Students’ Opinions, Views, and Perceptions of Science Laboratory Learning: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

The scientific community continues to give conflicting impressions about the contribution of laboratory activities to science learning and yet ignores the views of students who are the focus of learning. In this paper, we reviewed postsecondary school students' experiences in the science laboratories. Students were most concerned about the impact of the laboratory activities and their preferences pointed more towards greater independent, participatory and interactive learning engagements. This review has implied that students should not be left out in science laboratory learning reform efforts and their views about what obtains in the science laboratories should be routinely monitored to inform such reforms.

Students’ and Teachers’ Perception and Practice towards Laboratory Work in Chemistry Teaching-Learning: Evidence from Secondary Schools in North Wollo Zone, Ethiopia

“…In doing practicum, students can work individually or in groups [8]. e scientific community continues to give conflicting impressions about the contribution of laboratory activities to science learning and yet ignores the views of students who are the focus of learning [6]. Science theories are mastered in practice in teaching and learning activities.…”

“…e laboratory learning environment has largely been reported in the literature to depict an apprenticeship model, where learners follow a step-by-step procedure after their laboratory instructor or a laboratory manual. is narrows the opportunity and freedom that should be afforded to students in trying out their inquiry techniques, where they make errors, learn from those errors, and make learning more interesting and permanent [6]. Students are guided and trained to think critically about a problem with team members and arrive at reliable solutions [1]; if students are allowed to manipulate equipment and materials as a result, they will learn more.…”

“…Students can also prepare for the laboratory by identifying the main theoretical ideas in the experiment and reading those underlying concepts from textbooks. is might immerse students into the experiments more and thus provide them with informed justifications for the activities [6].…”

“…ere is overwhelming empirical evidence available in the research literature on the contribution of science laboratories to the attainment of science educational goals [6]. Laboratory activities have priceless values to students, including increased student interest and ability in science courses and increased student accomplishment in science [2,5,6].…”

“…Students most concerned about the impact of the laboratory activities and their preferences pointed more toward greater independent, participatory, and interactive learning engagements. Authors implied that students should not be left out in science laboratory learning and their views about what obtains in the science laboratories should be routinely monitored to inform such reforms [6].…”