This study examined how the relevance of teaching the unit “acids and bases” affected the societal, individual, and vocational aspects of students’ learning. The sample included four high-school classes and the study focused on analyzing the differences between students who had studied the unit “acids and bases” through the High Relevance Approach (HRA) method and those who had studied it using a more traditional method (the Low Relevance Approach , LRA). A total of 112 students participated in the study, 57 (51%) of whom were from the experimental class (HRA) and 55 (49%) from the control class (LRA). The study was conducted through questionnaires to determine whether a close connection exists between the relevance of teaching the topic acids and bases and the societal, individual, and vocational dimensions of student achievement. Regarding the individual aspect, the teacher develops skills and increases the students’ motivation and enjoyment and improves their achievements. Regarding the vocational aspect, the teacher utilizes innovation and skills to achieve relevant learning; regarding the societal aspect, the relationship between the students in the classroom is strengthened and their positive self-experience increases.
Abadi, R., & Kashtan, Y. (2001). Factors of Success in Junior High School Science Studies. Research Report. MOFET Institute. (In Hebrew)
Bretz, S. L. (2017). Finding No Evidence for Learning Styles. Journal of Chemical Education, 94, 825-826. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00424
Burmeister, M., Rauch, F., & Eilks, I. (2012). Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Chemistry Education. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 13, 59-68. https://doi.org/10.1039/C1RP90060A
Childs, P. E., Hayes, S. M., & O’Dwyer, A. (2015). Chemistry and Everyday Life: Relating Secondary School Chemistry to the Current and Future Lives of Students. In I. Eilks, & A. Hofstein (Eds.), Relevant Chemistry Education (pp 33-54). Sense Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-175-5_3
Cooper, M. M., Kouyoumdjian, H., & Underwood, S. M. (2016). Investigating Students’ Reasoning about Acid-Base Reactions. Journal of Chemical Education, 93, 1703-1712. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.6b00417
Darling-Hammond, L., Flook, L., Cook-Harvey, C., Barron, B., & Osher, D. (2020). Implications for Educational Practice of the Science of Learning and Development. Applied Developmental Science, 24, 97-140. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2018.1537791
Dayal, P. D., & Ali-Chand, Z. (2022). Effective Teaching and Learning Strategies in a Chemistry Classroom. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 57, 425-443. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40841-022-00242-7
Eilks, I., & Hofstein, A. (2015). From Some Historical Reflections on the Issue of Relevance of Chemistry Education towards a Model and an Advance Organizer—A Prologue. In I. Eilks, & A. Hofstein (Eds.), Relevant Chemistry Education (pp. 1-10). Sense Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-175-5_1
Fensham, P. J., Gunstone, R. F., & White, R. T. (1994). The Content of Science: A Constructivist Approach to Its Teaching and Learning. Falmer Press.
Garforth, F. (1986). Chemistry through the Looking Glass. In P. E. Childs (Ed.), Everyday Chemistry (pp. 4-45). Thomond College.
Gilbert, J. K. (2006). On the Nature of “Context” in Chemical Education. International Journal of Science Education, 28, 957-976. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690600702470
Green, J. (2020). Powerful Ideas of Science and How to Teach Them. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429198922
Hofstein, A., & Lunetta, V. N. (2004). The Laboratory in Science Education: Foundations for the Twenty-First Century. Science Education, 88, 28-54. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.10106
Holbrook, J. (2003). Increasing Relevance of Science Education: The Way Forward. Science Education International, 14, 5-13.
Holbrook, J., Kask, K., & Rannikmae, M. (2008). Teaching the PARSEL Way: Students’ Reactions to Selected PARSEL Modules. Science Education International, 19, 303-312.
Hugerat, M. (2006). The Magic Liquid: A Science Story about Acids and Bases. Science Education Review, 5, 111-114.
Hugerat, M., & Basheer, S. (2001). Is Every Transparent Liquid Water? Journal of Chemical Education, 78, 10-41. https://doi.org/10.1021/ed078p1041
Hugerat, M., Mamlok-Naaman, R., Eilks, I., & Hofstein, A. (2015). Professional Development of Chemistry Teachers for Relevant Chemistry Education. In I. Eilks, & A. Hofstein (Eds.), Relevant Chemistry Education (pp. 369-386). Sense Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-175-5_20
Hugerat, M., Najami, N., Abu-Much, R., Khatib, W., & Hofstein, A. (2018). Making the Learning of Acid-Base Concepts More Relevant—A Research Study. Journal of Laboratory Chemical Education, 6, 36-45.
Jaleel, S., & Premachandran, P. (2016). A Study on the Metacognitive Awareness of Secondary School Students. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 4, 165-172. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2016.040121
Kala, N., Yaman, F., & Ayas, A. (2013). The Effectiveness of Predict-Observe-Explain Technique in Probing Students’ Understanding about Acid-Base Chemistry: A Case for the Concepts of pH, pOH, and Strength. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 11, 555-574. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-012-9354-z
Kember, D., Ho, A., & Hong, C. (2008). The Importance of Establishing Relevance in Motivating Student Learning. Active Learning and Higher Education, 9, 249-263. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787408095849
Krapp, A., & Prenzel, M. (2011). Research on Interest in Science: Theories, Methods, and Findings. International Journal of Science Education, 33, 27-50. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2010.518645
Lembens, A., & Reiter, K. (2017). Pre-Service Chemistry Teachers’ Conceptions of How to Teach “ACIDS and BASES”. In O. Finlayson, E. McLoughlin, S. Erduran, & P. Childs (Eds.), E-Book Proceedings of the ESERA 2017 Conference: Research, Practice and Collaboration in Science Education (pp. 1660-1668). European Science Education Research Association.
Makar, K., Bakker, A., & Ben-Zvi, D. (2015). Scaffolding Norms of Argumentation-Based Inquiry in a Primary Mathematics Classroom. ZDM, 47, 1107-1120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-015-0732-1
Marcelle, A. S., & Michael, A. R. (2003). Developing the Changes in Attitude about the Relevance of Science (CARS) Questionnaire and Assessing Two High School Science Classes. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 40, 757-779. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.10110
Marchak, D., Shvarts-Serebro, I., & Blonder, R. (2021). Teaching Chemistry by a Creative Approach: Adapting a Teachers’ Course for Active Remote Learning, Journal of Chemical Education, 98, 2809-2819. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c01341
Meydan, E. (2021). Investigating Secondary School Students’ Motivation for Chemistry Class in Terms of Various Variables. International Journal of Progressive Education, 17, 498-512. https://doi.org/10.29329/ijpe.2021.329.31
Mintzes, J. J., Wandersee, J. H., & Novak, J. D. (1997). Meaningful Learning in Science: The Human Constructivist Perspective. In G. D. Phye (Ed.), The Educational Psychology Series. Handbook of Academic Learning: Construction of Knowledge (pp. 405-447). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012554255-5/50014-4
Mrunalini, T. (2010). Educational Evaluation. Neelkamal Publishers.
Musengimana, J., Kampire, E., & Ntawiha, P. (2021). Factors Affecting Secondary Schools Students’ Attitudes toward Learning Chemistry: A Review of Literature. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 17, Article No. em1931. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9379
Novak, J. D. (2002). Meaningful Learning: The Essential Factor for Conceptual Change in Limited or Inappropriate Propositional Hierarchies Leading to Empowerment of Learners. Science Education, 86, 548-571. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.10032
Nuora, P., & Valisaari, J. (2020). Kitchen Chemistry Course for Chemistry Education Students: Influences on Chemistry Teaching and Teacher Education—A Multiple Case Stud. Chemistry Teacher International, 2, Article ID: 20180021. https://doi.org/10.1515/cti-2018-0021
Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2008). Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9, 105-119. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6053.2009.01038.x
Redding, C. (2019). A Teacher Like Me: A Review of the Effect of Student-Teacher Racial/Ethnic Matching on Teacher Perceptions of Students and Student Academic and Behavioral Outcomes. Review of Educational Research, 89, 499-535. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319853545
Siegel, M. A., & Ranney, M. A. (2003). Developing the Changes in Attitude about the Relevance of Science (CARS) Questionnaire and Assessing Two High School Science Classes. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 40, 757-759. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.10110
Stuckey, M., & Eilks, I. (2014). Raising Motivation in the Chemistry Classroom by Learning about the Student Relevant Issue of Tattooing from a Chemistry and Societal Perspective. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 15, 156-167. https://doi.org/10.1039/C3RP00146F
Stuckey, M., Mamlok-Naaman, R., Hofstein, A., & Eilks, I. (2013). The Meaning of ‘Relevance’ in Science Education and Its Implications for the Science Curriculum. Studies in Science Education, 49, 1-34. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057267.2013.802463
Towns, M. H. (2001). Kolb for Chemists: David A. Kolb and Experiential Learning Theory. Journal of Chemical Education, 78, 1107-1117. https://doi.org/10.1021/ed078p1107.7
Valadares, J. (2013). Concept Maps and the Meaningful Learning of Science. Journal for Educators, Teachers and Trainers, 4, 164-179.
Varis, K., Jappinen, I., Karkkainen, S., Keinonen, T., & Vayrynen, E. (2018). Promoting Participation in Society through Science Education. Sustainability, 10, Article No. 3412. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10103412
Wale, B. D., & Bishaw, K. S. (2020). Effects of Using Inquiry-Based Learning on EFL Students’ Critical Thinking Skills. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 5, Article No. 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-020-00090-2