Levels of scientific enquiry in university science laboratory classes: Implications for curriculum deliberations

Hegarty, Elizabeth H.

doi:10.1007/bf02558676

Cited by 25 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…In an environment where the instructor has the opportunity to make significant changes to the experiment, or even change the pedagogy of the laboratory program, then there are alternate pedagogical approaches that can be considered that lessen the need to have closely integrated or sequenced learning experiences.. Inquiry-oriented strategies apply a hierarchy of levels to practical tasks (Hegarty, 1978), from structured and guided inquiry (Lamba and Creegan, 2008;Schroeder and Greenbowe, 2008) to fully open-ended tasks (Roth, 1994) that can provide opportunities for students to gain higher-order process skills (Roth and Roychoudhury, 1993) and a greater ability to adopt scientific ways of doing (Spronken-Smith and Walker, 2010). These strategies present mechanisms for the empowered instructor to create a self-contained laboratory learning experience that garners the desired student learning outcomes and a positive perception, as well as more elusive higher order skills, such as self-regulation in the laboratory 65 learning environment.…”

Section: Implications For Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

The timing of an experiment in the laboratory program is crucial for the student laboratory experience: acylation of ferrocene as a case study

Southam

Shand

Buntine

et al. 2013

Chem. Educ. Res. Pract.

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An assessment of the acylation of ferrocene laboratory exercise across three successive years resulted in a significant fluctuation in student perception of the experiment. This perception was measured by collecting student responses to an instrument immediately after the experiment, which includes Likert and open-ended responses from the student. Students in all three years identified technical benefits from the experiment. In years 1 and 3, students also recognised the benefits of improving their conceptual understanding of organic chemistry. However, in Year 2, where background knowledge became a critical and limiting factor, all perception of conceptual understanding as an experiment objective was lost, and only recognition of technical development remained. Analysis of these data also indicated that students who have enough time to complete the experiment also perceive a measure of responsibility for their own learning, whereas time-poor students have an over-reliance on the laboratory notes and demonstrators. Addressing concepts such as these may be the triggers required for time-poor experiments to garner a positive student experience and maximise both the conceptual and technical benefits of the experiment.

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Section: Implications For Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

The timing of an experiment in the laboratory program is crucial for the student laboratory experience: acylation of ferrocene as a case study

Southam

Shand

Buntine

et al. 2013

Chem. Educ. Res. Pract.

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show abstract

“…Luker (1985) in her analysis of transcripts of seminars found that the proportion of time spent on lecturing by the tutor varied from as little as 12 per cent to over 90 per cent with a mean of just under 50 per cent. Hegarty (1979) in her study of microbiology laboratory classes found that tutors talked at higher levels of cognition -explaining and justifying -33 per cent of the time at one university whereas tutors at another university used higher levels for only 12 per cent of the time. Generally speaking, it may be inferred that higher cognitive levels of questioning and explaining appear to be related positively with students' perceived satisfaction of small group teaching and laboratory work (Dunkin, 1986).…”

Section: Explaining In Higher Educationmentioning

confidence: 96%

Explaining in professional contexts

Brown

Atkins

1986

Research Papers in Education

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This article provides a conceptual framework for the study of explaining and uses that framework to review and discuss studies of explaining in various professional contexts including school and university teaching, medicine and medical consultations, nursing, other health professions and law. Explaining is a central activity in all these professions. Explaining may be described as an attempt to give understanding of a problem to another and understanding as seeing connections which were hitherto not seen. These definitions lead to a framework of problem identification, processes of explaining, checks on understanding and outcomes. The empirical studies indicate that clarity and expressiveness are highly valued and are key characteristics of effective explaining to groups, and that clarity and friendliness are key characteristics of explaining in consultations. Studies in various professions also show that training can lead to more effective explaining; that there are sometimes gaps between official wisdom and what professionals actually do and that ideologies and contexts influence problem identification, processes of explaining and outcomes.Explaining is a core skill of most professions. It is of obvious importance to teachers and lecturers but it is also of importance to lawyers, architects, engineers, medical practitioners and other health professions. Despite its ubiquity the study of explaining has been relatively neglected. There are perhaps three reasons for this neglect. First, some members of professional groups such as counsellors, therapists, social workers and teachers of adults associate explaining with authoritarianism. In so doing, they confuse authoritarianism and authority based upon expert knowledge and they assume that to explain is necessarily to be coercive. Secondly, explaining is a taken for granted activity. We all spend a great deal of time explaining in everyday life and in various professional contexts so we assume we know what an explanation is and how to explain. Thirdly, explaining, like many taken for granted

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“…Experiments which rely on 'cookbook instructions' are highly guided, verification-type experiences or activities (Hegarty, 1978). Students follow detailed instructions in order to reach a well-defined, and often already well-established, end-point.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Two Decades of Inquiry-Oriented Learning in First Year Undergraduate Physics Laboratories: An Australian Experience

Kirkup¹

2015

Innovations in Higher EducationTeaching and Learning

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A review of the first year physics laboratory program in 1991 at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) revealed that student laboratory experiences did not: resemble the practice of physicists; give a realistic picture of the contribution of physics to everyday life, or; enhance students' capabilities of broad value, such as their communication skills. Physics academics at UTS committed themselves to reforming students' laboratory experiences with inquiry-oriented learning as a centre-piece of the reform. This chapter explores the drivers that led to the reconceptualization of the role of the laboratory in the undergraduate curriculum and the strategies and processes we adopted over more than 20 years to embed inquiry-oriented activities into first year physics laboratory programs.

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Levels of scientific enquiry in university science laboratory classes: Implications for curriculum deliberations

Cited by 25 publications

References 38 publications

The timing of an experiment in the laboratory program is crucial for the student laboratory experience: acylation of ferrocene as a case study

The timing of an experiment in the laboratory program is crucial for the student laboratory experience: acylation of ferrocene as a case study

Explaining in professional contexts

Two Decades of Inquiry-Oriented Learning in First Year Undergraduate Physics Laboratories: An Australian Experience

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