Adapting a Core-Idea Centered Undergraduate General Chemistry Curriculum for Use in High School

Connecting the behavior of invisible (to the naked eye) particles governed by the principles of quantum mechanics to the world we can see and touch requires a host of inferences, almost none of which can be extrapolated from experience. Molecular-level sensemaking thus relies upon intellectual resources that must be developed in large part by formal learning environments. Over a decade of research at the college-level indicates that centering instruction around scaffolded progressions of core ideas can help students cultivate, organize, and use their disciplinary knowledge to explain and model a range of phenomena. Informed by this literature, we have adapted a core-idea centered, evidence based undergraduate general chemistry curriculum for use in high school. Our adaptation process, which was a collaborative effort between researchers and classroom teachers, is described in detail with emphasis on alignment between the Next Generation Science Standards and our materials. Efforts reported here represent a first-in-class model for high school curriculum development wherein conceptual progressions developed and validated at the college level form the basis for high school coursework.