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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1997  > August  >
Research: Science and Education
Atomic and Molecular Structure in Chemical Education: A Critical Analysis from Various Perspectives of Science Education
Georgios Tsaparlis
Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, GR-451 10 Ioannina, GREECE
Cover
August 1997
Vol. 74 No. 8
p. 922
Abstract
With the development during the past few decades of chemical education (and in general of science education) as a research discipline, the place of structural theories and concepts has undergone strong criticism. The main reason for this criticism is the difficulty students encounter in dealing with these concepts. An explanation of this difficulty occurs if one examines the relevant concepts from different perspectives of science education, some of which many researchers consider as conflicting theories. The perspectives employed in this paper are (i) the Piagetian developmental perspective, (ii) the Ausbelian theory of meaningful learning, (iii) the information processing theory, and (iv) the alternative conceptions movement. The implications for teaching and curriculums are discussed with respect to the following: (a) Atoms and molecules as structural units of matter; (b) classification of substances according to their electrical character; (c) teaching introductory chemistry in three cycles: macro, representational and submicro; (d) the historical method of teaching; and (e) the modern quantum mechanical structural theories.
More Information
*  Citation
 Tsaparlis, Georgios. J. Chem. Educ. 1997 74 922.
*  Keywords
 Curriculum, Teaching/Learning Theory/Practice, Atomic Properties/Structure, Chemical Education Research, Molecular Properties/Structure
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 July 28, 1999
June 23, 2005
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