The teacher, the model and the nature of science. About teachers’ views on models in chemistry teaching

The aim of this study is to investigate teachers’ views regarding models in chemistry teaching. The study defines models as simplifications of scientific theories supposed to make the abstract meaningful to the student. In the study, five teachers, active within lower secondary school in one of Sweden’s largest cities, have been interviewed about their views on using models when teaching chemistry. The interviews were semi-structured and the questions revolved around some different aspects of models. Collected data in the form of audio recorded speech were transcribed and analysed using content analysis, during which the research questions were addressed directly. The results were interpreted using theories about descriptions and explanations of chemical processes and teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. One conclusion is that teachers use a lot of different models and representations of models to make the content understandable to students. They also use models to emphasise the nature of science to some extent. The aim of this study is to investigate teachers’ views regarding models in chemistry teaching. The study defines models as simplifications of scientific theories supposed to make the abstract meaningful to the student. In the study, five teachers, active within lower secondary school in one of Sweden’s largest cities, have been interviewed about their views on using models when teaching chemistry. The interviews were semi-structured and the questions revolved around some different aspects of models. Collected data in the form of audio recorded speech were transcribed and analysed using content analysis, during which the research questions were addressed directly. The results were interpreted using theories about descriptions and explanations of chemical processes and teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. One conclusion is that teachers use a lot of different models and representations of models to make the content understandable to students. They also use models to emphasise the nature of science to some extent