TEXTBOOK ANALYSIS BASED ON MAHAFFY’S TETRAHEDRAL MODEL AND INSTRUCTIONAL PROPOSALS: THE CASE OF NITROGEN-CONTAINING COMPOUNDS IN GRADE 12 CHEMISTRY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18173/2354-1075.2026-0077Keywords:
Mahaffy’s tetrahedral model, textbook, Chemistry education, nitrogenous-containing compounds, general educationAbstract
This study analyzes the representation of Mahaffy’s tetrahedral model in the topic of nitrogenous-containing compounds in the Grade 12 Chemistry textbook, aiming to identify the distribution, connections, and transition requirements among the macroscopic, submicroscopic, symbolic, and human dimensions. Quantitative content analysis was conducted using the meaning unit as the unit of analysis, with two independent coders and inter-coder reliability examined using Gwet’s AC1/AC2 coefficients. The findings show that the textbook content is oriented mainly toward symbolic and submicroscopic representations, which appear in 72.5% and 65.0% of the coded units, respectively, whereas macroscopic representations account for 35.0%. The human element appears in 42.5% of the meaning units but is mostly limited to listing applications, with no instances recorded at the level of requiring evaluation, choice, or argumentation. The connections and transitions among representational levels remain uneven, indicating that teachers need to actively design additional bridging activities that connect observable phenomena, submicroscopic nature, symbolic representations, and real-life contexts. The novel contribution of this study lies in operationalizing Mahaffy’s model as a tool for textbook analysis and proposing topic-specific instructional orientations for nitrogenous-containing compounds in alignment with the student competency-development goals of Vietnam’s 2018 General Education Curriculum.
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