientists. Our wurk in tne develq~mtn t d t h i s m e ~ l ~h~r cu lw n i - l r v I t t m i t i i g , ibr w h i c h W P 1 m m w t h e n a m e Pu[[vrtl I
G O W I N ' S EPISTEMOLOGICAL V CONCEPTUAL
Selected Paragraphs
~~~L~.~IIIIIWI,
is basezon the follow&g hypothesis: chemistry has excellent examvle of the structure of knowledge-the Periodic System. 1; fact, it is more than just a structure of knowledge-it is a recognizedpattern of a number of facts about elements and their relationships They exist in nature, are obiective and valid in all learning situations. A too enthusiastic teacher or learner may, of course, try to change it towards a "more individualized approach," but the real learning result would be poor in comparison with the one respecting the natural system of matter. The main idea of learning chemistry via Pattern Recognition is therefore to encourage the student to select a specific field of chemical compounds or reactions, or properties, to search for their characteristics, to try to construct patterns
METHODOLOGICAL Process o f P o t t e r n Recoanition
Acids con be classified into m q a r groupings
Equilibrium
pH= l/ZpK,,-112
Weok and strong acid
pH ond concentration
I.
Collecting data
3
D e f i n i i g hierorehlcol order of criteria, building o tree
log a
Acid, H' ion cancentrotion
I I
Ois~o~iotion
4. Daripn'of matrices 0,ssoctation of same in water to H+ ions
substances
Above, Gowin's "V": a heuristic device to indicate how knowledge in relation to objects and events is created. Below, Gowin's " V tor a segrnem of chemical knowledge relating to acids.
5.
-1
111
I
Validation o f the pattern
1
6. Using ihe pattern for prediction and research design
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(Kornhauser, Continued) and to check them. They should not do this with the ambition of creating a periodic system of compounds and reactions, but with the hope of discovering fragments of it--or, what will mostly he the case, just to learn in a more organized and independent way and to reach higher cognitive levels through this learning. The most important feature of this method is a recognition of the development of a selected field, with more questions than answers as the result. Pattern Recognition can combine teaching and learning situations with research design and has proved to be of help also in industrial decisions. I t therefore belongs among the most efficient methods in education.
(Fensham, Continued) between the reality of chemicals and their reactions, and the ideas or abstractions that have heen developed to handle them. School chemistry teachers, through their own highly theoretical education and because of their teaching role, can very easily lose these distinctions. Far them, a covalent bond can become almost a real object or event, comparable with the property of a chemical it exists to explain. The Use of Gowin's V
Gowin (1977) a t Cornell University developed a heuristic device to expose very explicitly the way that theories and concepts of a subject like chemistry interact with the events or objects that we can observe and with the records we can make about the events and ohjects. It is now known as Gowin's V (figure) and its use in teaching and research is becoming well known through the efforts of Novak and a chain of colleagues in several countries.
Summary of Discussion Group Meetings on Incorporating Modern Developments in Teaching The discussion groups which met on Thursday following the Plenary Lecture given by Peter Fensham and Aleksandra Kornhauser addressed the question: By what means can developmentsin chemistry (such as catalysis) and chemical education (such as learning theory) be incorporated into chemistry courses on a continuing basis?
One mouu provided the followina: you can't teach chemistry or che&aieducation practice by idowing only one. Another erouDreuorted that education through chemistrv rather than .. . . rn cheniistr). is 3 \,cry important "oal 1111 ni(,st studentr. 'l'hey u,ent 011 to say that the applicati~nDI chtmir:il thinkin:
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Journal of Chemical Education
1
everyday problems is an important part of contemporary life. A third group stated that new ideas, whether they are in chemistry or chemical education, need translation before they can be put to use by teachers. Several methods were DroDosed for incomoratine new demation from industry and prepare educational material; develoument of short modules on new auulications of chemistrv in industry written by an industriai expert and a teaching exuert (classroom teacher): chemistry content workshoos for tea1 h t n : learning r h e w technique a u r k a h q , ior teacher.,: nider diarrihutim o i rnonugiphs fur tt.iwht,rs on technla.al and .;t.it~miiirde\.elopmrllt. iut.h as t h m ~pul~lislwdhv lhr ;\mrric~ui('hemil al S m h \ : u r , ~ n n i m t hd reseiuch W I I I ~ I I ~ U S of teachers in industry for for chemistry teachers; short ~eriods; involvement of centralized agencies in in-service workshops to help ensure implementation of emerging ideas.
