Observation skills
How to develop students’ observation skills in practical chemistry
Alexander Fleming’s observation of a culture plate led to the development of antibiotics. The investigation of a glue by Spencer Silver and Arthur Fry introduced us all to sticky notes. The observation of an unexplained line in a solar spectrum during an eclipse identified helium as a new element. Images on Henri Becquerel’s photographic plates led Marie Curie to coin a new word – radioactivity. Each of these observations has had profound consequences.
Examples like these provide an effective way of engaging student interest and reminding them of the importance of their own observations in following and understanding chemical change.
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