A general term used for hands-on work done by students in a science class. Laboratory activities may involve direct manipulation of objects or data, observation or data gathering (measurement, counting, watching, etc.), data organization (classifying, categorizing, designing data charts, graphing, etc.), performing calculations with the data, interpreting the data, identifying patterns and generating predictions or hypotheses.
Not all laboratory activities are experiments. Some activities allow the students to initiate and carry out an actual experiment with controlled variables while others require the students to interpret evidence, verify laws, follow procedural steps, discover a generalization, or simulate a process. Laboratory activities may be classified according to purpose and process or level of lab openness. The Schwab/Herron Levels of Laboratory Openness classify laboratory activities according to the degree to which problems, methods, and answers are given by the teacher or are left open to the students. In a level-0 activity, the teacher gives problem, methods, and answers; in a level-3 activity, the student decides on a problem, the methods, and finds the answers. McComas (1997) classifies laboratory activities according to their purpose or the process involved. Examples include cookbook activity, deductive laboratory, experiment, inductive laboratory, practical work, etc. (See Verification Activity)
Laboratory learning is a central focus of science education and is used to help solve problems that are interesting and real to students. One purpose of this form of learning is the appropriate application of scientific methods to problems or questions that the students seek to investigate. Experiences in the lab help to develop an understanding of science principles through direct observation of phenomena.
A law is a description of a pattern or trend in natural phenomenon (Rhodes, Schaible, 1989; Casti, 1989). Fleisher states, "A scientific law is a statement that tells how things work in the universe. It describes the way things are..." (Fleisher, 1987). While trying to relate the observed, laws are discovered -- the facts and trends already exist and merely need to be noticed (Dillworth, 1994). In addition, laws are practical; they can be used to predict other instances. For example, the cell law states that all living things are comprised of cells. Therefore, if scientists encountered a new living thing, they would predict that it also contained cells. Finally, the terms law and theory are not interchangeable and do not follow a hierarchical relationship -- one does not become the other over time (Dillworth, 1994; Rhodes and Schaible, 1989).
Named for Ernest Orlando Lawrence (d. 1958), inventor of the cyclotron, and 1939 Nobel Laureate in Physics, the Lawrence Hall of Science is a memorial erected by the Regents of the University of California as a tribute to this great scientist. The Hall was conceived with three main objectives:
The Hall was designed by Anchen and Allen, architects in San Francisco and built by Carl W. Olson and Sons Company at a cost of $4,504,226. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held June 12, 1965 and The Lawrence Hall of Science was dedicated on May 20, 1968.
The initial staff of the Hall consisted of six people including its first director, Harvey E. White. The staff was expanded when professors and outstanding high school teachers were hired to teach in the laboratory-classrooms. In addition, other projects operating with grants moved into the Hall consolidating educational projects in science in one location.
While the Hall was conceived for improving high school science education it soon became evident that the most frequent visits were from elementary schools whose students did not have the conflict of having six teachers to adapt to a field trip to the Hall. Teachers took part in two-week seminars that included making inexpensive lab equipment for their classrooms. The public was invited to enjoy the museum seven days a week, viewing the Phantom Images Demonstration, the worlds largest Periodic Table with interactive display, engraving of twenty-six of the world's most famous scientists and of course, the excellent collection of Lawrence memorabilia. The Holt Planetarium was added in the early 1980's and holds regular planetarium shows.
Currently, the Lawrence Hall of Science offers a myriad of public programs and seminars for educators as well as continuing to serve as the site for numerous grant-based projects in science education such as the Full Option Science System project funded by the National Science Foundation (White, 1983).
Robert Karplus, a faculty member at the University of California, Berkeley, was interested in science education in the 1950's. He wrote a grant through the National Science Foundation and formed a team of educators, scientists, and theorists to create the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS). SCIS had three major goals (for children):
With these goals in mind, the team developed the learning cycle.
The learning cycle is a three-phase approach that relates to Piaget's stages of cognitive development. The first stage is the exploration phase. This is when the child is introduced to the materials/experience through an open-ended session where there is no expectation that the child will discover the science concept in questions by him or herself. The second phase is concept introduction. The concept is explained and simplified by the children with guidance from the teacher. Children are given new ways to think about their experience. The third phase is referred to as concept application or discovery activities. Children continue to explore and extend the concept by conducting more activities and using additional resources to investigate.
Today, the learning cycle is used as an instructional tool in the classroom. This instructional strategy is more student-centered and less teacher directed. It gives children the hands-on activities they need to help formulate and understand scientific concepts (DeBoer, 1991 and Neumann, 1993).
Learning Cycle has five main divisions in science:
-Engage-captures attention and topic is established
-Explore-constructs knowledge through questioning and observation
-Explain-explains what has been discovered and is followed by discussion to refine understanding
-Extend-application of what is learned
-Evaluate-self assessment by student