The role of subject matter knowledge in teaching A level Chemistry

Abstract

Students may develop misconceptions when studying chemistry, either due to their own personal experiences and beliefs or due to their instruction. Specialist and non-specialist chemistry teachers have also been observed to possess chemical misconceptions and may pass these on when teaching. It can be said that a teacher’s subject matter knowledge (SMK) is an important aspect of their teaching, influencing their pedagogical practice, and that enhancing their SMK can improve their teaching. Although the importance of SMK in chemistry teaching has been noted, it is unclear what the extent of a chemistry teacher’s knowledge should be, and which topics are of most concern. To investigate teachers’ beliefs regarding the role of SMK in A level chemistry teaching, an exploratory study was undertaken to identify topics of low confidence, the impact of undergraduate degrees and initial teacher training (ITT) on SMK development, and teachers’ beliefs regarding the limitations of models and analogies, specifically the octet rule and Le Chatelier’s principle. This was undertaken through use of a semi-structured interview with eleven A level chemistry teachers, with the outcomes informing the development of a nationwide survey. The study found that transition metal chemistry and electrochemistry were topics of low confidence for A level chemistry teachers. Teachers reported differences between their approaches to teaching high and low confidence topics. Most teachers felt that an undergraduate degree is necessary for teaching chemistry, though reported that ITT did little to develop their SMK. Teachers also felt that it is an issue if a teacher’s SMK is limited to the specification they teach. Most teachers identified the limitations of the octet rule, whilst fewer identified limitations of Le Chatelier’s principle, indicating weaker SMK in this area. Following these results, the development of resources to enhance teachers’ SMK in electrochemistry and further investigation of confidence is recommended.

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