Lasting Laboratory Lessons

Abstract

As stated by Alexander Pope, "A little learning is a dangerous thing." Scientists and engineers will readily attest, a superficial knowledge of the theory can make us think we have more expertise than we really do, and thus at best will make us to look foolish and at worse cause tragic consequences. This paper describes the experience of a student who is able to perform well in courses in the physical sciences and engineering as indicated by grades, but who completes this education with only a shallow understanding of the subject. For the student, there remain gaps between theory and practice, and numerous assumptions necessary for a deep understanding are missing. We offer a solution to this problem in the form of a new approach to lab courses that emphasizes relevancy to the student and student participation in devising the lab. We maintain that labs designed with these two elements in mind, along with a set of guiding principles we discuss, increase the likelihood of deep and lasting learning in the student. We close with a proposal to implement labs of this nature not only in engineering and physical science courses, but in certain mathematics courses as well, with the intention of deepening student learning and retention of mathematical concepts.