Chemical Reaction: Diagnosis and Towards Remedy of Misconceptions

Abstract

Experience and literature show that most high school students do not have the correct mental models of coefficients and subscripts in chemical reactions. To contribute towards the conceptual reconstruction of scientific mental models of coefficients and subscripts in a chemical reaction a new teaching-learning strategy is suggested: Tetrahedral - in - Zone of Proximal Development (T-ZPD). This T-ZPD instructional strategy was introduced in an experimental group and compared with the traditional (conventional) approach as a control group on the effects of students’ misconceptions and conceptual reconstruction of chemical reactions. The study has been conducted in high school chemistry classes in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; the participants of the main study included a total of 160 students. The Chemical Reaction - Concept Inventory was administered to both groups as pre and post tests followed by interviews with selected students. The results of the independent t-test on students’ post test scores on the concept inventory of chemical reaction show that the T-ZPD group students’ conceptual reconstruction towards the scientific concept is statistically significantly better compared to the Traditional group students.