The present paper offers a competency-based approach to evaluate high school laboratory skills during a chemistry course. The Secretaría de Educación Pública (Mexico’s Ministry of Education) has identified experimental sciences specific competencies that are to be established in high school. This study investigated the following competencies: Formulating scientific questions, posing hypothesis, obtaining and registering information, applying safety norms in handling substances, materials and equipment, conducting practical activities appropriately in the laboratory, handling residues, collecting qualitative and quantitative data, contrasting results, communicating conclusions, and documenting information sources. An assessment tool where the students’ level of achievements was created. This assessment tool evaluated these competencies by considering the curriculum and the students’ graduate profile. Results indicated that by having a consistent evaluation plan and providing students with effective feedback, the students competency levels addressed in laboratory practical’s can be improved significantly.

<p><em>This paper shows a novel way to work with the UN</em><em>’</em><em>s Agenda for the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, implementing a project based approach in a chemistry high-school course. The integration of inquiry-based learning, as well as the project based strategies, allowed students to develop multicultural skills that are crucial for becoming a global citizen. What is more, it provided the opportunity to integrate the scientific method and improve scientific writing by submitting a paper at the end of the project.</em></p>

Polymers constitute a series of materials that are essential for many processes such as: food transport, packaging and distribution, construction, etc. Hence, it is important to understand the variables that this process depends on. Experimental design is a powerful tool that enables the identification of variables that significantly influence a process through a matrix of experiments that a software constructs. With the aim of implementing ICTs in the learning-teaching process of polymers in a university group, the polymerization process system of PPMA (polymethylmethacrylate) is studied. The variables that affect the size of the Pearl are: temperature, reaction time and volumen of the polyvinyl alcohol aqueous phase. These variables are optimized through a Box-Behnken experimental design with three factors in three levels, achieving the construction of the response surface to optimize the process, obtaining a tridimensional equation that enables the prediction of the Pearl size through the values of the independent variables. Finally, the student acquires the competency of manipulating the variables that affect the polymerization process to optimize the process. For this reason, Design Expert is a valuable ICT tool in the learning-teaching process of polymerization systems.