Are creative comparisons developed by prospective chemistry teachers evidence of their conceptual understanding? The case of inter- and intramolecular forces

The aim of this study is to determine prospective chemistry teachers' creative comparisons about the basic concepts of inter- and intramolecular forces, and to uncover the relationship between these creative comparisons and prospective teachers' conceptual understanding. Based on a phenomenological research method, this study was conducted with 101 prospective chemistry teachers studying in the Chemistry Education Department at a state university in Turkey in the academic year 2011–2012. The research made use of two data collection instruments, a creative comparison questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The concepts of “non-polar covalent bonds, dipole–dipole force, hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds, covalent bonds, polar covalent bonds, and van der Waals force” were set out in the creative comparison questionnaire and the prospective teachers were asked to complete the sentences about these concepts (example: ionic bond is like .......... because ...........). Content analysis techniques were employed in the analysis of the creative comparisons set out in the questionnaire. The analysis of the data revealed that the prospective teachers generally developed their creative comparisons based on the formation and strength of the different bonds and that they also had alternative conceptions, particularly regarding the formation of covalent bonds, hydrogen bonds, and the van der Waals force. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in order to learn more about this and obtain detailed information about the level of understanding of the prospective teachers. Twelve prospective teachers were selected for the interviews on the basis of the creative comparisons they had developed in the creative comparison questionnaire. The analysis of the interviews showed that the level of conceptual understanding of the prospective teachers was not tightly linked to the complexity of their creative comparisons. However, it was seen that the creative comparisons submitted by the prospective teachers could be used to infer their conceptual understanding. Also, these creative comparisons could be helpful in determining what the prospective teachers' alternative conceptions were.

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Does a course on the history and philosophy of chemistry have any effect on prospective chemistry teachers’ perceptions? The case of chemistry and the chemist

Chemistry Education Research and Practice ◽

10.1039/c7rp00054e ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 601-629 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

G. Sendur ◽

M. Polat ◽

C. Kazancı

Keyword(s):

Prospective Teachers ◽

Retention Test ◽

State University ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Philosophy Of Chemistry ◽

Chemistry Teachers ◽

Teachers Perceptions ◽

Post Test ◽

History Of ◽

The Impact

The creative comparisons prospective chemistry teachers make about “chemistry” and the “chemist” may reflect how they perceive these concepts. In this sense, it seems important to determine which creative comparisons prospective teachers make with respect to these and how these can change after the history of chemistry is treated in the classroom. This study seeks to investigate the impact of the basic History and Philosophy of Chemistry course on prospective chemistry teachers’ perceptions towards chemistry and the chemist. The study was conducted during the 2012–2013 academic year at a state university in Turkey with 38 prospective chemistry teachers. A creative comparisons questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used as data collection instruments in the study. This questionnaire was administered to the prospective teachers in the form of a pre-test, post-test, and retention test. Results of the analysis showed that the prospective teachers produced creative comparisons related to chemistry in the pre-test that mostly relied on their own experiences and observations, but that in the post-test and retention test, their comparisons mostly contained references to the role of chemistry in daily life, its development, and its facilitating aspects. Similarly, it was observed that in the pre-test, the prospective teachers made creative comparisons regarding the chemist that related mostly to the laboratory, but that the post-test and retention test rather contained the aspects of chemists as researchers, meticulous persons, facilitators and managers. Also, 18 prospective teachers were engaged in interviews to understand their prior knowledge about chemistry and the chemist, as well as the reasons for the changes in their creative comparisons. The results of the interviews indicated that a large majority of the prospective teachers were able to fully reflect on their inadequacy about their previous knowledge about “chemistry” and “chemist,” and it was seen that they could explain the reason they changed their creative comparisons as an outcome of the History and Philosophy of Chemistry course. In the light of these results, it can be said that the History and Philosophy of Chemistry course may help prospective chemistry teachers in their perceptions about both chemistry and the chemist and may add depth to their knowledge.

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A CROSS-AGE COMPARISON OF SCIENCE STUDENT TEACHERS’ CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF SOIL EROSION

Problems of Education in the 21st Century ◽

10.33225/pec/18.76.601 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 76 (5) ◽

pp. 601-619 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sibel Er Nas ◽

Muammer Çalık

Keyword(s):

Science Education ◽

Soil Erosion ◽

Student Teachers ◽

Mental Models ◽

Conceptual Understanding ◽

Relevant Literature ◽

Alternative Conceptions ◽

Science Student ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

The One

The relevant literature has shown that student teachers hold alternative conceptions of soil erosion. Even though Turkish science student teachers are expected to teach the concept of ‘soil erosion’ in lower secondary schools (grades 5-8), none of the earlier studies have explored their conceptual growth and/or mental models throughout a 4-year undergraduate program. Indeed, science (student) teachers, who play a pivotal role in teaching the sustainability of soil as an environmental heritage, are able to transfer their environmental knowledge and mental models to younger generations. Therefore, the aim of this research was to elicit science student teachers’ (SSTs) understanding of soil erosion. In a cross-age comparison, the sample of the research was comprised of the first-year (n=54), second-year (n=62), third-year (n=60), and fourth-year of a four-year science education program (n=65), a total of 241 SSTs, enrolled at the Department of Science Education in Karadeniz Technical University in Turkey. A questionnaire with 4 open-ended questions and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. The results indicated that the majority of the SSTs confused the concept of ‘soil erosion’ with the one ‘landslide’. For this reason, the current research suggests the development of analogies and computer simulations to overcome this confusion. Keywords: conceptual understanding, cross-age, mental model, science student teacher, soil erosion.

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Middle school students’ conceptual understanding of earthquakes

SHS Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/shsconf/20184801024 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 48 ◽

pp. 01024

Author(s):

Döne Toprak-Dereli ◽

Funda Savaşcı-Açıkalın

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Middle School Students ◽

Conceptual Understanding ◽

Test Scores ◽

Alternative Conceptions ◽

Eighth Grade ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

School Students ◽

Low Level ◽

Grade Levels

The purpose of the study was to investigate middle school students’ conceptual understandings of earthquakes. Data were collected by using Understanding Earthquakes Test [1] and semi-structured interviews. Participants were a total of 1024 middle school students from the fifth to the eighth grade studying at ten different schools in Istanbul. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirty six students selected based on their test scores for three levels of understanding as high, middle, and low level. Findings of the current study indicated that students have lack conceptual understanding of earthquakes with many alternative conceptions. Students mostly from all grade levels seemed to have more scientific understanding in terms of protecting ways from earthquakes damage rather than explaining what earthquakes are and how earthquakes happen.

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First direct measurement of van der Waals force

AccessScience ◽

10.1036/1097-8542.br0718131 ◽

2015 ◽

Keyword(s):

Direct Measurement ◽

Van Der Waals ◽

Van Der Waals Force

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FLUCTUATION-INDUCED RADIATIVE HEAT TRANSFER AND VAN DER WAALS FORCE FOR SPHERICAL SHAPES

Proceeding of First Thermal and Fluids Engineering Summer Conference ◽

10.1615/tfesc1.fnd.012853 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Yi Zheng ◽

Alok Ghanekar

Keyword(s):

Heat Transfer ◽

Radiative Heat Transfer ◽

Radiative Heat ◽

Van Der Waals ◽

Van Der Waals Force

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First-Principles Study on Graphene/Mg2Si Interface of Selective Laser Melting Graphene/Aluminum Matrix Composites

Metals ◽

10.3390/met11060941 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 941

Author(s):

Zhanyong Zhao ◽

Shijie Chang ◽

Jie Wang ◽

Peikang Bai ◽

Wenbo Du ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Interfacial Energy ◽

First Principles ◽

Lattice Mismatch ◽

Van Der Waals ◽

Aluminum Matrix ◽

Van Der Waals Force ◽

Aluminum Matrix Composites ◽

Matrix Composites ◽

Charge Density Difference ◽

Interface Charge

The bonding strength of a Gr/Mg2Si interface was calculated by first principles. Graphene can form a stable, completely coherent interface with Mg2Si. When the (0001) Gr/(001) Mg2Si crystal plane is combined, the mismatch degree is 5.394%, which conforms to the two-dimensional lattice mismatch theory. At the interface between Gr/Mg2Si, chemical bonds were not formed, there was only a strong van der Waals force; the interfaces composed of three low index surfaces (001), (011) and (111) of Mg2Si and Gr (0001) have smaller interfacial adhesion work and larger interfacial energy, the interfacial energy of Gr/Mg2Si is much larger than that of α-Al/Al melt and Gr/Al interfacial (0.15 J/m2, 0.16 J/m2), and the interface distance of a stable interface is larger than the bond length of a chemical bond. The interface charge density difference diagram and density of states curve show that there is only strong van der Waals force in a Gr/Mg2Si interface. Therefore, when the Gr/AlSi10Mg composite is stressed and deformed, the Gr/Mg2Si interface in the composite is easy to separate and become the crack propagation source. The Gr/Mg2Si interface should be avoided in the preparation of Gr/AlSi10Mg composite.

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Formatively assessing prospective teachers’ skills in leading mathematics discussions

Educational Studies in Mathematics ◽

10.1007/s10649-021-10070-z ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Meghan Shaughnessy ◽

Nicole M. Garcia ◽

Michaela Krug O’Neill ◽

Sarah Kate Selling ◽

Amber T. Willis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Elementary Teachers ◽

Formative Assessment ◽

Conceptual Understanding ◽

Prospective Teachers ◽

First Year ◽

Teacher Education Programs ◽

First Year Teachers ◽

Education Programs ◽

Prospective Elementary Teachers ◽

Making Sense

AbstractMathematics discussions are important for helping students to develop conceptual understanding and to learn disciplinary norms and practices. In recent years, there has been increased attention to teaching prospective teachers to lead discussions with students. This paper examines the possibilities of designing a formative assessment that gathers information about prospective elementary teachers’ skills with leading problem-based mathematics discussions and makes sense of such information. A decomposition of the practice of leading discussions was developed and used to design the assessment. Nine first-year teachers who graduated from a range of different teacher education programs participated in the study. The findings reveal that our formative assessment works to gather information about teachers’ capabilities with leading discussions and that the associated tools support making sense of the information gathered. This suggests that such tools could be useful to support the formative assessment of the developing capabilities of prospective teachers.

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