Teaching and learning difficulties in electrochemistry.

Abstract

Student and pupil difficulties relating to the qualitative interpretation of microscopic processes which take place in operating electrochemical cells were determined. The subjects were studying electrochemistry at either high school, college of education or University. The investigation followed a stage process which involved the identification of misconceptions, further inquiry into the nature and possible causes of these as well as the development and evaluation of a teaching method aimed at alleviating the identified problems. The interview and the pencil and paper methods were employed to elicit the misunderstandings and simple experiments provided the focus of discussion. From the relatively broad base of the initial stages in which open-ended questions were used, the problem areas narrowed progressively as the stud difficulties became clarified. The tape recorded interviews as well as the responses from the pencil and paper test were analysed for apparent misconceptions. Four areas emerged as problematic among the majority of the subjects. (Abbreviation abstract)