Digital boost for practical skills

While the development of graph-drawing skills, for example, is essential, if the purpose of the practical focuses explicitly on improving the use of apparatus and investigative skills, why not let technology do the heavy lifting? Visualising data particularly benefits those who may require additional time for drawing graphs by hand.

But not all technology has to have bells and whistles to be effective – simple spreadsheet applications can suffice.

When I was still teaching, to widen participation in chemistry we invited groups of 13–15 year-olds to take part in activities, one of which involved an iodine clock competition.

I faced the challenge of completing the activity in 45 minutes with groups of pupils from a wide range of backgrounds. The winning criteria were to achieve the best results by varying the concentration of one of the solutions and accurately recording time for the colour change.

As results started to arrive, pupils recorded them into a shared spreadsheet. Excitement grew as the charts, simple scatter graphs pre-programmed to display lines of best fit, were projected onto the screen. Teams discovered that, by refining measuring techniques and repeating runs, their R² approached 1 and so did their shot at victory.

Data-logging: predict, observe, repeat

Data loggers can be invaluable in developing investigative skills and they’re particularly useful when teaching continuous monitoring. Thanks to an industry sponsor (Solvay) at my old school, we had some reasonably priced electronic balances and colorimeters that we could easily link to software.

You don’t need a class set, because you can use a demonstration rather than asking all your learners to do the experiment. For example, when you show learners the marble chips and hydrochloric acid reaction, arm them with mini whiteboards and ask them to sketch a graph of loss of mass versus time. Test their predictions by running the experiment live on a digital top pan balance linked to data-logging software. I used Ohaus as it was cheap and easy to set up.

Build up the tension as you mix the reagents and the software plots the graph. Are they hastily erasing incorrect predictions, or nodding with satisfaction at their accurate models?

Technician Sandrine Bouchelkia describes a novel adaptation of the disappearing cross experiment using colorimeters linked to data-logging software. She told me this is ‘closer to a method that would be used in industry’.

Despite the clear benefits, documented in research and the rapid adoption of digital technology in the real world, barriers to the use of data logging in schools remain. This includes equipment costs, software obsolescence, technician shortages and professional development opportunities for inquiry-based teaching with technology. The 2024 Gatsby report on CPD highlights these challenges, suggesting that realising technology’s potential requires systemic support beyond individual teacher innovation.