Unearthing conceptions about types of chemical bonding through the use of tiered worksheets- A case study

The use of tiered worksheets and interpretive procedures to find out teacher trainees’ conceptions about basic types of chemical bonds are presented in this paper. The research was carried out with 71 first year Chemistry education teacher trainees purposely sampled from two teaching universities. Their answers were analysed in order to understand their knowledge structures about chemical bonding. Results from the activity indicated that more than 88% of the chemistry education teacher trainees had some misconceptions about chemical bonding, which stemmed from their idiosyncratic interpretations about the nature of matter. The requirement for justification of answers which was embedded in the second tier unearthed these misconceptions. Some suggestions were made for other effective teaching approaches to enhance the trainees’ conceptual understanding of chemical bonds.