Revista Cátedra, 7(1), pp. 94-108, January-June 2024. e-ISSN:2631-2875
https://doi.org/10.29166/catedra.v7i1.4474
used as a didactic strategy where the student analyzes the phenomena directly. In addition,
Cueto and García (2017), indicate that: "significant learning occurs. Students, who already
have some previous theoretical knowledge, will be able to relate practice with theory" (p.
48).
Currently, at the experimental level, traditional methodologies are applied, as is the case of
experimental practices. For this type of practice, the use of laboratory guides is used. During
this process, a certain cognitive stagnation is perceived in the students, due to the fact that
all the information is provided in this document. Therefore, the student does not make an
effort to reflect, investigate, or get involved in constructing his own knowledge. This
problem has been pointed out by Llorente, (2016) in his article, where he examines the
impact of experimental practices on student learning and motivation. Although, he
highlights that experimental practices can motivate and generate good learning outcomes,
he also warns about the need to move towards more challenging approaches. His study
concludes that consecutive application of experimental practices can slow down cognitive
development. In addition to limiting students' ability to reflect, investigate and actively
participate in the construction of their own knowledge.
In view of this problem, a non-experimental research, with correlational scope, was carried
out to study the teaching-learning process. The open research methodology was used
through the planning and elaboration of a relevant model in the laboratory practices, called
road map. The study was carried out on high school students of the "Nuestra Familia"
Educational Unit. Thus, the present study proposes to analyze open research in laboratory
practice and its relationship with the learning of chemistry. Considering Stoichiometry as
the main axis of learning at all high school levels. For which we wish to determine the
influence of the open laboratory practice in order to identify the process of open research.
The relevance of this study lies in the fact that, upon performing an exhaustive search in
local and national databases, no similar research was found where the independent variable
of this study, i.e., open research in laboratory practice, is considered. However, we did find
degree works where experimental practices are employed with the use of a laboratory guide
as a didactic tool. Therefore, this study is useful to expand and update the data on the
learning of chemistry. As well as, proposals to improve the educational quality and the
teaching-learning system in Ecuador.
This study faces several difficulties and challenges that may affect the interpretation of the
results and the generalization of the conclusions. First, the implementation of open-ended
research in laboratory practice may encounter lack of familiarity among students, which
could influence the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. Finally, the difficulty in
controlling all external variables that could influence the teaching-learning process may
affect the internal validity of the study. Despite these challenges, addressing these
difficulties will provide a solid foundation for future research, and improvements in the
implementation of open-ended research in the educational context of Chemistry.
Despite the ambitious objectives and identified relevance, this study faces certain limits that
must be considered when interpreting its results. First, there is the geographical and
educational level limitation that could affect the generalization of the findings to other
educational institutions or academic levels. Also, the selection of stoichiometry as the main
focus of learning may limit the applicability of the results to other branches of chemistry.
Finally, the study does not address external factors, such as socioeconomic or cultural
conditions of the students, which could influence the results. These limits offer
opportunities for future research that could expand and contextualize the findings of the