ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Th ere has been a well-documented and progressive decline in student participation in mathematics and science at both school and university levels in several industrialized countries around the world (James, 2007). Nevertheless, the overall demand for learning science has also taken on a renewed urgency (Commission on Mathematics and Science Education, 2009; UNESCO Education Sector, 2011) and is globally exceeding the capacity of established educational routes. Together the challenges of participation and capacity are becoming more pressing as we consider science education in the 21st century. Online distance delivery off ers practical alternatives to traditional on-campus education, but teaching science online and at a distance can be more demanding than (and certainly is not as common as) many other disciplines. Th ere are a variety of reasons for this, of which the most obvious is dealing with the practical and applied components (laboratory, clinic, fi eld work). Th is chapter will take a look at higher education teaching and learning in science with special emphasis on practical work.
