International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Volume 2, Number 1, January 2008
Return to current issues pageResearch Article
Abstract
An Evaluation of Student Performance on Traditional vs. Synopsis Laboratory Reports in Industrial Technology
Prior research demonstrated that writing synopsis laboratory reports (succinct syntheses of the experiment, lecture, and readings) instead of traditional laboratory reports, did not influence student learning as measured by comprehensive exam scores. This study extended this research by investigating the impact of these lab report formats on student learning as measured by laboratory report scores. Fifty-six Iowa State University industrial technology students were randomized into one of two groups that were required to write five synopsis reports followed by four traditional reports or vice-versa. The analysis of mean laboratory report scores using the paired-samples t-test revealed no significant difference between treatments. The analysis of the mean scores of the nine individual laboratory reports using two-sample t-tests revealed no treatment effect for seven of the nine reports. The results of an exit survey revealed that students believed the synopsis format helped them to achieve higher grades on their laboratory reports.
Keywords : Curriculum, Synopsis, Lab Reports, Teaching Methods, and Technical Writing
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David Hoffa
David Hoffa Industrial Consulting
Ankeny, Iowa, USA
dwhoffa@gmail.com
I earned my B.S. in Industrial Technology from Millersville University of Pennsylvania in 2001, M.S. in Electronics and Computer Technology from Indiana State University in 2003, and Ph.D. in Industrial Technology from Iowa State University in 2006. After a brief stint as an Assistant Professor of Industrial Technology, I shifted into an industrial role as a quality engineer and as a private consultant specializing in helping small manufacturers with lean manufacturing, automation projects, and training. My research interests include factory automation and robotics, video inspection and metrology, and Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. I received the National Association of Industrial Technology Foundation’s Clois Kicklighter Scholarship in 2005.
Steven Freeman
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa, USA
sfreeman@iastate.edu
As an associate professor of agricultural engineering at Iowa State University, I teach undergraduate and graduate courses in occupational safety and graduate courses in curriculum development. I received my undergraduate degree in agricultural engineering from Colorado State University, my masters from Texas A&M University, and my doctorate from Purdue University. Since 2004, I have also served as assistant director of Iowa State University’s Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching where I coordinate scholarship of teaching and learning efforts on campus. My safety research interests include youth agricultural safety, stress, risk perceptions, and safety decision making. I am also involved in researching student outcomes in technology and engineering curricula.