The first chemical experiments in my life
The first chemical experiments in my life

Simple chemistry demonstrations and chemical experiments for pupils of Polish primary schools as sophisticated didactic method of the popularization of chemistry and induction of chemistry fascination in children based on inquiry approach

Summary/Abstract: First chemical experiments can be very useful for children in their future chemical education. Due to this fact, we conducted simple chemical experiments with pupils (475 children aged: 5–13 years) of two primary schools in Poland from different regions (Małopolska and Świętokrzyskie voivodeship) and tested their knowledge before (pre-test) and after chemical experiments (post-test). The idea of the project was to attract pupils’ interest and provide them with knowledge of selected physicochemical properties of components and simple chemical compounds according to chosen elements of an Inquired Based Science Education (IBSE) idea. Special attention was paid to the application of commonly used chemical substances in everyday life (e.g. vinegar, baking soda etc.). For verification of the increase of the knowledge we applied two types of evaluation tools : 1) pre-tests and post-tests of subject knowledge, in order to see what pupils had gained from the experience, and 2) drawing exercises which represent experimental observations and chemical reaction effects (heat, light) from the pupils’ point of view. In this article we describe the chemical experiments presented during the course of the project, interpretation of the obtained results and the project evaluation.

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