Lucila Giammatteo
FES Cuautitlán UNAM Posgrado MADEMS – QuÃmica, Mexico
Title: Assessing chemistry laboratory skills through a competency-based approach in a high-school chemistry course
Biography
Biography: Lucila Giammatteo
Abstract
Given the changes with the last educational reform in Mexico, most high-schools have changed to a competency-based model. Since there is a huge gap between the instruction and the evaluation process, there is an evident need to homologate both. This paper proposes a novel strategy to evaluate the competencies which are related to laboratory practices, such as formulating hypothesis, systematizing information, applying security norms, handling residues, collecting data, contrasting results in an experiment and communicating conclusions.
Experimental sciences specific competencies were selected and evaluated with the use of an assessment tool where the students' levels of achievements were described considering the curriculum and the graduate's profile. A random sample of students averaged 16 years old was chosen. After submitting the laboratory report, Students' feedback was delivered through Blackboard platform in prompt time, so the students could take those comments into consideration and improve their performance in the following practices. A total of 7 practices were evaluated in this manner during a semester in an inorganic chemistry high-school course. The topics were chosen in such a way that those seen in theoretical classes were reinforced with the laboratory practices.