Teaching Chemistry Conceptually

Abstract

This chapter by Williamson presents teaching chemical concepts through implementing three levels of chemical concepts. This chapter upgrades the Chaps. 1–3and 6of this book. Williamson concludes that traditionally, chemistry at all educational levels has been taught as a mathematical course that emphasized algorithmic problem solving almost exclusively. Because research showed that students at all levels have trouble with conceptual understanding of chemistry, a new approaches to teach chemistry had to emerge. Some chemistry teachers at all levels of education intuitively teach chemistry conceptually, many still have difficulties how to do this and what teaching strategies are available to them. Conceptual teaching, as a teaching strategy emphasizes students’ ability to explain relationships, to predict outcomes, to visualize/explain particle behavior, and to understand the macroscopic, particulate, symbolic, and mathematical levels of chemical concepts presentations. In this chapter, author highlights different teaching strategies to make chemistry teaching more conceptually and less mathematical when that is not really necessary to deeply understand the chemical concepts. These strategies can be used with large or small classes and they include the application of macroscopic representations, particulate representations (both dynamic and static models), group problem solving, algorithmic and conceptual assessments, etc.