The Use of Comics in Experimental Instructions in a Non-formal Chemistry Learning Context

Practical work is an essential component of science education. However,insufficient approaches towards practical work can limit the potential it hasfor promoting both students' motivation and situational interest. Onesuggestion to solve this problem is to use alternative forms of lab instructionwhich are both motivating and easy to comprehend. One potential avenue is theincreased use of pictorial information instead of pure text-based approaches.This case describes the use of comics in experimental instructions innon-formal chemistry learning. Comics visualise stories, are viewed ascomprehensible to students, and also allow instructors to connect scientifictasks with authentic situations taken from students´ lives. This paperdescribes a study of 6th grade students´ perceptions (age range 11-13 years) ofusing comic-based lab instructions in a non-formal inquiry-based laboratorylearning environment which focused on the chemistry of water quality.Semi-structured interviews of pairs of students were conducted during theirvisits to the non-formal laboratory. These 22 interviews (44 students total)were then analysed using qualitative content analysis. Overall, very positive perceptionsby the students could be identified with respect to comic-based experimentalinstructions. Further research on the most promising use of comics in scienceeducation is needed.