Assessment instruments that generate quantitative data on attributes (cognitive, affective, behavioral, "etc.") of participants are commonly used in the chemistry education community to draw conclusions in research studies or inform practice. Recently, articles and editorials have stressed the importance of providing evidence for the…

Extant literature has emphasized the importance of education research being theory-based. To this end, many research articles have a distinct "theoretical framework" section describing the theoretical underpinnings that inform the research. Nevertheless, there is large variation in how explicit articles are regarding their use of…

After more than seven years as editor of "Chemistry Education Research and Practice" ("CERP"), the author is standing down from this role, and this will be the last editorial of his tenure. Indeed, by the time this editorial appears in the first issue of the 2019 volume, the author will have handed over to Michael Seery, who…

In the wake of the ongoing nationwide antiracist movement, the academy at large has been reflecting on its role in society and the pursuit of social justice. Here, we examine the state of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in chemistry education research and practice through a literature review and offer suggestions for future directions.…

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 7 secondary Lebanese chemistry textbooks. To achieve the latter purpose, an instrument adapted from…

Scientific writing is related to the practice of communicating scientific knowledge. This study treats scientific writing as a social practice, taking as its premise the notion that participating in related activities such as reading, peer evaluation, and discussion would positively affect the competence of students' scientific writing, by…

The tradition of qualitative research drives much of chemistry education research activity. When performing qualitative studies, researchers must demonstrate the trustworthiness of their analysis so researchers and practitioners consuming their work can understand if and how the presented research claims and conclusions might be transferable to…

The submission of a traditional postgraduate research thesis (or dissertation) is a milestone achievement that should be celebrated and has been regarded as a rite of passage. This major document has normally occupied a significant amount of mental space and time, often involving a frantic and intense period of writing to meet the submission…

This paper presents findings from a content analysis of 650 empirical chemistry education research papers published in two top-tiered chemistry education journals "Chemistry Education Research and Practice" and "Journal of Chemical Education," and four top-tiered science education journals "International Journal of Science…

Paul Leslie Gardner pioneered the study of student difficulties with everyday words presented in the science context (Gardner 1971); several similarly designed studies (e.g. Cassels and Johnstone 1985; Tao in "Research in Science Education," 24, 322-330, 1994; Farell and Ventura in "Language and Education," 12(4), 243-254,…

Numerous studies have proven the learning benefits of concept maps in science subjects, particularly for students with low prior knowledge. There is a scarcity of research dedicated to the examination of chemistry courses at the university level, and the findings pertaining to academic performance in that subject exhibit a lack of consistency.…

The paper presents the design and evaluation of a voluntary online introductory stoichiometry (VOIS) course aimed at facilitating the transition from secondary to higher education. The course utilized simple analogies and adaptive feedback through a formative scaffolding assessment. The study assessed the effectiveness of the VOIS course through…

This study focuses on examining senior high-school students' conceptual understanding and difficulties concerning electrochemistry and comparing patterns of thinking across Turkish and Indonesian contexts. The Electrochemistry Concept Questionnaire (ECQ) was applied to 516 Indonesian and 516 Turkish high school students right after the teaching of…

The importance of introducing students to mechanistic reasoning (MR) early in their schooling is emphasised in research. The goal of this case study was to contribute with knowledge on how early primary students' (9-10 year-olds) MR in chemistry is expressed and developed in a classroom practice framed by model-based inquiry. The study focuses on…

For the past decade, the College of Chemistry at UC Berkeley has iteratively redesigned general chemistry laboratory courses to introduce students to green chemistry concepts, while simultaneously using green chemistry as a relevant context to learn chemistry. To investigate the effectiveness of this curriculum we developed approaches to…