Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
experiments are so important. The students are motivated not only to learn through
hands-on experiments, but to understand it and keep the chemistry on action-
oriented ways far better than through a demonstration conducted by the teacher
or even without any experiment. The discussion of student experiments in planning
and implementation takes place in Chap. 5 “experiments.” If student experiments
are linked together, they support each other regarding validity and motivation. This
will be discussed in more detail
in Chap. 9 “Inquiry learning of Organic
Chemistry.”
Also the construction of structural models, such as sphere packing or space
lattices for crystal structures and molecular models for the structure of molecules is
perceived by students as beneficial: on action-oriented ways of motivation students
build their own structural models and illustrate themselves the structure of different
substances. If on the basis of such structural models the formulae of corresponding
substances are understandable, then in this case, the psychomotoric motivation
promotes even the good understanding of the chemical symbols. Relevant examples
are presented in Chap. 6 “Structural and mental models” or Chap. 10, “Structure-
oriented approach in chemical education.”
If students prepare certain products in the classroom that they can even take
home, then the motivation effect is particularly high. For example, if students are
asked to make a name plate of brass for their front door at home, they are very
strongly motivated to do this. They coat the plate with wax, write their names
carefully into the wax surface, and etch the bare metal areas with nitric acid (E2.10).
They will show such a name plate to family and friends and can explain exactly how
they made it: the motivation goes far beyond the classroom.
The same applies to the construction of structural models. If they take the sphere
packing model home they may even explain and they take it home for their desk, so
they build the sphere packing not only very carefully, but they explain the sodium
chloride structure to their friends and family - in such cases, the motivation goes
into the private domain of students' families. Even teachers who attend our training
courses “structural models and chemical understanding” tell us that the driving
motivation for the visit of the course is the offer to take the constructed models
home for their lectures!
2.3 Scientific Ideas: Experimental Skills
The reflection on the level of “teaching processes” has shown the potential to
motivate students through experiments - according to both the intrinsic and extrin-
sic aspects as well. In both categories, experiments with special effects are proposed
and thus often dangerous experiments. Even the great experimenter Liebig could
not avoid such mistakes in his evening lectures for the Bavarian royal couple and
himself - that could have led to a disaster [
12
].
Experimenters must therefore have good experimental skills and the ability to
perform fast combustion reactions and deal with big flames (see E2.4) or blast
