Chemistry education (or chemical education) is the study of teaching and learning chemistry. It is one subset of STEM education or discipline-based education research (DBER). Topics in chemistry education include understanding how students learn chemistry and determining the most efficient methods to teach chemistry. There is a constant need to improve chemistry curricula and learning outcomes based on findings of chemistry education research (CER). Chemistry education can be improved by changing teaching methods and providing appropriate training to chemistry instructors, within many modes, including classroom lectures, demonstrations, and laboratory activities.
Importance
Chemistry education is important because the field of chemistry is fundamental to our world. The universe is subject to the laws of chemistry, while human beings depend on the orderly progress of chemical reactions within their bodies. Described as the central science, chemistry connects physical sciences with the life sciences and applied sciences. Chemistry has applications in food, medicine, industry, the environment, and other areas. Learning chemistry allows students to learn about the scientific method and gain skills in critical thinking, deductive reasoning, problem-solving, and communication. Teaching chemistry to students at a young age can increase student interest in STEM careers. Chemistry also provides students with many transferable skills that can be applied to any career.
Teaching strategies
The most common method of teaching chemistry is lecture with a laboratory component. Laboratory courses became a central part of the chemistry curriculum towards the end of the 19th century. The German scientist Justus von Liebig plays a major role in shifting the model of lecture with demonstrations to one that includes a laboratory component. Liebig was one of the first chemists to conduct a laboratory and his methodology became widespread in the United States due to the efforts of Eben Horsford and Charles W. Eliot. After working in Liebig's laboratory, Horsford returned to the United States and helped establish the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard University. The school was modeled after Liebig's methodology and established the first chemistry laboratory course. Two years later, Charles W. Eliot started to volunteer at the laboratory. Eliot's interests in the laboratory grew, and he eventually took charge of it. Eliot was later elected as Harvard's president in 1869. Eliot also served other powerful roles in education, which allowed him to influence the widespread adoption of laboratory methods. Today, the American Chemical Society on Professional Training requires students to gain 400 hours of laboratory experience, outside of introductory chemistry, to get a bachelor's degree. Similarly, the Royal Society of Chemistry requires students to gain 300 hours of laboratory experience to get a bachelor's degree.
However, since the twenty-first century, the role of laboratory courses in the chemistry curriculum has been questioned in major journals. The main argument against laboratory courses is that there is little evidence for their impact on student learning. Researchers are asking questions such as "why do we have laboratory work in the curriculum? What is distinctive about laboratory work that cannot be met elsewhere in the curriculum?" Researchers are asking for evidence that the investment of space, time and resources in chemistry laboratories provides value to student learning.
Theories of education
There are several different philosophical perspectives that describe how the work in chemistry education is carried out.
Practitioner's Perspective
The first is what one might call a practitioner's perspective, wherein the individuals who are responsible for teaching chemistry (teachers, instructors, professors) are the ones who ultimately define chemistry education by their actions.