Show students how to grasp the scientific process

A school student thinks about the scientific process of hypothesis, experiment, results, publishing.

Source: © Tobatron

Three teacher-tested approaches to building this skill successfully

Teaching students how to plan their own investigations should not be a bolt-on. Understanding good scientific process is an essential skill for all secondary school chemistry students. In this article, a teacher shares their experience and how they encourage learners to give scientific process its due importance. They share examples of how to encourage this behaviour so that students can consolidate the planning and application of experiments to give them a fuller chemistry education.

Download the accompanying resource to help your learners aged 11–14 distinguish between observation and inference, key to unlocking the scientific process. 

Thanks for using Education in Chemistry. You can view one Education in Chemistry article per month as a visitor. 

A photograph of a teacher standing in a white lab coat, speaking with a class of children in a laboratory, is superimposed on a colourful background. Text reads "Teach Chemistry means support for classroom and staff room".

Register for Teach Chemistry for free, unlimited access

Registration is open to all teachers and technicians at secondary schools, colleges and teacher training institutions in the UK and Ireland.

Get all this, plus much more:

  • unlimited access to resources, core practical videos and Education in Chemistry articles
  • teacher well-being toolkit, personal development resources and online assessments
  • applications for funding to support your lessons

Already a Teach Chemistry member? Sign in now.

Not eligible for Teach Chemistry? Sign up for a personal account instead, or you can also access all our resources with Royal Society of Chemistry membership.