Phenomenology: preconceptions and experiences of non-chemists at Rhodes University using milk paint

Abstract

There exists an ever-increasing crisis in science education where students experience disinterest because of an inability to grasp true understanding of scientific subjects, and therefore there should be a call to increase the research of phenomenology in combination with science education. A rebalance and paradigm shift in the focus of the modes of teaching could result in a great improvement in the learning, comprehension, and intellectual self-confidence of students interested in the sciences. To study this, three research questions were established: How is chemistry perceived by non-chemists; what is the experience of the participants' during the chemistry practical in a laboratory and; do the participants' perspectives about chemistry change during the experience. The performed study consisted of a chemistry practical, two art works and, in some cases, an interview. Nine participants were asked to create the art under specific instructions of points of focus, namely their preconceptions prior to the practical (Artwork 1) and their lived experience during the practical (Artwork 2). Participants' artworks were examined using methods of visual semiotics and classical art analysis techniques, looking at line, shape, and colour choice. The iterative analysis of the interviews from participants 1, 2, 7, and 9 coded with ATLAS.ti 7 software, led to the emergence of themes that constitute the core of the participants' experience. This phenomenological study presents a path to engage the non-chemist with processes taking place in the laboratory by using 'Kitchen Chemistry' and illustrates how a phenomenological engagement with chemistry can make the subject more applicable to the general population of non-chemists.