Periodic Universe: A Teaching Model for Understanding the Periodic Table of the Elements

摘要

The Periodic Table of the Elements (PTE) is arguably one of the most central topics in chemistry. This article provides a critical review of current teaching practices of the PTE to high-school students and undergraduate university students. It also provides a new teaching model, the "periodic universe", for understanding of the PTE through building on its foundational periodicity. Students learn through a guided re-creation of the PTE from simple periodic simulations and interdisciplinary processes. The periodic-universe teaching model directs students to conceptualize, rather than memorize, relationships between the elements by predicting patterns in progressively challenging simulated worlds. This mixed-method research project consists of both quantitative (n = 58) and qualitative (n = 15) responses from university undergraduate students, demonstrating the utility of inquiry-based learning of the PTE for novice chemistry students. Herein, we position the periodic-universe teaching model in the current educational literature of inquiry and interdisciplinary studies by outlining the function of the model and illustrating its effectiveness on the basis of empirical analysis with undergraduate students in a postsecondary-education setting. The results indicate that knowledge of the PTE increases after instruction with the model, and that nonchemistry-major students have increased engagement, understanding, and appreciation of the importance of periodicity to chemistry when presented with the periodic-universe teaching model.