Challenges and opportunities in chemistry education - cultivating modeling and systems thinking competence

Abstract

Fostering students’ modeling-based learning and systems thinking has been widely documented in areas of science education, in  particular, in chemistry education. Students often learn scientific concepts in non-contextualized situations and with pieces of knowledge  that appear as discrete knowledge of science. Making sense of science and using the knowledge and skills of science in practice have  become a vital issue in school learning. This article will discuss the challenges we face in school teaching and learning and the  opportunities and strategies that we can use to confront the challenges of cultivating students’ scientific literacy.