PROJECT-BASED LEARNING IN CHEMISTRY: THE ROAD FROM HIGHER EDUCATION TO APPLIED RESEARCH Á. Berenguer-Murcia, R. Ruiz-Rosas, R. Torregrosa-Maciá, A. Bueno-López, D. Lozano-Castelló Instituto de Materiales, Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Universidad de Alicante (SPAIN) Abstract With the Formative Evaluation model founded on project based learning that we propose in this work a student may develop, throughout the duration of practical laboratory teaching which comprises a significant number of hours invested in laboratory demonstrations, a given “project” with concise teaching objectives and solid formative background (as determined by the corresponding teaching staff) that involves the development of diverse skills. By using the term “project” we mean a set of coordinated and intertwined activities of both theoretical and practical character with specific objectives that aim to potentiate the learning of knowledge and skills in the student that may be of great help in his/her development, personal realization, and future professional practice. From a broad perspective, they may be considered small research projects. Keywords: Formative Evaluation, Laboratory, Interdisciplinary Chemistry, Skills, Project-Based Learning. 1 INTRODUCTION Adapting the teaching techniques in subjects with a high degree of practical learning to the demands of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) demands a significant change in focus, especially since students will go from a strong dependence from their teachers to the opposite situation in which students will enjoy an almost complete independence with the teacher’s guidance. From our perspective, this matter can be tackled in a satisfactory manner with a course of action with will allow the student to develop a series of skills which will be very useful for his/her future as a professional or academic researcher. One of the main hurdles that science higher education students bear is the apparent lack of connection between what they are told in the lecture theatres and what they are shown in the practical laboratories, resulting in a mismatch between what they know and what industry or the labour market wants them to know. The objective of this work is to put forward and explore the possibility of applying a Formative Evaluation [1] process through the application of Project-Based Learning [2] in the Degree of Chemistry within the framework of subjects with a high degree of investment in practical laboratory teaching, with a protocol that may be applicable in different disciplines of Chemistry (be it Organic, Inorganic, Analytical, etc.). This should provide a means for the lecturer to nurture students in subjects which albeit increasingly popular during the past few years, are somewhat disconnected from what is actually taught in the classrooms, and for students to become acquainted with state-of-the-art research which will help them apply the knowledge acquired during the course of the subject from a both practical and applied perspective, thus allowing them to pave their way between academia and research. 2 METHODOLOGY We start from the basis that a student can develop, by means of the development of a practical lab which invests a significant number of hours in demonstrations, a given “research project” based on current literature with clear learning objectives which should furthermore be committed to a strong teaching drive and which encompass the development of different skills related to the degree which is being taught (in this particular case we will focus on Science, and more specifically on Chemistry). The methodology that we will thus attempt to follow for the development of the so-called “projects” is the one described and exemplified below. The methodology that follows refers to a subject which has a large practical component (i.e. with a significant percentage of laboratory practice ECTS credits) within Proceedings of EDULEARN17 Conference 3rd-5th July 2017, Barcelona, Spain ISBN: 978-84-697-3777-4 2462