International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Volume 2, Number 1, January 2008

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Research Article

Abstract

Optimal Science Lab Design: Impacts of Various Components of Lab Design on Students’ Attitudes Toward Lab

Variations in science lab design can differentially impact student learning. Quantification of these differential impacts can be used in modeling – an approach we term “optimal lab design.” In this study we estimated relative influences of six characteristics of lab design on students’ attitudes toward science labs in three different first-year college biology lab courses (USA). We used two end-of-semester surveys. The first had students choose their favorite and least favorite lab and answer questions associated with the six characteristics and their choices. The second had students provide an overall rating of each lab and a rating based on their perception of the degree to which the six characteristics impacted the lab. Results of the two assessments were similar and indicated the following: Total Student Attitude = 0.39 Exciting + 0.25 Time Efficient + 0.15 Not Difficult + 0.10 Lecture Help + 0.08 Experimental + 0.03 Open-Ended.

Key Words: Student Attitudes, Lab Design, Science Education, Biology

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Bios

I am a Senior Instructor at the University of Colorado. I design the curricula for and coordinate the first-year general biology labs for science majors, a one-semester general biology lab for non-science majors and microbiology lab. In addition, I teach “Methods of Teaching Biology” to upper-division undergraduates and I mentor first-year graduate students teaching biology lab for the first time. I received an M.A. (1987) and Ph.D. (1992) from the University of Nevada, Reno, USA. My research focused on plant/herbivore interactions between beavers and quaking aspen. My current research focuses on curriculum design, methods of teaching and student learning in science labs.

Loren Sackett
University of Colorado at Boulder
Loren.Sackett@colorado.edu

I graduated from Whitman College in 2003 with a B.A. in Psychology and am currently a Ph.D. student in Biology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. My dissertation research focuses on the genetic effects of post-plague re-colonization of prairie dogs. I am also a teaching assistant. Over the past two years I have taught first and second semester general biology lab and ecology lab. In the future, I not only look forward to performing my own research, but I am eager to gain additional experience and skill teaching, as I believe the ultimate goal of gaining knowledge is sharing it with others.

Natalie Robinson
University of Colorado at Boulder
N.Robinson@colorado.edu

I received a B.S. in Molecular Environmental Biology from the University of California at Berkeley and am now a Master’s student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. I am interested in the fundamental roles insects play in ecosystem function and health; how these organisms help maintain natural ecosystem functions, and how they can be employed and managed to help sustain balance in areas inhabited by humans and native populations. I am currently re-surveying butterfly community abundance, diversity and species richness in City of Boulder Open Space. Using butterflies as indicators for how habitat change affects larger communities, this project will allow me to assess the health of the surveyed areas. This work will help the City determine proper management techniques for the diverse habitats found around Boulder.

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