JCE Online Journal of Chemical EducationDivision of Chemical Education, American Chemical SocietyAmerican Chemical Society
 | Subscriptions  | Software Orders  | Support  | Contributors  | Advertisers  | 

JCE Print
   Current Issue
 Previous Issues
 Supplements
 Search JCE Index

JCE Digital Library
   ChemInfo
 DigiDemos
 Featured Molecules
 LivTexts
 LrnCom
 QBank
 SymMath
 WebWare

JCE Software
   Latest Releases
 Software & Video
 Downloads
 Support

Only@JCE Online
   JCE Online Store
 JCE HS CLIC
 JCE Discussion Forums
   Biographical Snapshots
 ChemEd Resource Shelf
 Featured Molecules
 Hal's Picks
 Project Chemlab
 Reviewed WWW Sites
 "Web-Ed" Articles

About JCE
   Features
 Publications
 Operations
 Outreach
 Contact Us


  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2006  > January  >
Chemistry for Everyone
Moving Chemistry Education into 3D: A Tetrahedral Metaphor for Understanding Chemistry. Union Carbide Award for Chemical Education
Peter Mahaffy
Department of Chemistry, The King's University College, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6B 2H3
Cover
January 2006
Vol. 83 No. 1
p. 49
Abstract
The triangle of thinking levels that has become the dominant metaphor for chemistry education has served us well. As that metaphor reminds us, students need to encounter chemistry at the macroscopic, submicroscopic, and symbolic levels to make sense of the molecular world. Yet concerns about public understanding of and trust in chemistry, coupled with the need to continue to attract students into the profession, underscore the importance of framing chemistry education in new ways. This article proposes a new conceptual metaphor to enrich our description of chemistry education and support the many existing efforts to help students make connections with the chemistry found in textbooks. It proposes a metaphorical rehybridization of that triangle of thinking levels into a tetrahedron, where the fourth vertex represents the web of human contexts for chemistry. Tetrahedral chemistry education may reenergize learning inside and beyond the classroom by (i) providing a framework for curriculum reform, (ii) focusing on the processes of science, (iii) "discovering" the history and philosophy of chemistry, (iv) building trust in and public understanding of chemistry, and (v) reaching across cultures.

Featured on the Cover.
More Information
*  Citation
 Mahaffy, Peter. J. Chem. Educ. 2006 83 49.
*  Keywords
 Applications of Chemistry; Atmospheric Chemistry; Communication / Writing; Curriculum; First-Year Undergraduate / General; General Public; High School / Introductory Chemistry; History / Philosophy; Learning Theories; Nonmajor Courses; Public Understanding / Outreach; Second-Year Undergraduate; Student-Centered Learning
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 12/1/2005
12/7/2005
<< Previous Article Table of Contents Next Article >>
  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2006 > January > Page 49


Subscriptions
 Subscription Info
 Order Forms

JCE HS CLIC

Our Secondary School editors work hard to distill all the JCE materials to produce a fraction of particular interest to high school teachers. We call it CLIC.
 JCE HS CLIC

Contributions Welcome
JCE welcomes your submission
 Contributors' Corner

Advertisers
In recent years we have worked hard to better match our advertisers with our readers. When shopping for chemistry education materials, visit our advertisers' WWW sites first.
 Recent Advertisers

Be An Ambassador
Take JCE along on your outreach missions. Copies of the Journal, guest access to JCE Online, our publications catalog, and more are available for your participants.
 Outreach with JCE

Comments to
jceonline@chem.wisc.edu		 Copyright © Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society.
All rights reserved.