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II. Skills and Thinking Processes
Students should develop the skills and thinking processes associated with the practice of science by
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performing experiments to separate colour mixtures by chromatography.Ÿ
devising a scheme to separate a mixture of known substances.Ÿ
performing experiments to detect the presence of certain chemical species in a sample.Ÿ
designing and performing an investigation to deduce the chemical nature of a sample.Ÿ
searching for information on the uses of modern chemical techniques.III. Values and Attitudes
Students are expected to develop in particular, values and attitudes as follows:
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to value the need for a systematic method of solving problems.Ÿ
to appreciate the importance of evidence in drawing conclusions .Ÿ
to appreciate the use of modern techniques in chemical analysis.Ÿ
to show a continuing interest in and curiosity about the advancement of science.3 7 3 7
III. L E A R N I N G A N D T E A C H I N G
Learning effectiveness depends on the motivation of students and their prior knowledge, the learning contexts, teaching methods and strategies, and assessment practices. To learn effectively, students should take an active role in science learning processes. Appropriate teaching strategies and assessment practices should be employed with this view in mind.
A. Teacher’s role
Teachers should be well acquainted with the aims and objectives of the curriculum and arrange meaningful learning activities for their fulfillment. They should timely and appropriately employ different learning and teaching approaches, and play the roles of a resource person, facilitator and assessor. Teachers are encouraged to use different strategies such as discussion, practical work and project learning to facilitate students’ learning. The learning process can be enhanced by stimulating students to think, encouraging students to explore and inquire, and giving appropriate guidance and encouragement to students according to individual needs. The followings are some suggestions made in accordance with these observations.
Designing teaching sequence
The topics in the curriculum are listed in a possible teaching sequence. However, different teaching sequences can be adopted to enhance learning. Teachers are encouraged to design teaching sequences for their particular groups of students.
Example:
In Section 2 “The Microscopic World”, some abstr act ideas are introduced. A possible teaching approach is to start with the more concrete topic “Properties of substances” and then move on to the concepts of chemical bonding. Two possible teaching sequences are outlined below.
Sequence A Sequence B
2.1 Atomic structure 2.1 Atomic structure
ò ò
2.2 Periodic Table 2.2 Periodic Table
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2.3 Ionic and covalent bonding 2.5 Properties of substances
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2.4 Metallic bonding 2.3 Ionic and covalent bonding
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2.5 Structures and properties 2.4 Metallic bonding
ò
2.5 Structures of substances
Catering for students’ abilities
In deciding teaching strategies, students’ abilities should be given due consideration, and it is unrealistic to expect every student to achieve the same level of attainment. Teachers should have the flexibility to devise teaching schemes with appropriate breadth and depth according to the abilities of their own students and to make learning challenging but not too demanding.
This can pave the way to enjoyable learning experiences. The core and extension approach adopted in this curriculum can facilitate teachers to design their teaching strategies so as to cater for their students’ abilities.
To cater for students with a strong interest or outstanding abiliti es in chemistry, teachers can set more challenging learning objectives on top of those described in this document.
Teachers should exercise their professional judgements to design and implement a broad and balanced chemistry curriculum for their students so that they would not be deprived of opportunities to develop their full potential.
Moreover, the time allocation for each section is suggested in Part B of Chapter II. Rough as they are, these estimates could nonetheless provide useful guidance to teachers as to the depth of treatment required and the weighting to be placed on each section.
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Designing learning activities
Teachers should motivate students through a variety of ways such as letting them know the goals and expectations of learning, building on their successful experiences, meeting their interest and considering their emotional reactions. Learning activities are designed according to these considerations. Some examples of these activities are given below.
Discussion
Questioning and discussion in the classroom promote students’ understanding, and help them develop higher order thinking skills as well as an active learning attitude. Presenting arguments help students develop skills related to extracting useful information from a variety of so urces, organising and presenting ideas in a clear and logical form, and making judgements based on valid arguments .
Teachers must avoid discouraging discussion in the classroom by insisting too much and too soon on an impersonal and formal scientific language. It is vital to accept relevant discussions in students’ own language during the early stages of concept learning, and to move towards precision and accuracy of scientific usage in a progressive manner.
One of the effective ways to motivate students is to make discussion and debate relevant to their everyday life. For example, in topic 7.4, the hazards and the safety precautions associated with the use of household fuels are interesting topics for discussion.
In addressing issues related to science, technology and society, more student-centred strategies can be adopted. For example, in topic 8.1, environmental issues related to the use of plastics will be discussed. Teachers can start the discussion with domestic wastes classification, and plastic w astes collection in schools and in housing estates. In the discussion, students are free to express their opinions, and then pool together the reasons of collecting plastic wastes and the difficulties of putting that into practice. Finally students can present their ideas to the whole class and receive comments from their classmates and teacher.
Experiments
includeŸ
designing and planningŸ
prediction ofresults
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manipulationof apparatus
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collection ofdata
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consideration of safety Practical workChemistry is a practical subject and thus practical work is essential for students to gain personal experience of science through doing and finding out. In the curriculum, designing and performing experiments are given due emphasis.
Teachers should avoid giving manuals or worksheets for experiments with ready- made data tables and detailed procedures, for this kind of instructional materials provide fewer opportunities for students to learn and appreciate the process of science. With an inquiry-based approach, students are required to design all or part of the experimental procedures, to decide what data to record, and to analyse and interpret the data. Students will show more curiosity and sense of responsibility for their own experiments leading to significant gains in their basic science process skills.
Moreover, experiments are better designed to “find out” rather than to “verify”. Teachers should avoid giving away the results before the practical work, and students should try to draw their own conclusions from the experimental results. The learning of scientific principles will then be consolidated.
Other than ordinary apparatus and equipment, teachers may explore the use of microscale equipment to enhance the hands-on experience of students in practical work. With careful design, some teacher demonstration experiments can be converted to student experiments in microscale practice.