ChemCom, particulate representations, and chemistry education in an urban classroom

CHED 168

Donald J. Wink, dwink@uic.edu, Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, (MC 111), Chicago, IL 60607
Dorothy Gabel is responsible for bringing the idea Johnstone's triangle of symbolic, macroscopic, and particulate representations to the attention of the the chemistry education community. This paper will present details on the implementation of this in a Chicago classroom, using the ACS Chemistry in the Community text as a component of a comprehensive high school science curriculum development project. The implementation is done in conjunction with the work of a chemistry coach, a project leader, a curriculum coordinator, and an experienced teacher. Information on teacher professional development, student engagement in the curriculum, and methods of assessment will be discussed. The particular opportunities in the use of particulate representations in these settings will be discussed.