During its first year in publication, this JCE printed the findings from what may well be the oldest known report of chemistry education research. In a paper titled “The Advantages of Laboratory Work in the Study of Elementary Chemistry”, Bowers wrote that “the need of laboratory work isto train observation... because memory work is emphasized too much and scientific observation not enough. ” He argued, however, that this is the “most insignificant claim” one could make about the value of learning in the chemistry laboratory, instead arguing for the importance of learning information thatcan be used in further study.

JCE_Bretz2019_EvidenceForTheImportanceOfLaboratoryCourses.pdf