Didactics and Digital Technologies in Chemistry Education

Instance: 2025/2026 - 1S

Cycles of Study/Courses

Last updated on 2025-09-29.

Fields changed: Program

Teaching language

Objectives

• Analyze, in a critical way, the curricular documents of Chemistry of Middle Education, its rationale and organization.


• Relate the conceptual and procedural component of laboratory activities.


• Prepare to carry out laboratory activities and explain the results obtained and their meaning.


• Prepare long and medium-term didactic sequences for teaching Chemistry in the 3rd cycle of Basic Education.


• Deepen knowledge of the nature of science and of attitudes towards science.


• Deepen knowledge of science-technology-society-environment (STS|STSE) relations, including scientific culture, the arts and the humanities.


• Identify relevant contexts to enhance the teaching of chemistry in contexts.


• Create and use strategies in chemical teaching using digital multimedia.


• Construct support material for the planned didactic sequences.


• Demonstrate in their educational planning (long and medium-term) the importance of chemistry in society and its relations with other areas of knowledge.


• Planning educational experiences: Planning theoretically and empirically based teaching empirically grounded, didactic interventions in a non-formal context  (e.g. study visits and other activities)

Learning outcomes and competences

• Analyze, in a critical way, the curricular documents of Chemistry of Middle Education, its rationale and organization.


• Identify key scientific concepts and their hierarchical organization.


• Select some curricular domains and subdomains for further pedagogical-didactic deepening.

• Analyze the proposals of laboratory activities present in the curricular documents.


• Relate the conceptual and procedural component of laboratory activities.


• Prepare for the accomplishment of laboratory activities.


• Experiment, in laboratory context, the previously planned activities.


• Explain the results obtained and their meaning.


• Propose adaptations to laboratory activities.

• Prepare long and medium-term didactic sequences for the teaching of chemistry in the Middle Education.


• Select innovative means that can be used in teaching chemistry to enrich learning environments.


• Plan new laboratory activities appropriate to curricular programs.


• Construct support material for the planned didactic sequences.


• Construct innovative practices in articulation with the results of educational research.

- Assessment of learning

• Select the appropriate modalities and evaluation tools at any time.

-Oral communication

• Present in a concise, organized and clear way the planned didactic sequences and the material developed.

 
- Reflexivity about practice

• Demonstrate a reflexive attitude regarding the pedagogical practice and appreciation of professional development and lifelong learning.


• Demonstrate in their educational planning (long and medium-term) the importance of chemistry in society and its relations with other areas of knowledge.

Working method

Program

1- Learning and teaching chemical concepts in the Middle schools.

2 - Chemistry and concepts in the macroscopic, representational, sub-microscopic and contextual domains.

3- History and philosophyof Chemistry and Teaching of Chemistry.

4- Alternative conceptions in Chemical identified as a result of research: diagnosis and overcoming

5- Strategies to promote investigative methodologies. Laboratory work-oriented problem solving.

6- Multimedia in Chemistry Education
types of resources
educational potentiation instruments and forms of integration.
Digital social networks: threats and opportunities in scientific education.
Artificial Intelligence and didactic, epistemological and ethical challenges in scientific education.

7- Nature of scientific knowledge. Science's relationship with technology, society and the environment (CTS|CTSA), scientific culture, the arts and humanities.

8- Planning lessons and other activities. Guiding principles. Teacher and student roles when decisions are taken. 

9- Research in chemical education. Implications to pedagogical practice.

Mandatory literature

Complementary Bibliography

Teaching methods and learning activities

Evaluation Type

Assessment Components

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Eligibility for exams

To obtain attendance the students:

1 - should not miss more than 1/4 of the classes planned.

2 - must undertake and obtain approval in at least half of the tasks associated with the evaluation components.

Calculation formula of final grade

Nota final = 0,05 x A + 0,15 x B + 0,2 x C + 0,3 x D + 0,3 x E

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Classification improvement

Observations

• Bensaude-Vincent, B., & Stengers, I. (1992). História da Química. Lisboa: Instituto Piaget.


• Driver, R (2014); "Making Sense of Secondary Science - Research into children's ideas".


• Paiva, J. (2023). Tecnologia e educação: novos (velhos) desafios. EDUCAÇÃO, FORMAÇÃO & TECNOLOGIAS, 11(1), 61–67.


• Sutton, C. (1992). "Words, Science and Learning", McGraw-Hill Education (UK).


• Eilks, I. & Hofstein, A. (Eds.). (2013). "Teaching Chemistry – A Studybook: A Practical Guide and Textbook for Student Teachers, Teacher Trainees and Teachers", Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.