Experimentation-Based Learning for the Development of Scientific Competencies in Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56200/mentor.v5i4.13413Keywords:
Experimentation, learning, competencies, scienceAbstract
Science education faced the challenge of moving beyond practices centered on content reproduction and demonstrative experiments with limited student intellectual engagement, a situation that restricted the integrated development of scientific competencies. The objective of this study was to analyze the contributions of experimentation-based learning to the development of scientific competencies in students, considering its foundations, pedagogical processes, competencies fostered, implementation conditions, and main limitations identified in the scientific literature. A documentary review was conducted through the consultation and selection of relevant scientific literature, organized in a documentary matrix and analyzed thematically. The development showed that experimentation promoted the formulation of questions and hypotheses, the design of procedures, the analysis of evidence, the explanation of phenomena, argumentation, and scientific communication, especially when teacher mediation and progressive autonomy were present. It was concluded that its educational potential depended mainly on the pedagogical quality of the experiences and on their capacity to turn experimentation into a process of construction, contrast, and communication of scientific knowledge.
Downloads
References
Abrahams, I., & Millar, R. (2008). Does Practical Work Really Work? A study of the effectiveness of practical work as a teaching and learning method in school science. International Journal of Science Education, 30(14), 1945–1969. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690701749305
Cabezas Caicedo, S. A. (2024). La experimentación pedagógica como estrategia didáctica en la enseñanza de las Ciencias Naturales y el desarrollo del pensamiento científico en la sede Institucional Unión Victoria. Miradas, 19(1), 157–179. https://doi.org/10.22517/25393812.25538
Campos Mera, G., & Benarroch Benarroch, A. (2024). Laboratorios virtuales para la enseñanza de las ciencias: Una revisión sistemática. Enseñanza de Las Ciencias. Revista de Investigación y Experiencias Didácticas, 42(2), 109–129. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/ensciencias.6040
Causil Vargas, L. A., & Rodríguez De La Barrera, A. E. (2021). Aprendizaje Basado en Proyectos (ABP): Experimentación en laboratorio, una metodología de enseñanza de las Ciencias Naturales. Plumilla Educativa, 27(1), 105–128. https://doi.org/10.30554/pe.1.4204.2021
Chaccha Tinoco, E., Guerreros Lazo, J. L., Álvarez Sierra, G. L., & Palomino Carhuallanqui, K. R. (2022). Aprendizaje experiencial de Kolb en estudiantes de la Facultad de Ingeniería Metalúrgica y de Materiales de la Universidad Nacional del Centro del Perú. Prospectiva Universitaria, 18(1), 99–109. https://doi.org/10.26490/uncp.prospectivauniversitaria.2021.18.1634
Chengere, A. M., Bono, B. D., Zinabu, S. A., & Jilo, K. W. (2025). Enhancing secondary school students’ science process skills through guided inquiry-based laboratory activities in biology. PLOS ONE, 20(4), e0320692. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0320692
Chonillo Sislema, L. O. (2025). Impacto de los kits experimentales en la formación de habilidades científicas y prácticas en alumnos de química: Una revisión sistemática (2018-2023). Revista Científica UISRAEL, 12(1), 147–168. https://doi.org/10.35290/rcui.v12n1.2025.1257
Čipková, E., Fuchs, M., Huszárová, K., & Trško, Ľ. (2026). Ready to experiment? A closer look at students’ scientific skills in lower secondary education. International Journal of Science Education, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2026.2617918
De Jong, T., Linn, M. C., & Zacharia, Z. C. (2013). Physical and Virtual Laboratories in Science and Engineering Education. Science, 340(6130), 305–308. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1230579
Estrada Maldonado, A. D. J., Reséndiz Balderas, E., & Cervantes Castro, R. D. (2022). Enseñanza de la ciencia: Sesiones prácticas bajo el enfoque de investigación dirigida para el fortalecimiento de competencias científicas. RIDE Revista Iberoamericana Para La Investigación y El Desarrollo Educativo, 12(24). https://doi.org/10.23913/ride.v12i24.1156
Eymur, G., & Çetin, P. S. (2024). Investigating the role of an inquiry-based science lab on students’ scientific literacy. Instructional Science, 52(5), 743–760. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-024-09672-w
Hofstein, A., & Lunetta, V. N. (2004). The laboratory in science education: Foundations for the twenty‐first century. Science Education, 88(1), 28–54. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.10106
Lazonder, A. W., & Harmsen, R. (2016). Meta-Analysis of Inquiry-Based Learning: Effects of Guidance. Review of Educational Research, 86(3), 681–718. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315627366
Montero Bonilla, M. J., Nuñez Averos, L. M., Fernández Cobas, L. C., & Vergel Parejo, E. E. (2025). Estrategias didácticas para fomentar el pensamiento crítico en ciencias naturales en estudiantes de educación básica: Teaching strategies to foster critical thinking in natural sciences among elementary school students. Revista Científica Multidisciplinar G-Nerando, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.60100/rcmg.v6i2.897
OECD. (2026). PISA 2025 Assessment and Analytical Framework. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/86c36975-en
Oliveira, H., & Bonito, J. (2023). Practical work in science education: A systematic literature review. Frontiers in Education, 8, 1151641. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1151641
Parra Almeida, A. M., Balcázar Tandazo, Y. D. C., Yánez Narváez, D. A., Ruiz Cárdenas, M. J., Baque Curay, M. T., & Moreira Moreira, G. D. (2026). Análisis de las estrategias docentes para el desarrollo de destrezas ambientales del EDS y las brechas en su aplicación metodológica. Revista Científica Multidisciplinaria Tsafiki, 3(1), 283–295. https://doi.org/10.70577/tb84a917
Pedaste, M., Mäeots, M., Siiman, L. A., De Jong, T., Van Riesen, S. A. N., Kamp, E. T., Manoli, C. C., Zacharia, Z. C., & Tsourlidaki, E. (2015). Phases of inquiry-based learning: Definitions and the inquiry cycle. Educational Research Review, 14, 47–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.02.003
Pineda Amórtegui, C. M., Valencia Caballero, L. Y., & Bendeck Soto, J. H. (2026). Desarrollo de Competencias Científicas y Matemáticas: Una Revisión Aplicada en la Básica Primaria y Secundaria. Estudios y Perspectivas Revista Científica y Académica, 6(1), 6677–6713. https://doi.org/10.61384/r.c.a..v6i1.1659
Ramos-Galarza, C. (2021). Editorial: Diseños de investigación experimental. CienciAmérica, 10(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.33210/ca.v10i1.356
Rhenals-Ramos, J. C. (2021). Contribuciones de la Neuropsicología a nivel educativo: Un análisis teórico y reflexivo. Ciencia y Educación, 5(3), 117–127. https://doi.org/10.22206/cyed.2021.v5i3.pp117-127
Silva Mesias, J. G., Coello Bone, J. E., Loja Loja, C. M., Serrano Ortega, G. F., & Castillo Pindo, B. M. (2023). Importancia de la experimentación en el proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje en los niveles de educación básica y bachillerato para potenciar el pensamiento crítico. Ciencia Latina Revista Científica Multidisciplinar, 7(3), 4825–4836. https://doi.org/10.37811/cl_rcm.v7i3.6514
Wörner, S., Kuhn, J., & Scheiter, K. (2022). The Best of Two Worlds: A Systematic Review on Combining Real and Virtual Experiments in Science Education. Review of Educational Research, 92(6), 911–952. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543221079417
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Pablo Andrés López Puga , Karen Stephanie Silva Coloma , Martha Lucía Aucapiña Chillogalli , Yessica Yadira Bautista Timbila , Cristopher Andrés Zambrano Zambrano , Melisa Mishel Romero Asimbaya

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.






































+593987341121 Email: rjposso@revistamentor.ec