The periodic table is recognized as one of the most powerful tools in science. While it is included in virtually all high school and undergraduate general chemistry curricula, it remains a mystery to many chemistry students who find it impossible to decode. Students are often able to predict periodic trends concerning atomic radius, ionization…

There is a gap in the literature regarding the association between critical thinking (CT) skills and student success in chemistry. This study sought to fill this gap by evaluating the association between CT skills and student success in chemistry. The purpose of this study was (a) to determine whether there is a positive correlation between CT…

Learning and presenting chemical concepts at the triple level of chemical concepts provides opportunities for the development of misconceptions. The research aimed to identify potential misconceptions of chemical concepts: the states of matter, a pure substance, a mixture, an element, a compound, a physical change, and a chemical reaction at the…

Symbolic expressions are essential resources for producing knowledge, yet they are a source of learning difficulties in chemistry education. This study aims to employ social semiotics to analyse the symbolic representation of chemistry from two complementary perspectives, referred to here as contextual (i.e., historical) and functional. First, the…

Students not familiar with chemistry tend to misinterpret analytical chemistry as some kind of the sorcery where analytical chemists working as modern wizards handle magical black boxes able to provide fascinating results. However, this approach is evidently improper and misleading. Therefore, the position of modern analytical chemistry among…

The hallmark of game-based learning is that students discover concepts through trial and error as they play. With the digital landscape in higher education shifting to mobile-first, new tools for learning chemistry are both possible and needed. Interactive games for chemistry bring intuitive content directly to students through their devices. The…

Although the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) present a detailed set of "Science and Engineering Practices", a finer grained representation of the underlying skills is lacking in the standards document. Therefore, it has been reported that teachers are facing challenges deciphering and effectively implementing the…

A growing body of evidence indicates that, increasingly, the public is engaging with science in a wide range of informal environments, which can be any setting outside of school such as community-based programs, festivals, libraries, or home. Yet undergraduate and graduate schools often don't prepare scientists for public communication. This…

Background: Differences in post-secondary academic outcomes along dimensions of gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status are a major concern. Few studies have considered differences in patterns of academic outcomes and underlying mechanisms driving disparities across different STEM disciplines. Using data from about 4000 undergraduates in…

This study investigated the time effect of cooperative games on students' emotions of learning science and the treatment effect on their chemistry achievement. This quasi-experimental study compared the use of cards, board games, and riddles, and the use of conventional paper-and-pencil exercises to learn the basics of chemical elements and…

Using the identity lens as a theoretical framework, we studied 42 novice second career chemistry teachers, who had previously worked as chemists and participated in an alternative certification program (ACP) at a science and engineering research university. Our goal was to understand the transition process of these teachers into the teaching…

Spatial ability is an important tool in chemistry and this ability can be improved. Various technologies have been used to improve spatial ability. However, it is not clear if viewing technologies should take the place of the model kit; the traditional method of learning about molecular structures. Our research aims to address this gap. In our…

This study aims at determining the effect of the pedagogical technique most frequently used while implementing the competency-based curriculum (CBC) in teaching chemistry in senior two (S2) classes (age range 14-16) and the teachers' alignment with the scheme of work. It was conducted in 10 selected Rwandan secondary schools using a teacher…

This paper describes the development and implementation of GAPc, a gamification project in chemistry. GAPc is an online active student-centered remedial teaching tool allowing prospective and enrolled students to electronically assess their knowledge of basic and advanced chemistry concepts via different game levels of expertise. This provides…

Most junior high school students considered chemistry as a complicated science subject with an abstract concept, symbols, and terms that must be memorized. The difficulty of learning chemistry made students had low positive perceptions of chemistry. It was needed the right ways to introduce chemistry to them. The purpose of the multiple case study…