Teaching Chemistry As A Cross Cultural Subject: It & Linguistics
- Conference
- Location
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Chicago, Illinois
- Publication Date
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June 18, 2006
- Start Date
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June 18, 2006
- End Date
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June 21, 2006
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Educational Research and Methods
- Page Count
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22
- Page Numbers
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11.1201.1 - 11.1201.22
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--260
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/260
- Download Count
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650
Paper Authors
Margherita Landucci Liceo Artistico Statale
Margherita Landucci is a graduate in Physical Chemistry of Pisa University. She has worked at CNR (the National Council for Research)in spectroscopy and electrochemistry and taught at Pisa University. She has published works in The Journal of Chemical Society. She is the Italian coordinator of the project "Science and Technology in Society" promoted by The Association for Science Education,UK, and is teaching Phisical Chemistry and Materials Tecnologies at the Liceo Artistico Statale of Venice, Venezia.
Fabio Garganego Municipality of Venice
Fabio Garganego is a graduate in Electronic Engeneering of Padua University. He is a specialist in telecomunications and is at present IT Senior consultant at the Municipality of Venice, Venezia.
Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract
Teaching Chemistry as a Cross-cultural Subject IT & Linguistics
Abstract
The main theme of this paper is the language of chemical formulae rather than the language explaining the chemistry ; the focus of our interest is the code used in writing chemical formulae.
This paper describes the nature and scope of the research project started by an out-of-school multidisciplinary team set up in the ’90s ; the research was conducted in Italy in different socio-cultural contexts in technical as well as classical secondary schools on students 14–16 and 16-18 respectively.
The aim of the work was on the one hand to investigate as to whether or not the teaching- learning process speeds up when students are provided with a previous mnemonic knowledge of chemical formulae and, on the other hand, to test the feasibility of associating old and well-known natural language concepts with chemical concepts.
This work discusses how the communication on chemical topics has been improved by getting the student:
• To master the world language of chemistry.
This task was accomplished through a computer card-game based on the chemistry code.
The software CHICKA (Code Helping In Chemical Knowledge Acquisition) was built on the whole set of chemistry rules for composing inorganic chemical formulae, which was translated into game rules.
The software is articulated in levels and sublevels of increasing difficulty ; the cards represent the symbols of the elements and the structure of complex ions ; each formula composed appears on the monitor only if it is correct : it will be one of the hundreds formulae of inorganic compounds.
The software does not expect, however, any learning in its users for in the learning-mode the computer has the first hand and the second player is asked to reproduce the computer moves.
But in the tests and tournaments the computer stops being the tutor and becomes the opponent. Here the player can even score higher than the computer because some results are achievable by chance and not only by the competence in chemistry acquired throughout the previous games.
Throughout the game valency, anfoterism, electronegativity and stereochemistry are inadvertently learned.
The game is for any user the world over as no nomenclature is used.
Landucci, M., & Garganego, F. (2006, June), Teaching Chemistry As A Cross Cultural Subject: It & Linguistics Paper presented at 2006 Annual Conference & Exposition, Chicago, Illinois. 10.18260/1-2--260
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