Representation and Analysis of Chemistry Core Ideas in Science Education Standards between China and the United States

Abstract

Chemistry core ideas play an important role in students' chemistry learning. On the basis of the representations of chemistry core ideas about substances and processes in the Chinese Chemistry Curriculum Standards (CCCS) and the U.S. Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), we conduct a critical comparison of chemistry core ideas between these two documents in this paper. We also discuss the following reasons why there are differences in the representation of chemistry core ideas between them: different research perspectives on science education, different understandings of chemistry core ideas, and different understandings of the nature of teaching process. Our primary intent in this comparative analysis is to promote a deeper understanding of chemistry core ideas, provide advice and resources for chemistry curriculum research and chemistry teaching practice, and raise more attention on goals of science education and aims of chemistry.

Use of comparative research in the study of chemistry education: A systematic analysis of the literature

“…For instance, one study has compared the Chinese Chemistry Curriculum Standards (CCCS) and the U.S. Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) to see how chemistry core ideas about substances and processes are represented [ 41 ]. Concepts related to various chemical processes (e.g., addition polymerization reaction, redox reaction, and polycondensation reaction) and types of substances (e.g., polymers, oxides, metals, hydrocarbon and its derivatives) have been found to be present in the CCCS but not in the Disciplinary Core Ideas section of the NGSS [ 41 ]. This highlights not only the possible variations in the chemistry knowledge of students from different backgrounds but also the resulting challenges imposed to chemistry education when globalisation continues to escalate in education.…”

“… Teaching and learning This study compares the opinions of Italian and international baccalaureate teachers on system concept and interdisciplinary approaches in chemistry education [ 40 ] This study conducts a critical comparison of chemistry core ideas between the Chinese Chemistry Curriculum Standards (CCCS) and the U.S. Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). [ 41 ] This study explores how organic chemistry students and organic chemistry professors think about organic chemistry reactions [ 42 ] This study examines how Swedish and South African students at the high school and university levels respond to a survey on concepts of chemical bonding. [ 43 ] This study investigates the impacts of teacher efficacy and motivation on students' academic achievement in science education in secondary schools and high schools located in Iran and Russia [ 44 ] This study investigates the conceptual demography of protein synthesis descriptions in Swedish chemistry and biology textbooks.…”

“…Other than curricula and textbooks, governmental documents and public databases have been used for comparison. The former is exemplified by Avargil et al‘s study [ 48 ], which curated data on 545,778 high school graduates from the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics to study the trends of choosing chemistry as a major; whereas the latter is represented by Wan et al‘s work [ 41 ], in which a critical comparison of chemistry core ideas between the CCCS and the U.S. NGSS has been conducted.…”

“… Level of institution Data for analysis Ref. Elementary education Survey data [ 46 ] Secondary education Curricula and related education standards [ 41 , 50 ] Performance in task [ 44 ] Survey data [ 40 , 43 , 44 , 46 , 48 ] Data collected by governmental bodies [ 48 ] Textbooks [ 45 , 47 ] Tertiary education Survey data [ 43 , 44 ] Curricula and related education standards [ 39 ] Textbooks [ 49 ] Performance in tasks [ 42 , 44 ] Interviews [ 42 ] …”

The Thinking of Students Aged 15-18 in Explaining the Dissolution Phenomenon

“…As noted by Vosniadou and Ioannides (1998), fragmented concepts need to be embedded in complex conceptual structures for greater explanatory power. Changes in conceptual structure denote differences in conceptual understanding, which affect the construction of core ideas (Wan & Bi, 2016). In addition, reasoning affects one's capacity to incorporate knowledge into existing conceptual structures.…”