Towards A Link Between Theory And Practice In Chemical Education

Abstract

In recent years there has been a huge research effort investigating aspects of the teaching and learning of science and chemistry. There now are a number of journals and dedicated conferences and symposia addressing all aspects of education as researchers and groups of researchers attempt to carve out a niche area in this huge domain of research. How ever, experience suggests that almost all such reports are aimed at education researchers rather than at practitioners, that is the teachers of chemistry and science. In the view of the authors this raises serious questions as to how we might pass on the lessons learned from education research to the teaching community. Certainly there are a few journals that ostensibly seek to achieve such an aim - 'University Chemistry Education', 'Chemical Education: Research and Practice in Europe', 'Education in Chemistry', the 'Australian Science Teachers' Journal', and the 'Journal of Chemical Education' (and indeed this 'Journal'). However, close examination of the content of such journals suggests that these periodicals are often producing articles consisting of teaching tips, or descriptions/assertions of 'what I found to work in my classroom' rather than drawing on the immense body of research in science education. It seems to us that while some do indeed report research-informed studies based on sound, rigorous research in education, e.g., Australian Science Teachers' Journal, these periodicals speak mainly to secondary school educators and so are of limited value to tertiary chemistry teachers. In this article we attempt to address this issue, and begin by summarising, the main findings in the chemistry and science education literature, and use a case study of some of our own work for the basis of some suggestions as to how the link between theory of education research and practice of chemistry education might be enhanced.