SPANISH PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS’ INITIAL IDEAS ABOUT TEACHING CHEMICAL CHANGE

Abstract

We describe and analyse the initial ideas of a sample of 24 Spanish prospective teachers about teaching the concept of chemical change to 13-14 year old pupils. The participants, working in groups, elaborated proposals to teach this concept. A content analysis of these proposals showed that: a) a great part of the content was organized in a linear sequence; b) within a diversity of methods there predominated closed sequences of laboratory observation activities aimed at allowing the pupils to infer the concepts for themselves, but without taking their pre-existing conceptions on chemical change into account; and c) evaluation was seen as a check that the pupils had acquired the knowledge that the teacher had established beforehand. Finally, we discuss some of the implications of the conceptions detected for initial teacher education. [Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. Eur.: 2001, 2, 265-283]