Multiple Representations in Chemical Education
Chemistry seeks to provide qualitative and quantitative explanations for the observed behaviour of elements and their compounds. Doing so involves making use of three types of representation: the macro (the empirical properties of substances); the sub-mic
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Models and Modeling in Science Education
Volume 4
Series Editor Professor Emeritus J.K. Gilbert Institute of Education, The University of Reading, UK
Editorial Board Professor D.F. Treagust Science and Mathematics Education Centre, Curtin University of Technology, Australia Professor J.H. van Driel ICLON, University of Leiden, The Netherlands Dr. Ros´aria Justi Department of Chemistry, University of Minas Gerais, Brazil Dr. Janice Gobert Worchester Polytechnic Institute
For other titles published in this series, go to http://www.springer.com/series/6931
Multiple Representations in Chemical Education John K. Gilbert Editor
The University of Reading, UK
David Treagust Editor
Curtin University of Technology, Science & Mathematics Education Centre, Australia
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Editors Prof. John K. Gilbert 1 Croswell Cottages, Goose Lane Mayford Woking, Surrey 1 Croswell Cottages, Mayford United Kingdom GU22 0NW [email protected]
ISBN: 978-1-4020-8871-1
Prof. David Treagust Curtin University of Technology Science & Mathematics Education Centre Perth WA 6001 Australia [email protected]
e-ISBN: 978-1-4020-8872-8
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4020-8872-8 Library of Congress Control Number: 2008940333 c Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009 No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Printed on acid-free paper 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 springer.com
Foreword
Many years ago, I went into my office carrying a tray of molecular models. My secretary asked what they were and I proceeded to explain that this one was salt, this one sugar and another represented diamond. She nodded sagely and then said, ‘I cannot see any connection with the real things. Why do you bother to use these pretty models?’ I had just returned from a tutorial with a group of undergraduates who had been ‘politely interested’ in the models, but had shown as little real enthusiasm and understanding as my secretary. This prompted me to question my own enthusiasms for molecular models and my apparent inability to transmit my vision of the mental liberation and satisfaction there was to be found in the use of models, both physical and mental. This led to my little paper in School Science Review (Johnstone, 1982) and further thought resulted in my later publications (Johnstone, 1991, 1993, 2000) cited in the introduction of this present book. The triangle which I proposed had its origins in geology where mineral compositions were set out as combinations of silicon dioxide, magnesium oxide and calcium oxide. The corners represented the pure components, the sides represented binary combinations of any two components and the points inside represented combinations of all three. I had come to the concl
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