Modification of the G.C.E.(A/L) laboratory experiments by introducing the real world applications to enhance the curiosity of students in chemistry

Abstract

Chemistry is a science which is very relevant to our real life. It involves many fields in our day to day life. Our G.C.E (A/L) students are in the surface level of learning process and their aim is passing the examination. Therefore they do not have idea about the practical value of the subject. Further they don’t apply the knowledge they gain in the school for their daily activities. Knowledge on food science widens and the relevant technologies advance day by day. Over the past century there has been an increasing reliance upon the use of food preservatives in our food supply. Thus, food standards and regulations are very important for our health and to control the food born diseases. In this background, this project was carried out in propose modifications the G.C.E.(A/L) laboratory experiments to give necessary practical knowledge which is essential for our daily activities. Initially an administered survey was conducted to identify the existing knowledge of students on this field. This survey was carried out in the Central Province using 110 students. It indicated that students have some knowledge on the above topic which was picked up from the media, their parents, written materials and other ways. It was not a proper knowledge, because there were lots of gaps between them, - - Pog 2S se ky 06 NOV 28 * Further it was found out by the survey that majority of students said that they didn’t get much knowledge on this field from the school. Then, the proposed modified experiment was introduced to selected 61 students from three schools in the Central Province. A questionnaire was given after the experiment to get their idea about the new experiment that they have done in the laboratory. This has indicated that they are strongly preferred to do such experiments with modifications. This was evident by the observational data too. According to this new method students could gain knowledge on the subject and its applications as well. This new method could be proposed to introduce to the G.C.E. (A/L) syllabus very easily. It doesn’t need any special requirements .Therefore the proposed method can use to modify our existing G.C.E. (A/L) laboratory experiments to enhance their keen interest in Chemistry.