An alternative conceptual framework from chemistry education

The science education literature includes many claims that learners commonly hold alternative conceptual frameworks about aspects of the science curriculum, especially in physics. There has also been criticism of the general notion of ‘alternative frameworks’, although some of this would appear to be due to different authors using the same terms in distinct ways. In this paper it is suggested that research evidence provides strong support for the view that many students of chemistry demonstrate similar alternative conceptions about some fundamental aspects of chemistry. These common alternative notions may be shown to be logically connected, and are here considered together to comprise a coherent alternative conceptual framework. Although it is not suggested that students will necessarily hold to all aspects of the framework, it is considered that the framework is a useful model of alternative thinking that teachers of chemistry should expect to find among their students.