What Should We Teach in High School Chemistry?

摘要

During my interaction with high school teachers at professional conferences, I have noticed disagreement about the purpose and content of high school chemistry. There seem to be two schools of thought: (i) high school chemistry is preparation for college-level chemistry, should contain introductions to essentially the same topics taught i ncollege chemistry, and should consist of the students that are recommended for the class or that show interest and potential in science-related careers or (ii) high school chemistry is a general-education course that should provide another way for students to view the world and further interest them in science; therefore, the course should be open to all students and focus on broad conceptual understanding.