Foundations for Teaching Chemistry

Chemistry is a subject that has the power to engage and enthuse students but also to mystify and confound them. Effective chemistry teaching requires a strong foundation of subject knowledge and the ability to transform this into teachable content which is meaningful for students. Drawing on pedagogical principles and research into the difficulties that many students have when studying chemical concepts, this essential text presents the core ideas of chemistry to support new and trainee chemistry teachers, including non-specialists.

The book focuses on the foundational ideas that are fundamental to and link topics across the discipline of chemistry and considers how these often complex notions can be effectively presented to students without compromising on scientific authenticity. Chapters cover:

• the nature of chemistry as a science
• the chemistry triplet
• substances and purity in chemistry
• the periodic table
• energy in chemistry and chemical bonding
• contextualising and integrating chemical knowledge

Whilst there are a good many books describing chemistry and many others that offer general pedagogic guidance on teaching science, Foundations for Teaching Chemistry provides accounts of core chemical topics from a teaching perspective and offers new and experienced teachers support in developing their own ‘chemical knowledge for teaching’.