Teaching and learning difficulties in electrochemistry.

[摘要] Student and pupil difficulties relating to the qualitativeinterpretation of microscopic processes which take place inoperating electrochemical cells were determined. The subjectswere studying electrochemistry at either high school, collegeof education or University. The investigation followed astage process which involved the identification ofmisconceptions, further inquiry into the nature and possiblecauses of these as well as the development and evaluation ofa teaching method aimed at alleviating the identifiedproblems.The interview and the pencil and paper methods were employedto elicit the misunderstandings and simple experimentsprovided the focus of discussion. From the relatively broadbase of the initial stages in which open-ended questions wereused, the problem areas narrowed progressively as the studdifficulties became clarified. The tape recorded interviewsas well as the responses from the pencil and paper test wereanalysed for apparent misconceptions. Four areas emerged asproblematic among the majority of the subjects. (Abbreviation abstract)

[发布机构] University of the Witwatersrand