Constitutive Pluralism of Chemistry: Thought Planning, Curriculum, Epistemological and Didactic Orientations

Maybe the most difficult aspect of thinking about chemistry arises from the fact that chemistry isn’t an homogeneous subject. As a central science, it draws on a range of philosophical perspectives which in turn can result in different cognitive, learning and teaching styles in chemical education. This idea, apparently non-controversial, needs to be validated by more research. Without assuming this constitutive pluralism, describing it, and determining it, it becomes difficult to think of curricular goals and content. Thus, if we intend to improve the teaching of chemistry it is necessary, first, to assume explicitly this constitutive pluralism, then to map it in order to find the guiding principles: first for the mind (thought process), then for the curriculum and finally for the teaching, in such a way that it is as close as possible to the chemical way of operating and thinking. This is the aim of this paper. It reports the authors’ experiences in drafting structural ideas and planning for the subject “didactic of chemistry” based on the philosophy of chemistry at the University of Porto in Portugal.