Patterns in Undergraduate Students' and Educators' Sense of the Ontology of the Atom and Implications for Addressing Learning Impediments

Autor/inn/en	Lemma, Abayneh; Belachew, Woldie
Titel	Patterns in Undergraduate Students' and Educators' Sense of the Ontology of the Atom and Implications for Addressing Learning Impediments
Quelle	In: Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 24 (2023) 3, S.984-1002 (19 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Lemma, Abayneh) ORCID (Belachew, Woldie)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
Schlagwörter	Chemistry; Science Instruction; Undergraduate Students; History; Philosophy; Case Studies; Science Teachers; Teacher Attitudes; Student Attitudes; Barriers; Teaching Methods; Faculty Development; Curriculum Development; Classroom Communication; College Faculty; Foreign Countries; Scientific Concepts; Concept Formation; Difficulty Level; Ethiopia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Chemie; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Geschichte; Geschichtsdarstellung; Philosophie; Case study; Fallstudie; Case Study; Science; Teacher; Teachers; Science teacher; Wissenschaft; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Lehrerverhalten; Schülerverhalten; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Curriculum; Development; Curriculumentwicklung; Lehrplan; Entwicklung; Klassengespräch; Fakultät; Ausland; Concept learning; Begriffsbildung; Schwierigkeitsgrad; Äthiopien
Abstract	In this study, we explored undergraduate chemistry education at Kotebe University of Education (KUE) in terms of the ontological orientations, patterns and source domains of educators' and undergraduate students' sense of the atom. Due to the ambiguity and controversy regarding atomic ontology as a case of interest and the requirement for a thorough analysis, an interpretative case study design was employed. It mainly involved a semi-structured interview of 10 educators and 14 undergraduate students. The analysis involved Charmaz's approach for coding. Four core patterns were found to constitute the overall narrative of educators and undergraduate students, from which the interpretative, mechanical, and hypothetical orientations were implied. The ways of thinking in the three patterns were traced back to the underemphasis and distorted portrayal of the History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) in the curriculum and classroom discourse. The usage of some words and expressions with mechanical connotations was also discovered to be the fourth theme of patterns to which the mechanical orientations are attributed. Views of controversial ontologies are held by the participants of this single system. There is also an emerging inclination among undergraduate students toward reductionism, which is not expected from a chemistry student. Therefore, this study implies that the historical and philosophical aspects need to be critically examined in classroom instruction, curriculum development, professional development of educators, and research on chemistry education to avoid ontological complications and address learning impediments. The instructional approaches, materials, and classroom discourse also need to be examined carefully from an ontological point of view to avoid unnecessary complications and obstacles. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Royal Society of Chemistry. Thomas Graham House, Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge, CB4 0WF, UK. Tel: +44-1223 420066; Fax: +44-1223 423623; e-mail: cerp@rsc.org; Web site: http://www.rsc.org/cerp
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01