For students learning science, a potential source of difficulty arises from the fact that many words used in formal science instruction are used informally in everyday communication. Chemical is one such word with multiple uses and meanings. The word chemical has different meanings when used in everyday language than in scientific language. Although children do not take a formal chemistry class in elementary school, they are expected to learn about chemical principles (chemical properties, physical properties, chemical change, and physical change) in fourth or fifth grade. Because of the everyday use of the word chemical, children are likely to have constructed some meanings about the word chemical prior to formal instruction. This prior knowledge is an important and necessary piece in the learning process. The learning theories of children's science and meaningful learning framed this qualitative investigation of fourth grade children's conceptual knowledge of chemicals.
During semi-structured interviews, children's ideas about chemicals were elicited as they categorized everyday objects and substances that were related to chemicals. The children described prototypical chemicals such as cleaning substances, acids, gasoline, lead, and mercury. The properties of chemicals described by the children suggest that the children think about chemicals within an anthropocentric framework. Children related the purposes and attributes of chemicals to human interaction with the chemicals. The implications for teaching chemical principles to children are discussed.
While this written dissertation presents the story of the qualitative investigation into children's ideas of chemicals, two other projects were completed for my doctoral degree. Manuscripts describing these two analytical chemistry cognate projects are included as appendices: Appendix H - An undergraduate chromatography laboratory experiment; and Appendix I - Meaningful leaning in a first-year analytical laboratory course.