Analysis of the chemical representations in secondary Lebanese chemistry textbooks

النوع : Mémoire

This study focused on the requirements that chemical representations should meet in textbooks in order to enhance conceptual understanding. Specifically, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the chemical representations that are present in seven secondary Lebanese chemistry textbooks. To determine whether the chemical representations present in the chemistry textbooks enhance conceptual understanding and support the three levels approach to teaching chemistry, an instrument adapted from Gkitzia et al (2011) was used. This instrument depends of five basic criteria: (a) type or level, (b) surface features, (c) relatedness to text, (d) existence and properties of a caption, and (e) degree of correspondence between representations comprising a multiple one. The results of the study revealed that the chemical representations used in the selected textbooks are focused on the macro level with either implicit or ambiguous labels. Moreover, the selected textbooks use very few multiple, hybrid or mixed representations. In addition, most chemical representations are accompanied by problematic or no captions. Recommendations for textbook writers and future research are discussed in light of these findings.