What are experimental skills? A study with in-service teachers

Abstract

Developing and fostering ‘experimental skills’ is one of the goals of Physics laboratory courses. In a pilot study reported here, the authors investigated what do teachers and laboratory instructors understand by the term ‘experimental skills’. Do they associate only psycho-motor skills or they include analytical, mathematical, cognitive and other skills under the title ‘experimental skills’. The authors report the results of a study with 39 teachers from across India, who were directly involved in teaching laboratory courses at various schools and colleges for at least 8 years. Teachers were asked to describe what are ‘experimental skills’ required in experimental physics and to identify and make an exhaustive list of experimental skills which they would like their students to develop through laboratory courses from grade 8 till undergraduate level. The responses were analysed and categorised. The results indicate that teachers were not able to separate psycho-motor, cognitive and affective abilities and skills. This is essential because the tasks, methods, contents and learning processes involved in the effective development of these skills and abilities are different and should be appropriately emphasized during the designing of a laboratory course and strategy for instruction and assessment.