Laboratory activities

Description

Laboratory activities have long had a distinctive and central role in the science curriculum. Conducting experiments helps students to put scientific principles learned in lectures into practice and is central to the study of science at university.

Implementation

Below is a checklist for implementing laboratory activities.

• Ask students to identify the relevant variables: Students can be asked to identify the controlled and uncontrolled variables in an experiment.
• Allow students to design the procedure or reduce the procedure to the essential parts: The best experiments are those with simple procedures that are easy to explain to students. If the procedure cannot be designed safely, then the students might be asked to explain why certain steps in the procedure are done in a certain way, which may be seen as another technique for relating external issues to experimental procedures.
• Allow students to design the data table: Designing data tables is an easy first step towards modifying your experiment in later steps.
• Use a standard lab worksheet: Every student should be assigned a standardised worksheet that contains the important concepts of experimental design (problem statement, hypothesis, variables, constants, data tables, summary and conclusions).
• Invite students to suggest sources of error and modifications to eliminate them, and raise questions about the experiment: For instance, a teacher might ask students to compare data between groups in a class or between classes. This may lead to questions regarding sources of variation. Students can produce questions by substituting, eliminating, or increasing or decreasing the value of a variable in an experiment.
• Arrange lab work as the first task on your teaching agenda: Moving lab sessions to the beginning of a course may inspire students’ curiosity towards the subject, which should encourage them to ask questions from an early stage. Teachers will then have more time to prepare answers for later clarification, which leads to better understanding.
• Ask students to make predictions before the session.Teachers might also ask students to explain their predictions based on their past experience and existing knowledge. If possible, the problem presented would be one that challenges their understanding. Challenges encourage students to come up with alternative hypotheses.
• Rewrite the experiment as a single problem for which the solution is not immediately apparent.Make solutions less apparent to students rather than telling them exactly what they need to do. Teachers may take part as facilitators, guiding students towards their own solutions.
• Give students an opportunity to discuss their predictions, explanations, procedures and data table before starting the experiment, and present their results afterwards.Peer feedback is essential to self-evaluation, which is the key to future improvement.
• Give students an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding.Students need opportunities to use new ideas in a wide range of contexts that will foster and consolidate their knowledge.

Extended readings

More information about laboratory works can be found on the papers below:

Johnstone, A. H., & Al-Shuaili, A. (2001). Learning in the laboratory; some thoughts from the literature.University Chemistry Education, 5(2), 42–91.

Kirschner, P. A., & Meester, M. A. M. (1988). The laboratory in higher science education: Problems, premises and objectives. Higher Education, 17, 81–98.

Shiland, T. W. (1999). Constructivism: The implications for laboratory work. Journal of Chemical Education, 76(1),
107–109.

Thomas, K. W. (1972). The merits of continuous assessment and formal examinations in practical work, Journal of Biological Education, 6, 314–318.