Resumen de Microscale and compact scale chemistry in South Africa
Reduced costs and greater time efficiency are often quoted among the main benefits of microscale chemistry. Do these benefits outweigh some of the limitations and difficulties faced in terms of students needing to develop new manipulation skills, and teachers requiring training in terms of implementation and management? This article describes a recent development of microscale chemistry that is aimed at limiting some of the disadvantages yet retaining the main advantages. Practical guidelines on implementation and management are discussed. The findings are based on a project implemented in 2003 that is still running successfully. The article discusses the extent to which traditional scale has been retained within the project school and to what extent microscale chemistry has replaced previous experiments done on the traditional scale.
