Recent research in chemistry educat

Recent research in chemistry education has shown an increasing interest in the facilitation of
conceptual change in student understanding of chemical concepts. Most of the studies have
tried to show the difference in student performance on algorithmic and conceptual problems.
The objective of this study is to go beyond and design a teaching strategy based on two
“teaching experiments” that could facilitate students’ conceptual understanding of electrochemistry.
The study is based on two sections (control, n = 29; experimental, n = 28) of 10th
grade high school students at a public school in Venezuela. Experimental group participated
in two teaching experiments designed to generate situations/experiences in which students
are forced to grapple with alternative responses leading to cognitive conflicts/contradictions.
Results obtained show that learning electrochemistry involves both algorithmic and conceptual
problems. On Posttest 1, 93% of the experimental group students responded correctly,
in contrast to 39% of the control group. On Posttest 2, 39% of the experimental group responded
correctly, in contrast to 0% of the Control group. The difference in performance on
both posttests is statistically significant (p < 0.001). It is concluded that the “teaching experiments”
facilitated students’ understanding (progressive transitions) of electrochemistry.