CHEMISTRY FOR GIFTED AND TALENTED: ON-LINE COURSE ON TALNET

Education of the gifted and talented children, as potential contributors for the whole society, is emphasized and actively supported in the educational policy of the European Union. The project “Talnet – Online to Science“ originated in Czech Republic is one example of a wide scale of extracurricular activities focused on the education of the gifted and talented. The methods used in Talnet are based mostly on the interaction of the experts with the children, primarily in the on-line “T-courses“. The paper describes the structure, content and results of a two-semester on-line course “Biochemistry and Natural Compounds” that integrates the problem solving method with the home-made chemistry experiments in the form of an e-learning course. About ten talented high-school students from Czech and Slovak Republic participated in the first semester of the course. According to the evaluation results, the students find the course interesting and enriching. Four final theses were written and will be defended; one of them is intended to be applied for the national Contest for Young Scientists.