Students’ Understanding of Higher Order Concepts in Chemistry: Focusing on Chemical Equilibrium

Abstract

Most research shows that students have some misunderstandings and their ideas are difficult to change. We educators should know what children have in their minds in order to find suitable teaching strategies which might be used to help to develop students’ understandings. Understanding their ideas is also necessary for the development and improvement of practice in science education. In this paper, the issue of changing children’s ideas will be discussed briefly; and, then a review of the literature on the misconceptions held by students on the topic of chemical equilibrium, which is one of the most difficult areas for students to understand will be made. The article concludes with some implications.