Thinking and Learning in Nested Systems: The Classroom Level.

Teaching and learning in college chemistry classrooms is affected by a variety of structural and psychosocial factors that influence classroom dynamics. In this second part of a two-part perspective [Talanquer et al. J. Chem. Educ.10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00838], we review and discuss the results from research that has helped us understand the complex social and knowledge dynamics that emerge in interactive learning environments. We use this analysis to make explicit major insights about curriculum, instruction, assessment, teachers, and students gained in the past 25 years and to summarize their implications for chemistry education.

Didaktik Models in Chemistry Education.

The decisions and actions that chemistry educators make regarding why, what, how, and when to teach certain content or implement a specific instructional activity are often guided, but also constrained, by explicit or implicit "didaktik models". These types of models direct our attention and actions when designing curricula, planning for instruction, or assessing the learning process. They also give educators a professional language when talking or reflecting about teaching and learning. When used systematically, didaktik models support the implementation of research-based instructional practices and are helpful in the professional development of educators. In this essay, we describe, analyze, and discuss the nature and utility of didaktik models in chemistry education and argue that it is critical for chemistry educators to recognize and reflect on the types of models that guide their work.

Impact of an instructional team's feedback on an instructor's teaching practices in a Biology of Cancer course.

The effective implementation of evidence-based teaching (EBT) in large college courses benefits from the successful use of instructional teams. An instructional team's feedback allows instructors to act based on evidence of student learning, addressing students' needs. This feedback may be particularly important for novice instructors or experienced instructors teaching a class for the first time. This study sought to characterize the nature of an instructional team's feedback as well as its influence on the decisions and actions of a seasoned instructor teaching a new class. Instructional team members provided feedback in the form of anticipations, noticings, and suggestions. Anticipations and suggestions seemed to have the largest impact on the instructor's decisions and actions, while noticings, despite providing insights into student thinking, had a smaller effect. Our findings indicate that an instructional team can provide valuable feedback to instructors when team members have an opportunity to meaningfully participate in the planning and teaching processes.

The Complexity of Reasoning about and with Chemical Representations.

External visual representations of chemical entities and processes (chemical representations) play a critical role in chemical thinking and practice. They support reasoning by serving as bridges between the macroscopic world and the chemical models that help us make sense of the properties and behaviors of substances in our surroundings. Consequently, many chemistry education research studies have been carried out to explore and foster students' representational competency in our discipline. Nevertheless, in this Perspective I argue that investigations in this area would benefit from a more in-depth analysis of how the distinctive characteristics of chemical representations affect student reasoning. I identify four dimensions of variation in these representations (iconicity, quantitativeness, granularity, dimensionality) that affect students' ability to interpret, connect, generate, and use chemical representations. I discuss how these features influence the unpacking or packing of information during different types of tasks, affecting sense-making and perceptual competency. Implications for chemistry education research and practice are considered.