Database of Publications

SULL’IMMAGINE DELLA CHIMICA E SUL SUO INSEGNAMENTO
(ON THE IMAGE OF CHEMISTRY AND ON ITS TEACHING )

Aldo Borsese

“ La Chimica e l’ Industria” (Chemistry and Industry) – National journal of the Italian Chemical Society (SCI)

2010

Italian

Research

School Directors, Researchers, Teachers, Policy Makers

3 – 10 pages

The paper takes in consideration a nowadays contradictory aspect: chemistry importance for our society is growing day by day but young people do not fall for studies in the chemistry sphere. It is so necessary to investigate the reasons that do not allow students to understand and appreciate the fundamental role of chemistry in everyone life.
The author is a professor of chemistry with a very long experience in the didactic of chemistry and, on the base of his research and experience, the reasons for this situation are the following:

1. the time dedicated to the teaching of chemistry at school;
2. the way of teaching chemistry;
3. the way of carrying out chemistry popularization and social communication.

Concerning the first point, the number of hours weekly dedicated to chemistry teaching is really limited, even at schools mainly devoted to scientific disciplines. Accordingly, students have the wrong perception that chemistry is a “B series” subject.
For what concerns the second point the author states that the way of teaching chemistry is not adequate and this statement is strongly confirmed by the fact that students, at the end of high secondary school, own scientific concepts totally disconnected by those taught at school. The main weakness point in the method of teaching chemistry is the lack of an efficacious communication between teacher and student: it is like to talk with someone by using a language that he is not able to understand.
Finally, as third point, young people is strongly influenced by mass media that are more and more present in everyday life. But information spread by them are often superficial, partially correct (sometimes wrong) and out of the control of serious scientific experts. Scientific popularization is very difficult and the risk, even when rigorous information are given, is to use a language that cannot be understood by people.
In conclusion, it would be necessary to operate on a political level in order to provide a new strategy for the teaching of chemistry, that takes in consideration the above analysis and that starts from compulsory school.

The author of the paper is a professor of chemistry with a very long experience in the didactic of chemistry, from primary school to university. On the base of his experience and research in collaboration with numerous teachers, he identifies the lack of communication between student and teacher as one of the main factors responsible for the low interest of students in sciences, chemistry in particular.
With the word “communication” he refers to didactic communication, meaning events and a situations aiming to learning and teaching. When the communication between teacher and student is absent or ineffective or inadequate, the student doesn’t fell motivated to understand and study and, hardly, he considers the discipline attractive.
The lack of communication is caused by different reasons. Certainly the emotional component is important, but it is not the only one that we have to consider. Indeed, the language used by the teachers is also fundamental, as well as the choice of contents to be presented: they both have to be to the course of the students and adequate to their scientific skills. Finally, but not less important, the role of the student in the teaching-learning process has to be considered: his role has to be active, he should feel protagonist, contrarily of what happens during the usual frontal lessons.
In few words, in order to improve interest and motivation of students towards scientific subjects, chemistry in particular, the teaching should be based on the cooperation between teacher and student, they both taking an active role. It is also needed to take in consideration the emotional component and the cognitive structure of the students and it is very important to show students that they are able to understand chemistry. All this should be done right from the primary school.

Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry – University of Genoa - ITALY