CHED 169 |
| What chemistry background is appropriate for prospective teachers at grades K-8? Are two semesters sufficient? During my many years teaching at Indiana University in the School of Education I taught a course called “Introduction to Scientific Inquiry.” Toward the end of my career, I developed a test called Understanding Chemistry. It was administered to students as a pre- and post-test. The inquiry course itself focused on chemistry because I learned very soon that students did not know very much chemistry even though a high school chemistry course was required for admission, as was a physical science course taught in the College of Arts and Sciences. The 18 item test examined student's knowledge of chemistry at the macroscopic, particle, and symbolic levels on three sets of concept pairs: chemical and physical change; burning and decomposing; and melting and dissolving. The focus of this presentation is on prospective teachers' understanding of everyday concepts in chemistry at the macroscopic, particle, and symbolic levels prior to instruction in the course, and at its completion. The test was also administered at the end of the semester to first semester chemistry students enrolled in regular chemistry courses at Indiana University in Gary and to chemistry students in Italy.
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ACS Award for Achievement in Research for the Teaching and Learning of Chemistry: Symposium in Honor of Dorothy L. Gabel
8:30 AM-11:35 AM, Monday, April 7, 2008 Hilton New Orleans Riverside -- Melrose, Oral
Division of Chemical Education |