Teachers’ Opinions about the Effect of Chemistry Demonstrations on Students’ Interest and Chemistry Knowledge

Oct 15, 2026

Chemistry is an experimental discipline in which demonstrations may enhance students’ interest and motivate meaningful understanding. This study investigates Slovenian chemistry teachers’ opinions on how chemistry demonstrations affect students’ interest and chemistry knowledge. Using a quantitative approach, 81 primary and secondary teachers from different regions of Slovenia completed an online questionnaire. Results indicate a positive effect on motivation, performance, and the quality of students’ chemistry knowledge, regardless of teaching experience or demonstration frequency.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Practical work

Teachers’ Opinions about the Effect of Chemistry Demonstrations

doi: 10.26529/cepsj.893 Teachers’ Opinions about the Effect of Chemistry Demonstrations on Students’ Interest and Chemistry Knowledge Luka Vinko*1, Seamus Delaney2 and Iztok Devetak3 • Chemistry is an experimental discipline that uses experimentation as one of its most important research methods. Laboratory work and other practical work are therefore also essential in chemistry lessons. Chemistry demonstrations are used by teachers as an educational approach that can increase students’ interest in chemistry and motivate them to learn chemical concepts with understanding. However, if the students are actively involved in the chemistry demonstration, it can be just as effective as or even more effective than students’ learning through experiments. The purpose of this research is to examine teachers’ opinions about the impact of chemistry demonstrations on students’ interest and chemistry knowledge. Based on a quantitative research approach, 81 primary and secondary school teachers from different regions of Slovenia participated in this study. Participating teachers completed an online questionnaire on their perceptions of the impact of chemistry demonstrations on students’ interest and performance in chemistry classes and on the quality of students’ knowledge of chemistry. The results show that regardless of the years of teaching experience and the frequency of performing chemistry demonstrations, the participating teachers consider such demonstrations to have a positive effect on the motivation and performance of the students in chemistry and on the quality of the students’knowledge of chemistry. Keywords: chemical concepts understanding, chemistry demonstrations, chemistry teaching, students’ interest 1 *Corresponding Author. Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; [luka.vinko@pef.uni-lj.si](luka.vinko@pef.uni-lj.si). 2 Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University, Australia. 3 Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. 10 teachers’ opinions about the effect of chemistry demonstrations on students’ Mnenje učiteljev o učinkih demonstracijskiheksperimentov na interes učencev in njihovo kemijskoznanje Luka Vinko, Seamus Delaney in Iztok Devetak • Kemija je eksperimentalna veda, ki uporablja eksperiment kot eno glavnih orodij preučevanja. Laboratorijsko in drugo praktično delo statako bistvena tudi pri kemijskem izobraževanju. Demonstracijske eksperimente učitelji uporabljajo kot pedagoški pristop, ki lahko povečujeučenčev interes za kemijo pa tudi motivira učence za učenje z razumevanjem. Če so učenci v demonstracijo aktivno vključeni, pa so lahko demonstracijski eksperimenti enako učinkoviti oziroma še učinkovitejši kot samostojno eksperimentiranje učencev. Namen raziskave je bil preučiti mnenja učiteljev o učinkih demonstracijskih eksperimentov naučenčev interes in uspešnost pri pouku kemije ter na kakovost učenčevega kemijskega znanja. V raziskavi, ki je temeljila na kvantitativnemraziskovalnem pristopu, je sodelovalo 81 osnovnošolskih in srednješolskih učiteljev iz različnih statističnih regij Slovenije. Učitelji so izpolnilispletni vprašalnik, ki se je navezoval na njihovo mnenje o učinkih izvajanja demonstracijskih eksperimentov na interes učencev in uspešnost pri pouku kemije ter na kakovost učenčevega kemijskega znanja. Ugotovljeno je bilo, da učitelji ne glede na delovno dobo in pogostost izvajanjademonstracijskih eksperimentov po večini menijo, da demonstracijski eksperimenti pozitivno vplivajo na interes in uspešnost učencev pri pouku kemije ter na kakovost učenčevega kemijskega znanja. Ključne besede: razumevanje kemijskih pojmov, demonstracijski eksperimenti, poučevanje kemije, interes učencev Introduction The experiment is one of the most important research methods in chemistry. Laboratory work and other practical work are, therefore, also essential in chemistry lessons (Tsaparlis, 2009), which can also be observed in primary and secondary school curri

FAQs

What is the purpose of the research on chemistry demonstrations?

To examine teachers’ opinions about the impact of chemistry demonstrations on students’ interest and chemistry knowledge.

How was the study conducted and who participated?

A quantitative approach was used with 81 primary and secondary school teachers from different regions of Slovenia, who completed an online questionnaire.

What did teachers report about the effect of chemistry demonstrations?

Teachers reported that chemistry demonstrations have a positive effect on students’ motivation and performance in chemistry and on the quality of their chemistry knowledge, regardless of experience and frequency.

Oct 15, 2026

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