Yael
Shwartz
*,
Ruth
Ben-Zvi
and
Avi
Hofstein
The Department of Science Teaching, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Rehovot, Israel. E-mail: yaels@umich.edu
This study investigated the attainment of chemical literacy among 10th-12th grade chemistry students in Israel. Based on existing theoretical frameworks, assessment tools were developed, which measured students’ ability to: a) recognize chemical concepts as such (nominal literacy); b) define some key-concepts (functional literacy); c) use their understanding of chemical concepts to explain phenomena (conceptual literacy); and d) use their knowledge in chemistry to read a short article, or analyze information provided in commercial ads or internet resources (multi-dimensional literacy). It was found that students improve their nominal and functional literacy; however, higher levels of chemical literacy, as defined within these frameworks, are only partly met. The findings can be helpful in the process of designing new curricula, and emphasizing certain instructional strategies in order to foster chemical literacy. [Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2006, 7 (4), 203-225]
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2006 |