Matching Laboratory Learning Goals to Evaluation A Standards-Based Approach Warren Beasley Department of Education. The University of Queensland. Australia 4072
Undergraduate science education is often expressed in an abysmally poor physical environment. Laboratory eaperiences-the heart of any science-are often relegated to rote exercises that are designed to consume minimal resources whether these he time, space, equipment, or personnel. Laboratory experiences should expose the student to critical thinking, planning, analyses, and synthesis and should develop a sense of the integrity of data aa well as the uncertainty of measurements. The development of such characteristics occurs through active doing as opposed to passive observing. J. J. Lagowski, J. Chem. Educ. Editorial, March, 1990. Expressions of concern about the central and distinctive role of laboratory instruction in science education has continued for decades (I). The orchestra may change but the music remains the same. Clear definition of evaluation criteria can be used to focus student outcomes of a laboratorv experience. This paper presents a standards-based approach that encourages development of higher level process skills. Palterns of Laboratory Actlvlty Traditionally the laboratory program is represented as an adjunct to the lecture or teaching program in undergraduate or high school chemistry courses. Fensham (2) has proposed the relationship between the learning of conceptual knowledge in lectures and the lahoratory program can he represented as follows. No
Concept A
Lecturer Verbal Input Concept A Concept A developed defined
Concept A quantified
Optional associated experiences or applications (usually laboratory and textbook exercises)
Table 1. Four Approaches to the Structuring of Laboratory Actlvlty I
I1
111
IV
STUDENT Experimental Experimental Experimemi Planning and ACTIONS exe~ution execution execution design TO BE only ASSESSED Observations O b ~ e r v a t i o n ~ Experimental execution Interpretation and Explana- Observations tion of data Interpretation ad Explanation of data
+
TEACHER ACTION
+ +
+
+ +
Provide Provide Provide detailed detailed detailed stepwise stepwise stepwIse procedure procedure procedure
Give directions for investigation (cue notes)
Supply only Supply only Supply only necessary necessary necessary equipment equipment equipment to student to student to student
Supply equipment at Central point@)
+
STUDENT none WRITTEN RESPONSE
+-
raw data recorded
+
raw data recorded
f
+
Procedures are explained
+
conciusions Raw data made andlor gathered graphs drawn andlor mathe- Conclusions maticai remade andlor lationships graphs d r a m made andlor relationships made
+
Students perceive that the laboratory program is structured
to serve the interest of understanding conceptual knowledge that is important to chemists. Each laboratory session is viewed in isolation with little relevance to the outcomes of preceding sessions. The assessment of such activity is usually focused week by week, and the course rewards for the students are some weighted average of individual performances. For Stannard (3) and Kempa (4) a number of degrees of freedom are available for the structuring of the laboratory experience for students. Table 1(5)provides four degrees of commitment to laboratory teaching that may satisfy a range of circumstances existing in chemistry courses. I t has the distinct advantage of recognizing that both the psychomotor and coenitive domains of learninn are necessary to complete labo&tory investigation. It p r k i d e s for a continuum of exoectations of the student, beginning with the execution of simple motor skills, and progresses through various stages uf increasinals sophisticated process skills that would he required toebmpiete a scientific experiment.
a
590
Journal of Chemical Education
Toward Global Outcomes T h e overall process of undertaking a laboratory investigation can be described in terms of student responsibility. Four major phases of student activity have been identified by Kempa and Ward (6). These are: 1. Planning and design of an investigation in which the student predicts results, formulates hypothesis, and designs procedures; 2. Carry out the experiment,in which the student makes decisions about investi~ationtechniques and manipulates apparatus. 3. Observation of phenamen& and 4. Analysis, application, and explanation,in which the student pracesses data, interprets results and explores relationships. A Standards Schema The analysis presented above has identified four appropriate criteria from which student performance indicators (standards) can be devised. T h e criteria and the related standards can be represented in matrix form as in Tahle 2
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