Teaching and learning chemistry involves multiple levels of representation: macroscopic (macro), submicroscopic (submicro), and symbolic. A more recent trend includes the human element, a fourth representation level that contextualizes the chemistry content through real-world applications. This three-year study follows eight beginning chemistry teachers in order to understand how the chemistry content is depicted in the classroom. Teachers need to be engaged in the analysis of key concepts in the content and common representations to recognize instruction should focus on helping students negotiate the representation levels. Support for teachers with examples will help beginning teachers better implement the tetrahedral model and empower beginning teachers to intentionally point out the connections among the different representational levels for students. This may require support to extend beyond the first three years in the classroom.

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