In many Western countries, non-formal education has become increasingly recognized as a valuable addition to the traditional educational system. In recent years, a special form of non-formal student laboratories (Schülerlabor) has emerged in Germany to promote primary and secondary practical science learning. This paper describes a developmental project on Schülerlabor learning environments for all students with a particular focus on sustainability education in the context of chemistry-related topics. The goal of reaching all students puts intentional pressure on the development process of learning environments. It forces the Schülerlabors to create a detailed model of differentiation, which can reach all learners of different interests and abilities. This also includes low-achievers and students who have disadvantaged educational biographies. In this sense, the structuring of non-formal learning environments simultaneously becomes a process of innovation with respect to both the curriculum and the teaching methods. In this paper, we present a corresponding model of differentiation and a specific example focusing on the learning about protecting and preserving metal objects in science education. Preliminary results and implications from the accompanying evaluation are also discussed.

Practical work is an essential component of science education. However, insufficient approaches towards practical work can limit the potential it has for promoting both students' motivation and situational interest. One suggestion to solve this problem is to use alternative forms of lab instruction which are both motivating and easy to comprehend. One potential avenue is the increased use of pictorial information instead of pure text-based approaches. This case describes the use of comics in experimental instructions in non-formal chemistry learning. Comics visualise stories, are viewed as comprehensible to students, and also allow instructors to connect scientific tasks with authentic situations taken from students´ lives. This paper describes a study of 6th grade students´ perceptions (age range 11-13 years) of using comic-based lab instructions in a non-formal inquiry-based laboratory learning environment which focused on the chemistry of water quality. Semi-structured interviews of pairs of students were conducted during their visits to the non-formal laboratory. These 22 interviews (44 students total) were then analysed using qualitative content analysis. Overall, very positive perceptions by the students could be identified with respect to comicbased experimental instructions. Further research on the most promising use of comics in science education is needed.

Non-formal education has been suggested as becoming more and more important in the last decades. As the aims of non-formal education are broad and diverse, a large variety of non-formal learning activities is available. One of the emerging fields in many countries, among them Finland and Germany, has been the establishment of non-formal laboratory learning environments. These laboratories were established in universities and research institutes to aim at enriching opportunities for primary and secondary school students to do more and more intense practical work,e.g.in chemistry. The primary rationale of these laboratories, in the beginning, was mainly to raise students’ interest in the fields of science and engineering, possibly inspiring them to pursue a career in these fields. However, recently the movement has started offering more programs aiming at all learners, but especially those students who are sometimes neglected in traditional science education in the formal sector. A focus on all learners is suggested to help raise students’ level of scientific literacy when connecting practical science learning with the societal and environmental perspectives of science. Chemistry learning connected to sustainability issues offers many contemporary topics that are often not yet part of the chemistry formal curriculum but can easily form contexts for non-formal learning. Because of its flexible character, non-formal education can help implementing aspects of sustainability into chemistry education and also can take a gander at the growing heterogeneity of today's students. This paper derives a joint perspective from two non-formal chemistry education initiatives from Finland and Germany focusing education for sustainability for both talented and educationally disadvantaged students in the foreground of a more general perspective on non-formal and sustainability education in chemistry.

Zusammenfassung: DieHerausforderung,auf eine zunehmendheterogeneSchülerschaftzureagieren,ist nicht nureineA ufgabe vonSchule. Da naturwissenschaftliche Bildungverstärktauchinder Kooperationvon Schulenund außerschulischenBildungsträgern stattfindensollte, stellensichF ragenetwaanSchülerlabore, ob und wiediese derzunehmenden Heterogenitätihrer Besucherinnenund Besucher begegnen.DieserBeitrag disku-tiertA nsätzez ur Differenzierungi mS chülerlabor fürb esonders heterogene Lerngruppen.E sw erdene in Modell undv erschiedene Maßnahmenz ur Differenzierung im Schülerlabor vorgestellt. Ergebnisse ausd er Evaluation deuten an,dassdas Differenzierungsmodell fürdas Schülerlabor guteinsetzbarist unddie verwen-detenMethoden,u.a.durch Comics unterstützeV ersuchsanleitungen undabgestufteLernhilfen, aufgroße Zustimmung beiden Lernendenstoßen Stichworte: AußerschulischeBildung ·Schülerlabor ·Differenzierung ·forschendes Lernen Differentiationinexperimentalworkinnon-formallearning environmentsAbstract: Thec hallenge to respondt og rowing heterogeneitya mong students is noto nlyatask fors chools, sincee ducation is suggestedt ot akep lace more thoroughly in thec ooperation of schoolsw itho ut-of-school learning environments.T hus, non-formal educationp roviders in sciencee ducation need to find answers whetherand howtheyintendtodealwiththe growingheterogeneity.Inthisarticle,wedescribeapproaches towardsdifferentiation forveryheterogeneous learning groups when visiting an out-of-schoolexperimental learning environment (Schülerlabor). Adifferentiation modeland corresponding measures aredescribed.Findings from theevaluationindicatethatthe modelworks andthatthe implementedmethods, e.g. ,comic-based experimental instructions or cuecards,are well appreciatedbythe learners.