opportunity to analyse events that they encounter in
daily life, but also become more aware of the connection
between chemistry/science and their daily lives (TPSI
1991). The students are thereby able to become more
actively involved in their own learning processes (Stolk
et al. 2009a, b). In these projects, contexts that are the
starting points for the development of scientific under-standing (Bennett et al.2005) are introduced to the students
in order to excite their curiosity (Stolk et al.2009a, b). The
students are required to induce meanings by using contexts;
thus, they justify a ‘need-to-know’ approach to content.
Once the students perceive the importance and relevance of
the material, their enthusiasm towards science/chemistry is
boosted (Barker and Millar1999, 2000; Belt et al. 2005;
Potter and Overton2006). Context-based courses improve
student engagement in learning chemistry, and help them
to acquire a better understanding of their environment
(Bennett and Lubben 2006).