Volume 5, Issue 2

Context-based teaching and learning has a long tradition in science, especially chemistry. Audiovisual media (movies and series) can be used to provide context, and it can help overcome many students’ negative attitudes toward real science. An example of audiovisual media in which a science context can be presented is science fiction (abbreviated Sci-Fi). The purpose of this study was to investigate how the Sci-Fi context influences pre-service teachers’ attitudes and perceptions regarding the use of Sci-Fi for teaching and learning science, with a focus on chemistry, as a result of a 15-week novel elective Sci-Fi course for pre-service teachers. The main instruments used were online questionnaires, a final exam, and a rubric-based presentation evaluation form. The results of our study show that the majority of pre-service teachers consider the Sci-Fi context to be a very interesting context for science education, especially chemistry, and a useful tool for promoting students’ interest in science. Students believe that it is important to incorporate the Sci-Fi context into chemistry instruction at all levels. Our results suggest that the Sci-Fi context is useful to students as an alternative learning method that can be used to improve student learning outcomes.

Diversity and differences between students are the reality that teachers deal with daily. To address this reality, developments in education aim to provide teachers with the knowledge and requisite skills needed for differentiated instruction (DI). DI is a pedagogical-didactic approach that enables teachers to systematically address students’ diverse learning needs. However, no validated instruments currently exist to measure or evaluate teachers’ and students’ beliefs toward DI in chemistry. Hence, there is a need to develop such questionnaires to examine students’ and teachers’ sense of self-efficacy (SE) and attitudes (AT). We describe the development and validation processes of such questionnaire that have been developed based on relevant literature on DI and on teachers’ experience with DI in a heterogeneous classroom. The items were validated by experts’ panel, a readability test, and a field test. A confirmatory factor analysis was undertaken to investigate the factor structure of the teachers and students’ questionnaires based on pilot test reliability, Cronbach’s alpha revisions, and rerun alpha. As a result, the SE and AT of students towards DI instrument entailed 38 items with a five-factor structure indicating a high reliability. Three factors of attitudes, ( α ) = 0.98, and two factors of self-efficacy, ( α ) = 0.91. The SE and AT of teachers entailed 55 items with a five-factor structure indicating a high reliability of self-efficacy, ( α ) = 0.95 and of attitudes towards DI in heterogeneous chemistry classrooms, ( α ) = 0.93.

One of the primary objectives of an education system is to prepare students for their adult lives by imparting them with the requisite knowledge, qualifications, and skills that will enable them to confront future challenges effectively. A whitepaper published by the Israeli Ministry of Education titled “The Graduate’s Image” stresses the importance of incorporating specific skills into the school curriculum. However, there is a lack of educational programs that can transform teaching skills into actual practice. In light of this conclusion, we developed the program “Chemistry, Climate & the Numbers in Between” to foster these skills and produce graduates with the ability to adopt a critical approach and a well-informed perspective toward the world. In this paper, we delineated the cognitive skills developed in the program. The results indicate that innovative program can be utilized to integrate several important skills into a chemistry lesson. The program has the potential to equip and empower future citizens to address and tackle global challenges while utilizing cognitive skills using chemistry knowledge. However, it is important to note that learning in this way requires much more time than a regular lesson does and requires a significant commitment and investment from the teacher.

A large number of chemistry students drop out of their studies, often because of high requirements for content knowledge. Quantum chemical models of atomic bonding such as molecular orbital (MO) theory are particularly challenging. We aimed to develop an intervention on MO theory based on the Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning framework. First, students work independently with interactive learning videos. Then, they create concept maps about core concepts of MO theory. In this paper, we present the evaluation of this intervention in terms of content knowledge, considering person-specific characteristics. Additionally, we compare three different treatment groups with varying materials and group arrangements, and prospective chemistry teachers with other first-year students. Our results show that students can answer single-choice questions well with the prior knowledge from their first-year chemistry course. Answering open-ended questions is more difficult. Nevertheless, they can improve significantly in both categories by working with the learning videos; creating concept maps does not lead to significant content knowledge changes. There are also no significant differences between the three treatment groups, or between teacher students and other chemistry freshmen. Regarding prior knowledge, differences depending on gender and school-leaving grades can be measured, whereas the choice of courses in school has no effect.

The increasing diversity in todays’ classroom environment is a general challenge for modern societies and requires also for future chemistry teachers specific professional training. For that reason, the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is part of our university’s master program. It is designed as a framework for an approach which also serves to make chemistry lessons more accessible. However, while implementing the UDL in the specific planning of chemistry lessons problems might often occur. Therefore, based on the UDL and on established approaches to lesson planning in chemistry education we have developed the planning tool ChemDive (Chemistry for Diversity) with different functions, allowing teachers to practice the effective planning of more accessible lessons. ChemDive is taught as part of a master’s degree seminar in preparation for a semester-long practical phase at school. We carried out the evaluation in chemistry teachers’ training in addition to the development of the tool. The study is designed as an intervention study with repeated measures at the beginning and the end of the seminar. Initial results of the quantitative evaluation (during the seminar; pre-post) of lesson planning show that students implement significantly more UDL elements after being taught the planning tool than they do without.

For centuries, chemists have researched acid-base reactions and developing numerous different acid-base concepts. Consequentially, it is difficult to teach about acid-base reactions in a clear and conceptually coherent manner. We aim at contributing to teaching about acid-base chemistry by an intervention introducing upper secondary school chemistry students to an acid-base concept that is scientifically appropriate and learner-centred. This modernized version of the Brønsted-Lowry acid-base concept appears sufficiently complex for the target group. Additionally, it emphasizes the donor-acceptor concept and the reaction mechanism. In order to evaluate the gain in declarative knowledge during our intervention, we developed and piloted a multiple-choice knowledge test with Austrian upper secondary students ( N  = 136). By estimating a Rasch model (WLE-Rel. = 0.63, Infit min  = 0.90, Infit max  = 1.02, Outfit min  = 0.89, Outfit max  = 1.00, d  = −0.44–1.8), we constructed a pre-test (11 MC items, 6 open-ended questions) and a post-test (11 MC items, 6 open-ended questions) based on key concepts of the topic for our intervention study ( N  = 57). Overall, the test proved a reliable tool to estimate learners’ declarative knowledge about acid-base reactions in the course of the intervention study, showing a significant knowledge increase.

Learners’ independence and self-regulated learning (SRL) may be achieved by online teaching, promoting learners’ 21 st century skills. Transitioning into online learning and teaching requires a variety of teachers’ knowledge types and competencies. Mapping these knowledge types with a dedicated tool can help improve teachers’ professional development processes to enhance the SRL of teachers and subsequently students. We aimed at investigating the types of knowledge chemistry teachers expressed in online assignments they had designed, which included guidelines to foster their students’ SRL, and reviewing their reflections upon implementing these assignments. The participants were 20 high school chemistry teachers, who took part in two professional development programs focusing on fostering students’ SRL skills in online assignments, the teachers had designed. Research tools included teachers’ online assignments and teachers’ written reflections. We analyzed the assignments using a special rubric, which consists of three types of teachers’ knowledge: technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK), assessment knowledge (AK), and SRL. Findings show that the analysis rubric of online assignments, designed by teachers, enabled identifying various teacher knowledge types and their levels. The use of a validated rubric for mapping and assessing teachers’ knowledge types is a methodical contribution to research on chemistry teachers’ professional development.

Online learning has significantly evolved in recent years. Although it allows for greater flexibility, studies show that this flexibility also poses a challenge for individual learners who are required to manage their schedules and complete specific tasks independently. Therefore, success in an online learning environment relies heavily on the learner’s self-regulated learning (SRL) and ability to act independently and be active in the learning process. SRL is a dynamic ability that can be improved with proper guidance. This good practice report discusses a workshop that guides teachers to identify and enhance their students’ SRL. It focuses on engaging in learning processes while examining six SRL dimensions: goal setting, learning environment, learning strategy, time management, seeking help, and self-evaluation.

Digitalization leads to an increased importance of digital educational content for learning in higher education as well as in the sciences. The investigation of individual factors (e.g., motivation, self-efficacy, attitudes) influencing the intention to use digital educational content is a major research interest in design and implementation of suitable content (Hsu, J.-Y., Chen, C.-C., & Ting, P.-F. (2018). Understanding MOOC continuance: An empirical examination of social support theory. Interactive Learning Environments , 26(8), 1100–1118), yet to date without differentiation by discipline. A questionnaire following the Theory of Planned Behavior (Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (2010). Predicting and changing behavior: The reasoned action approach. Psychology Press. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/alltitles/docDetail.action?docID=10462474) was developed to analyze relationships between STEM students’ individual beliefs and their personal motivation to use digital educational content. In November 2021, a total of 662 STEM students from 8 universities in Germany participated in the study. Analyses showed differences within the group of STEM students: science students rated their digital skills lower and expected more difficulties compared to other STEM students, but did not differ in terms of their motivation. For science students, unlike other STEM students, motivation was predicted only by attitudes and digital skills. Moreover, the present results suggest that, first, the focus of the design should be on learning environment rather than on digital tools, and second, the potential of collaboration is largely unrecognized by students.

Distillation is often taught at secondary level in chemistry classes. There are, however, several pitfalls in teaching and learning the topic. First, there is not enough accessible research on students’ conceptions regarding distillation, which makes it difficult for teachers and teacher educators to teach accordingly in school or university. Second, the scientific explanation of distillation, especially the separation of liquid-liquid mixtures, is much more complex than represented in school books or other learning material. Third, teachers understandably rely on the representation in school books and other materials when teaching distillation, so that inappropriate concepts may be transferred to students. In this article, we follow the model of educational reconstruction and illustrate with reference to chemistry textbooks, school books, our own research results, and other studies on students’ conceptions the three pitfalls named above. Thus, this article aims to provide support for teachers and teacher educators to structure lessons on distillation based on scientifically appropriate information and with regard to students’ conceptions.

Science and chemistry teachers often feel that they have insufficient knowledge about the legal requirements concerning proper handling of chemicals. To help teachers and technicians, we have developed an online resource with information and tools for the various aspects of chemical safety, such as legislation, risk assessment, storage, labelling and waste handling, including a framework for routines and training for staff and students. Additionally, the resource introduces the concept of green chemistry, an emerging field within chemistry education, and provides examples on how teachers could work with green chemistry principles in the science and chemistry classroom. The aim is that this extensive online material, covering the most important aspects of health, safety and environmental work in school science education, can serve as a useful resource for school leaders, teachers, technicians and science teacher educators in their work with these issues. The resource was developed by partners from the Universities of Helsinki, Ljubljana, Oslo, and Stockholm and co-funded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Union. The content is published in five languages and is freely available at https://chesse.org.