ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the knowledge transformation that students are implicitly required to perform in science education between disciplines integrated within a science course. A detailed example is presented regarding the use of mathematics and physical chemistry within an introductory university course in biochemistry. It is argued that conceptual problems can arise for some students when mathematics is reduced to a mere “tool” rather than a language to be explored when learning about models in biochemistry. Another conceptual difficulty concerns the framing of physical chemistry which is shifted from (mainly) experimental knowledge in high school chemistry to theoretical chemical thermodynamics in university-level biochemistry teaching.
The main argument of the chapter is that we should pay more attention to scientific literacy issues of students in science education as an integral part of teaching introductory-level courses in e.g. biochemistry (and natural science courses in general). The knowledge transformations discussed are not linked to the institutional context as such or to the transition from university to professional life, but rather to knowledge transformation at a detailed “micro-level” of concepts, models and procedures that students have to handle in learning biochemistry.
