In common with many other countries, the Iranian science curriculum does not introduce primary children to atoms and molecules but instead leaves the teaching of these concepts until high school. This paper challenges this practice and describes the changes in elementary Iranian children’s understanding of atoms and molecules following a 10-h teaching intervention about basic atomic-molecular theory, derived from recently published Australian research. The participants involved in this study are a group of 25 Iranian children aged 9 to 12 years old, who participated in a vacation summer school where they were taught about the structure of atoms and molecules. Thematic and content analysis of children’s written responses and drawings before and after the intervention reveal significant changes in their conceptual thinking. The results also show the extent to which the children can generate microscopic representations of the states of matter from their understanding of atoms and molecules.

与许多其他国家一样，伊朗的科学课程没有向小学生介绍原子和分子，而是将这些概念的教授留到高中。本文挑战了这种做法，并描述了在 10 小时的基本原子分子理论教学干预后，伊朗初级儿童对原子和分子理解的变化，该理论源自最近发表的澳大利亚研究。参与这项研究的参与者是一组 25 名 9 至 12 岁的伊朗儿童，他们参加了一个暑期暑期学校，在那里他们学习了原子和分子的结构。干预前后儿童的书面回答和绘画的主题和内容分析揭示了他们概念思维的显着变化。