Embodied Learning for Abstract Concept Teaching in Chemistry: Insights from a Textbook-Based Analysis

Abstract

To address persistent challenges in teaching abstract concepts in senior secondary chemistry─particularly the gap between macroscopic manipulation and submicroscopic explanation─this study conducted a textbook-based content analysis of Senior Secondary Chemistry (Compulsory Modules 1–2) published by the People’s Education Press and the accompanying teachers’ guides. A four-dimensional coding framework was developed, encompassing concept type, level of bodily engagement, action–concept alignment, and degree of contextual immersion. Nineteen analytical units were independently coded by two raters, yielding high interrater reliability (Cohen’s κ > 0.80). The results indicate a pronounced structural imbalance in the distribution of embodied learning opportunities. Embodied support is predominantly concentrated at lower levels, mainly in observation-based activities (A1) and macroscopic experimental operations (A3–1). In contrast, higher-level embodied designs─including gesture-based action chains (A2), activities supporting structural mapping at the submicroscopic level (A3–2), and immersive simulations (A4)─are markedly underrepresented. Although topics amenable to direct macroscopic manipulation, such as solution preparation and energy transformation, receive relatively strong embodied support, representations that explicitly account for submicroscopic particle mechanisms and symbolic relationships, such as atomic structure and chemical bonding, are largely absent. This pattern suggests that current textbook designs emphasize macroscopic “doing” without sufficiently scaffolding students’ understanding of how submicroscopic interactions give rise to observable phenomena and symbolic representations. Based on the analyzed textbook and teacher-guide materials, these findings suggest that future textbook design may benefit from moving beyond simply increasing embodied activities and instead providing targeted embodied support for concepts that require students to connect macroscopic experience, submicroscopic models, and symbolic representations.