VOL. 2, No. 6
A LABORATORY NOTEBOOK
489
A LABORATORY NOTE BOOK WALTER 0.WALKER, WILLIAM JEWELL COLLEGE, LIBERTY, MISSOURI
The writer has for the past four years employed a particular type of note book for use in the laboratory. The note book itself is not unique, neither is the employment of carbon paper with i t a startling discovery. Each student is required to obtain a note book of the type decided upon by th? instructor. A sheet of carbon paper is furnished by the department. This notebook must be present a t all laboratory periods and notes on the nature and results of the experiments entered therein. I t is not necessary for the students to write out all the points of the instructions; a hare outline is sufficient. Results should be entered dearly and concisely. A little careful training, a lecture on note taking, and criticisms of the notes will help the student to grasp the idea of note taking. To illustrate the use of this note book, it may be desirable to follow a student through a laboratory exercise. He prepares the note book by inserting the carbon paper so that a clear copy win he made. Next his name is written, together with the date and the nature of the experiment. It is necessary that these points be observed, otherwise confusion may arise, not only on the part of the student, but also on the part of the instructor. After completing an experiment (or a portion, where there are several distinct parts to a general experiment) the student is required to bring his note book to the instructor for a conference. If the notes are correct, the instructor 0.K.'s the notes and the student is permitted to go on with the experiment. If the results are incorrect, the student is shown his difficulty (or a suggestion made which will make him see it) and he is required to repeat that portion of the work. In no case is he allowed to continue with the remainder of the experiment until satisfactory results have been obtained on the section under question. At the end of the period the student removes the carbon copy and hands it to the instructor, retaining the original in his note book for his own reference. The instructor may check over the carbon copies of the students as thoroughly as he thinks necessary. The advantages of this system are very apparent. 1. It teaches the student to take notes containing the desirable information in a uniform note book and in a uniform style. This in itself is most important. 2. It gives him a permanent record of all notes taken in the laboratory. There are no scrap paper notes to be lost. 3. The instructor is able to check up the work of the student in the laboratory while the experiment is fresh in the student's mind. He is reasonably certain that the corrections are properly noted by the student.
4. The carbon copies afford the instructor a ready reference list as to the progress of work in both class and individual cases. 5. This system reduces to the minimum the unfortunate tendency of many students to depend upon their neighbors in the laboratory.
