Chapter 8: Laboratory and Field Work

1

• Chapter 8 Laboratory and Field Work
• Objectives
• Define and give purpose for lab and field work
• 2. Discuss and construct exercises in five lab
  approaches
• 3. Discuss elements of pre- and post-lab
  discussions
• 4. Describe teaching tips for successful labs
• 5. Plan productive and safe field trips

2

• Defining Laboratory Work
• Engages students in finding out first hand
• Involves asking questions, making observations,
  proposing solutions, making predictions,
  organizing data, explaining patterns
• Can be used to improve technical skills
• May involve specialized equipment
• Central to science instruction
• Shows students what scientists actually do
• Develop a better understanding of concepts and
  principles
• Provides concrete experiences
• Promotes
• Attitudes towards science
• Scientific inquiry
• Conceptual development
• Technical skills
• Concerns
• Often aimless, trivial, and badly planned
• Periods too short, students often dont complete
  the lab, lack materials
• Should promote inquiry, not be cookbook only

3

• Approaches to Laboratory Work
• Science process skills
• Learning skills, not content, is sometimes the
  primary goal of a lab
• Often addressed at the beginning of a science
  course
• Mental processes associated with science
• a. Observing and Inferring
• i. p. 152 gives an example exercise
• ii. Observing noting something with senses or
  an instrument
• iii. Inferring explaining what you observe
• b. Measuring p. 153 give creative example of a
  practice exercise
• c. Hypothesizing general statement about set of
  phenomena
• d. Communicating
• e. Experimenting trying something out
• i. Can be controlled, where only one variable is
  allowed to change
• ii. Independent variable what is changed
• Dependent variable what you are measuring
• Deductive or Verification Lab
• Confirm concepts already presented in class

4

• Inductive Laboratory
• Develop experience with a concept before formal
  instruction
• Students search for unknown patterns and
  principles
• Example box 8.2, figure 8.4, and figure 8.5
• Learning cycle (5E lesson plan) exploration step
  prior to explanation encourages the use of
  inductive labs
• Technical Skill Laboratory
• Manipulative and hand-eye coordination skill
  important to science
• Teachers should master all skills in the content
  area (p. 158)
• Examples
• Care and use of microscopes is very important to
  biology students
• Measuring voltage and current important in
  physics
• Diagrams, graphs, drawings are important in all
  sciences
• Struggling with basic skill impedes learning
  concepts in lab
• Problem-Solving Lab
• Allow students to participate in selecting
  problem (insect to study)
• Students typically understand better when
  organizing own learning
• Can serve to motivate low or high-achieving
  students

5

• Preparing Students for Lab
• Pre-lab discussion
• Inform students why, how, and what they will be
  doing
• Should explain how lab related to topic currently
  under study
• If inductive lab, dont give away the principle
• May include demonstration of new techniques or
  equipment
• Labs are less cookbook if student know what to
  look for
• Giving directions
• Need to be explicit and contain safety
  information
• Oral instructions are fine for one-step
  activities test pH with paper
• Distribute written instructions or write on
  chalkboard if complex
• May include questions for students to answer at
  certain points
• Post-lab discussion
• Often rushed or ignored due to lack of time
• Critical to students crystallizing what they have
  learned

6

• Suggested post-lab activities
• View and analyze data and observations
• Have students explain data and how it
  demonstrates concepts
• Check student misconceptions they dont always
  get it
• Discuss science process skills to connect lab
  with science/technology
• Teaching Tips for Successful Labs
• Relevance of Lab work
• Lab can become disconnected from course content,
  everyday lives
• Use of commonplace equipment (xylophone, candles,
  household chemicals) provide connection to
  reality (Rubin, 1988)
• Make sure lab is tied to content taught in other
  ways
• Structure in Lab activities
• Short exercises with plenty of direction seem to
  work best at first
• Students become frustrated if they dont know
  what to do
• Some less structured labs facilitate problem
  solving, conceptual change, and motivation. Can
  be incorporated later in a course.

7

• Student Recording and Reporting of Data
• Try to keep is simple so most time is spent on
  the experiment
• Most manuals provide space for student data
  collection
• Should vary, just as complexity of labs vary
• Open-ended or inquiry labs may require more
  in-depth reporting
• Typical format problem, materials, procedure,
  results, conclusions
• Often quite time-consuming to grade
• De-emphasize correctness of data and conclusions,
  emphasize process skills
• Management and Discipline
• Arrange for enough space and to keep materials
  away until needed
• Individual work is best, but not always feasible
• Groups often promote off-task activities assign
  roles
• Noise can be a problem in the less structure lab
  environment
• Continuous contact with teacher can help walk
  around, dont sit
• Rules and policies should be developed and
  discussed prior to lab
• Example set of policies p. 165

8

• Evaluation
• Items to grade lab exams, reports, notebooks,
  behavior, effort
• Lab exams should be short and should reinforce
  concept learning
• Lab practicals stations with skills, techniques
  evaluated
• Effort and behavior should count significantly,
  especially in middle school
• Field Work
• Contributes to scientific literacy
• Authentic learning experiences
• Often the most memorable and enjoyable activities
• Planning a Field Trip
• Hospitals, power plants, factories, wildlife
  refuges are possibilities
• Selection must be based on connection to
  curriculum
• Survey possible sites prior to trip often areas
  right around the school can provide natural
  environment needed (p. 167)
• Consult administrators for permission and
  policies
• Make sure students know exactly what to do once
  in the field
• In-class activities before and after maximize
  educational benefits