A Learning by Doing Laboratory Based on Johnstone's Model: A Motivating Approach to Chemistry for High School Students

In Italian secondary schools, chemistry teaching is still disjointed from both practice and connection with real life contexts. This is true even for specific high schools (Scientific Licei), which are strictly devoted to the study of Natural Sciences, and hence of chemistry. The lack of chemistry teaching methods based on laboratory practice can be a serious deficiency in the learning process leading to students having poor motivations to study chemistry. As a consequence, according to National Scientific Project (Piano Lauree Scientifiche), in 2015/16 academic year, the UNICAM promoted chemistry degree course and evaluated the impact of a 6-8 hours long General Chemistry laboratory, addressed to 436 students (15-18 years old) of 11 Scientific Licei of the Marche region in Italy. 5 laboratory experiments, directly performed by students, concerned mainly the knowledge of the characteristics of different chemical reactions and a “learning by doing” approach was proposed, also allowing students to work at the three levels of Johnstone’s triangle. The analysis of the results of the multi-answers questionnaire administered showed an increase of about 20% correct answers after the laboratory session. However, the connection between the levels of Johnstone´s triangle was rather poor. This should be taken into consideration even more in the further step of the development.