Talk about Chemistry - A Voluntary and Effective Integration among the Players of Teaching Chemistry

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mimi

“Talk about Chemistry” (TAC) proposes an integrating, voluntary annual 6-hour meeting that brings together undergraduates, new and senior chemistry teachers, and teacher educators to discuss current chemistry topics and how to teach and learn them. The format uses short, clear speeches to actively engage participants, eliminating passive roles while enabling the sharing of experiences, opinions, and solutions. The proposal is assessed through spontaneous oral statements and written reports, showing a positive impact on initial training and continuous education with minimal resources and low prior organization.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Talk about Chemistry

Integrating voluntary meeting model

Encouraging and assessing participation

Why encourage training in Brazilian public schools

Educational context and teacher shortages

Prioritized actions to meet objectives

"Talk about Chemistry": A Voluntary and Effective Integration among the Players of Teaching Chemistry By Adriana Vitorino Rossi 􀀍 The "Talk about Chemistry" (TAC) reported here proposes an integrating action involving undergraduates, new and senior chemistry teachers and teacher educators. It is a 6h annual voluntary meeting to talk about current and stimulating chemistry topics and discuss how to teach and learn them. Short speeches are clear and accessible, in order to encourage the audience’s participation. There is no passive role and all people involved express opinions, share experiences and act as educators as they discuss scientific and educational knowledge, teaching practice and professional qualification. These activities provide simultaneously initial training and the continuous education of chemistry teachers. The assessment of this proposal involved spontaneous oral statements and written reports, with positive remarks highlighting the importance of TAC, for teachers to share experiences, expectations, doubts and possible solutions. TAC requires very little resources and prior organization, but has a positive impact regarding the training of chemistry teachers. Keywords: cooperative learning, teacher education, teacher training Why Go in this Direction? Reasons for this Work Efforts to encourage the training of new teachers who are properly able to teach in Brazilian public schools require the collaboration of many specialized higher school educators and instructors, although the participation of experienced senior public school teachers is of fundamental importance due to the rich and poignant experiences they bring with them. The synergistic interaction between members of these different educational spheres creates a productive and enjoyable workspace for the improvement of all people involved: undergraduate teachers-in-training, senior teachers and teacher educators 1. Throughout the "Talk about Chemistry" (TAC), these spheres willingly merge into one another, due to a proactive interaction between the members, resulting in direct benefits for the whole group. Besides the personal and collective benefits, however, there are also long-term useful outcomes for the Brazilian society as the individual growth of each public school teacher positively affects the country’s education. TAC also provides opportunities of 􀀍 Professor, University of Campinas, Brazil. 1 Teacher educators are here identified as those teachers in higher schools who are formally involved in pre-service and in-service teacher education. [https://doi.org/10.30958/aje.3-3-5](https://doi.org/10.30958/aje.3-3-5) doi=10.30958/aje.3-3-5 professional upgrading to senior teachers and reinforcement to the new teachers. Details of the past editions of TAC are available in Portuguese at [http://pibidunicamp.wordpress.com/](http://pibidunicamp.wordpress.com/) . The Brazilian basic education system includes elementary school (9 years) and high school (3 years) . After high school, students may go to a university firstly as undergraduates (4 to 6 years courses) and then as graduates (mastersand doctorate, 2 and 4 years respectively) . Students’ first contact with chemistry concepts occurs during elementary school science classes, but only become a formal subject in high school. Undergraduate chemistry majors may choose between two possible degrees: a Bachelor of Chemistry degree or a Bachelor of Chemistry Teaching degree (in Portuguese: Licenciatura em Química) . This last one is mandatory in order to teach chemistry at a public and/or private Brazilian school and usually takes 4 to 5 years to get it, with no distinct special training regarding public or private schools. At some universities, the undergraduates can get it almost simultaneously with the Bachelor of Chemistry degree (4 years) . Despite this possibility, the lack of professional encouragement – such as poor working conditions, low income and little prospects for career gr

FAQs

What is the main purpose of TAC?

TAC aims to integrate undergraduates, new and senior chemistry teachers, and teacher educators to discuss stimulating chemistry topics and how to teach and learn them.

How does TAC encourage participation during the meeting?

The meeting uses short, clear speeches designed to encourage audience involvement, with no passive roles so everyone shares opinions, experiences, and acts as educators.

How is TAC evaluated and what resources does it require?

TAC is assessed through spontaneous oral statements and written reports with positive remarks. It requires very little resources and prior organization.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mimi