A Nonlinear, “Sticky” Web of Study for Chemistry: A Graphical Curricular Tool for Teaching and Learning Chemistry Built upon the Interconnection of Core Chemical Principles
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James D. Martin [1] ; Katherine A. Nock [2]
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[1] North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
Township of Raleigh, Estados Unidos
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[2] Heritage High School, United States
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- Localización: Journal of chemical education, ISSN 0021-9584, Vol. 95, Nº 12, 2018, págs. 2134-2140
- Idioma: inglés
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
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Resumen
The National Research Council’s Framework for K–12 Science Education articulates the need to shift science curricula from being a collection of discrete facts to curricula that integrate core ideas and practices. To help teachers better integrate content and to respond to expressed frustration regarding extensive lists of standards often presented as collections of isolated topics in prescribed courses of study, we developed a web of study approach to general chemistry curricula. Instead of a traditional linear course of study for which lists of standards tend to shift teaching and learning toward coverage, the web of study approach emphasizes integration of concepts by which learners build a coherent and self-consistent body of knowledge. Using both spatial and color-coded relationships, a general chemistry course is mapped onto the triad of primary concepts, Matter–Energy–Bonding, each represented as a primary color. Subtopics, traditionally identified in bulleted lists of standards, are graphically placed and color coded with secondary colors to provide a visual representation of an entire general chemistry course. The nonlinear web of study approach offers a greater “sticking capacity”, with deep learning achieved by teacher and learner as they reflect on how any given topic, concept, or practice relates to the entire web. While providing important contexts to understand the relevance and relationships of new material being learned, this visual representation of content facilitates seeing and thinking about interrelationships, provides a framework with which to formulate logical explanations of observed phenomena, and stimulates the most fundamental process of science: asking new questions.
