The Future Shape of Chemistry Education

Diverse forces shape the teaching and learning of chemistry at the beginning of the 21st Century. These include fundamental changes in the contours of chemistry as defined by new interfaces and research areas; changes in our understanding of how students learn, and how that applies to chemistry education; the wide-spread implementation of computer and information technologies to visualize complex scientific phenomena; and external forces, such as global concerns about energy and water resources and the environment, and the level of chemical literacy and public understanding of science. In responding to those forces, new dimensions to learning chemistry must be emphasized. Tetrahedral chemistry education is a new metaphor that emphasizes these dimensions, stressing the importance both of the human learner and the web of human connections for chemical reactions and processes. Examples of ways to build on this metaphor in five areas of the chemistry curriculum are outlined. Chem. Educ. Res. Pract.: 2004, 5, 229-245