This paper describes the rationale and the implementation of five laboratory experiments; four of them, intended for high-school students, are inquiry-based activities that explore the quality of water. The context of water provides students with an opportunity to study the importance of analytical methods and how they influence our everyday…

One of the goals of science education is to provide students with the ability to construct arguments--reasoning and thinking critically in a scientific context. Over the years, many studies have been conducted on constructing arguments in science teaching, but only few of them have dealt with studying argumentation in the laboratory. Our research…

This paper describes the implementation of an open-ended inquiry experiment for high-school students, based on gas chromatography (GC). The research focuses on identifying the level of questions that students ask during the GC open inquiry laboratory, and it examines whether implementing the advanced inquiry laboratory opens up new directions for…

The laboratory has been given a central and distinctive role in science education, and science educators have suggested that rich benefits in learning accrue from using laboratory activities. Twenty years have been elapsed since we published a frequently cited, critical review of the research on the school science laboratory (Hofstein & Lunetta,…

Presented is a review of three methods for evaluating the effects of laboratory work in high school science instruction. The report focuses specifically on evaluating student performance, what aspects are to be evaluated, and how to evaluate. A table is given of some of the limitations and benefits of each of the assessment procedures. The authors…

In an effort to improve students' interests in science and science courses, a study was conducted in Israel to evaluate students' attitudes towards science relative to two chemistry curricula. These curricula were Chemistry for High Schools (CFH), and Chemistry--A Challenge (CAC). The CFH program was mainly designed for science-oriented students…