Exploring student experiences of learning chemistry using holism evolution infused poetry

Abstract

Holism evolution states that although energy, matter, life, consciousness and the human personality are independent and different substances/levels of evolution, they are holistically and intimately related. This paper presents the findings from teaching chemistry to high school science students and post-graduate university science-education students using poetry constructed from physical science ideas embedded in holism evolution. The research findings are based on observations of student behaviour and their written feedback from being taught chemistry using poems on the periodic table and acids and bases. Both poems demonstrate the holism intimacy between various substances/levels of evolution, with the periodic table poem also presenting groups of chemical elements as representing the characteristics of infant, teenager, adult and old age of matter, presenting a holistic relationship between matter and life. The findings indicate that using holism evolution-infused content led to a personally meaningful engagement with chemistry even among students with limited previous interest in the subject. Many post-graduate students expressed new levels of engagement with chemistry as well as new insights to enliven their teaching practice.