Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
and includes the important five basic chemistry concepts (250 pages); both parts are
connected through specific references.
Parchmann, Ralle, and Demuth [
21
] point out that the structure of the curriculum
“Chemie im Kontext” is based on three principles (see Fig.
8.7
): context-based
approach, development of basic concepts of chemistry, and diversity of teaching
methods [
21
].
Context-based approach
means - teaching on the basis of “Situated Learning” -
learning that involves concrete learning situations: “Cars of the future” instead of
“Electrochemistry,” “Ocean, climate and greenhouse effect” instead of “Chemical
equilibrium” [
23
]. The context-oriented approach is accompanied by the widely
accepted constructivist teaching principles.
Basic concepts of chemistry
should be developed by the students to understand
the chemistry behind the stories and to decontextualize the stories in this special
approach later. These basic concepts are: Substances and particles, chemical
structure and properties, donor-acceptor reactions (acid-base reactions, redox
reactions, complex reactions), energy and entropy, and chemical equilibrium. The
students should develop the five basic concepts by working with those stories from
the first part of the topic: the solubility equilibrium of carbon dioxide, for example,
may be taught with the story “Ocean, climate and greenhouse effect,” but it may
also be taught by the stories “Drinks” and “Breathing.” [
21
] In addition, the transfer
to other equilibria in other stories is necessary for decontextualization and for
general understanding of the basic concept “equilibrium.”
Teaching methods
should be connected to the different stories and should differ
from story to story; self-confidence, personal activity, and hands-on experiments
are the most important guide lines. Usually the topics should be separated in four
phases: encounter phase, curiosity phase, working phase, in-depth phase, and
networking phase [
21
].
The framework: Chemie im Kontext
Chemie im Kontext
Context-
based
Basic
concepts
Teaching
methods
Fig. 8.7
Framework of the German curriculum “Chemie im Kontext” [
21
]
