SCIENCE TO TAKE TO CLASS

For students and teachers

A good report begins long before you write the conclusion. It begins with a well-framed question.

Natalia Horbach, PhDPublished 30 September 2026

Open educational resources from Fermentarnia. Adapt tasks to the group’s level and the rules of your teaching space.

A three-step learning path

Read the pH guide. Use an example to check what a recipe’s percentage means. Then prepare an observation sheet: add your question, recipe source and recording method. Each stage can be discussed without growing cultures.

What belongs in a report?

A question and prediction, a description of the method, a results table with units, your conclusion and limitations. Mark a missing measurement instead of guessing it. Cite sources and distinguish other people’s data from your own observations.

A note for teachers

Give groups the same table and ask for two statements: what the data show and what they cannot establish. Microbiological work requires appropriate laboratory rules and supervision; do not culture unknown samples at home.

pH / 0 → 24 → 48 h

An interpretation exercise

Fictional teaching data: at 0, 24 and 48 hours, pH readings were 6.0, 4.8 and 4.2. You can describe a decrease in pH. Those three numbers cannot identify microorganisms or confirm product safety. What information about the measurements and recipe is missing?

A blank sheet for your own notes. It contains no research results or food safety assessment. Print the sheet and complete it by hand.

fermentarnia · Natalia Horbach, PhD