We review literature on the teaching and learning of chemical kinetics at both the secondary and tertiary levels. Our aim in doing so is to summarize research literature, synthesize recommendations for future research, and suggest implications for practitioners. Two main bodies of literature emerged from the chemical kinetics education research:…

The goal of this study was to assess students' level of conceptual understanding of chemical kinetics and equilibrium using topic-specific pedagogical content knowledge (TSPCK)-based instruction in chemistry grade 11 students. The research was a mixed approach that involved 159 grade 11 chemistry class students from Addis Ababa administrative…

Problem solving in chemical kinetics poses substantial challenges for university students since it often involves significant use of mathematics as a tool and language, with challenging translations and transitions between chemical phenomena and mathematical representations. In this paper, we present key findings from a study investigating…

We have investigated the effects of a teaching intervention based on evidence from educational theories and research data, on students' ideas in chemical kinetics. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare the outcomes for the intervention. The subjects of the study were 83 university first-year students, who were in two different classes in…

Students' perceptions of an activity involving visualization are important in assessing their learning of the task. In view of this, this study was developed with undergraduate students from different courses at a public Brazilian university. The research objective was to determine how three students, who are majoring in different courses…

KinSim is a research-grade, interactive, user-friendly, open-source, and visual software for kinetics modeling of environmental chemistry and other applications. Students without any computer-programming background and limited knowledge of environmental chemistry can use KinSim, which also includes multiple features and functionality dedicated to…

The main goal of this study was to validate the strategy for the assessment of the cognitive complexity of chemical kinetics exam items. The strategy included three steps: 1) assessment of the difficulty of concepts, 2) assessment of distractor value, and 3) assessment of concepts' interactivity. One of the tasks was to determine whether there…

Chemical kinetics is a highly quantitative content area that involves the use of multiple mathematical representations to model processes and is a context that is under-investigated in the literature. This qualitative study explored undergraduate student integration of chemistry and mathematics during problem solving in the context of chemical…

Recent progress in elucidating chemical reactions allows to explain chemistry by the potential energy of the involved chemical structures. Nevertheless, from an educational point of view, empirical results indicate that students often do not connect the core idea of energy with other chemical concepts. From a resource-oriented perspective,…

Mathematics is used in the physical sciences to describe and model phenomena, resulting in a unique interface between mathematics and disciplines such as chemistry and physics. This paper focuses on themes emerging from a larger project that investigated how students understand and use mathematics in chemical kinetics, a field of study concerned…

In this study we present an analysis of how the structure and content of the Greek school textbook approaches the concepts of chemical kinetics, and an investigation of the difficulties that 11th grade Greek students face regarding these concepts. Based on the structure and content of the Greek textbook, a tool was developed and applied to…

Problem solving is a critical feature of highly quantitative physical science topics, such as chemical kinetics. In order to solve a problem, students must cue into relevant features, ignore irrelevant features, and choose among potential problem-solving approaches. However, what is considered appropriate or productive for problem solving is…

Reaction coordinate diagrams (RCDs) are an important tool used to visualize the energetics of a chemical reaction. RCDs provide information about the kinetics of the reaction, the mechanism by which the reaction occurs, and the relative thermodynamic stability of the molecules in a reaction. Previous research studies have characterized student…

The learning of scientific concepts is one of the main research subjects in science education. Although little used, the theory of conceptual profiles allows the study of this knowledge, taking into account the presence of different ways of thinking about a certain concept in the same individual. This study aimed to build a conceptual profile for…

The development of good learning resources on inquiry learning model with science literacy as a strategy to facilitate active learning has become a trend in education. Critical thinking ability is needed as a strategy to build students competencies in problem solving and discovery as required in science learning. This study aims to develop a set…