Some Bases Used by Students in Choosing Partners in the Chemistry Laboratory

Abstract

FREQUENTLY IN the high-school chemistry I laboratory students must work in groups rather than as individuals. The smaller schools often do not have a laboratory well enough equipped to supply each student with the necessary materials and the larger schools usually have large classes in which the students outnumber the available work spaces. It has been found by investigators (3) that under such conditions the number of partners, to a maximum of four, does not signifi cantly affect performance on tests. It would be a fair assumption, however, that the compatibility of the partners would affect the performance of at least some of them in the laboratory. Studies have shown that groups tend to be more compatible if they are set up as a result of the students' choices rather than the arbitrary judgment of the teacher. The present study was made in an attempt to identify some of the rela tionships between being chosen as a laboratory partner and certain characteristics such as gen eral adeptness, knowledge, and efficiency in labo ratory work in groups, individual laboratory pro ficiency, leadership, compatibility, and helpfulness in a group, and certain other factors to be dis cussed later.