Review: An Overview of Three Levels of Chemical Representation until 2019 S D Luviani, S Mulyani, and T Widhiyanti
Program Studi Pendidikan Kimia, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia
Abstract
Since it was first introduced by Johnstone, 3 levels of chemical representation are still a focus in the field of chemical education. Researchers/instructors who use three levels of chemical representation, must have sufficient knowledge about these three levels so that they are able to apply them properly in the learning or research process. However, 3 levels of representation have been widely adapted and interpreted by many researchers so that it can cause confusion for teachers or researchers who are still unfamiliar with these 3 levels. Therefore, we summarize the term of representation level until 2019 and describe the scope contained within these three levels of representation from various perspectives. The method used in this research is document analysis. We obtained 72 journals that discussed the level of chemical representation. The results obtained were 48.61% of researchers using the term macroscopic, submicroscopic, and symbolic levels which were different from the original ideas of Johnstone. In addition, we found 33 new terms for 3 levels of chemical representation. Based on the analysis of 33 new terms, the scope of macroscopic, submicroscopic, and symbolic levels becomes richer and broader.
Keywords: Three levels of chemical representation, macroscopic level, submicroscopic leve, symbolic level
