How to Balance Chemistry Education Between Observing Phenomena and Thinking in Models

The first part of the chapter aims at offering some general background information about multiple meanings and models in chemistry and chemistry education. A number of students ' difficulties in understanding these issues and factors that offer insight in their difficulties are also given. The second part of the chapter aims at providing three clusters of useful suggestions for the practice of teaching. The first cluster consists mainly of content-related suggestions for teaching multiple meanings and models, while the second cluster mainly covers student-related suggestions for teaching these issues. The third cluster regards suggestions for identifying students ' (alternative) conceptions after teaching. Some suggestions are rather specific while others are more general; the latter allows teachers to adapt and elaborate them for use in the specific situation of their own classroom.