Laboratory Instruction Research Articles

Recent advances in laboratory education research

Abstract This review synthesizes recent advancements in laboratory education research in university chemistry over the past decade, from 2014 to 2024. It focuses on three key areas: evidence-oriented teaching practices, student learning outcomes and processes, and progressive curriculum development. The paper highlights the growing emphasis on evidence-based approaches to laboratory instruction, the multifaceted nature of student learning in the laboratory, and the importance of designing laboratory curricula that ensure progression and congruence across study programs. The review instantiates how evidence-oriented teaching practices have led to a shift in focus from theory to practical techniques. It explores the diverse learning outcomes associated with laboratory work, including experimental competencies, conceptual understanding, and affective aspects such as identity development and self-efficacy. The paper also introduces a comprehensive framework for assessing student learning in laboratories, integrating cognitive, conative, affective, psychomotor, social, and epistemic domains. Furthermore, the review examines approaches to curriculum development that emphasize scaffolding, progression, and alignment between various curricular elements. It presents models for developing experimental design competence and ensuring congruence in laboratory curriculum development. The paper concludes by acknowledging the persistent gap between research and practice in laboratory education and calling for continued efforts to bridge this divide.

An instructional lab apparatus for quantum experiments with single nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond

Hands-on experimental experience with quantum systems in the undergraduate physics curriculum provides students with a deeper understanding of quantum physics and equips them for the fast-growing quantum science industry. Here, we present an experimental apparatus for performing quantum experiments with single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. This apparatus is capable of basic experiments such as single-qubit initialization, rotation, and measurement, as well as more advanced experiments investigating electron–nuclear spin interactions. We describe the basic physics of the NV center and give examples of potential experiments that can be performed with this apparatus. We also discuss the options and inherent trade-offs associated with the choice of diamond samples and hardware. The apparatus described here enables students to write their own experimental control and data analysis software from scratch, all within a single semester of a typical lab course, as well as to inspect the optical components and inner workings of the apparatus. We hope that this work can serve as a standalone resource for any institution that would like to integrate a quantum instructional lab into its undergraduate physics and engineering curriculum.

Evidence for validity and reliability of a research-based assessment instrument on measurement uncertainty

The Survey of Physics Reasoning on Uncertainty Concepts in Experiments (SPRUCE) was designed to measure students’ proficiency with measurement uncertainty concepts and practices across ten different assessment objectives to help facilitate the improvement of laboratory instruction focused on this important topic. To ensure the reliability and validity of this assessment, we conducted a comprehensive statistical analysis using classical test theory. This analysis includes an evaluation of the test as a whole, as well as an in-depth examination of individual items and assessment objectives. We make use of a previously reported on scoring scheme involving pairing items with assessment objectives, creating a new unit for statistical analysis referred to as a “couplet.” The findings from our analysis provide evidence for the reliability and validity of SPRUCE as an assessment tool for undergraduate physics labs. This increases both instructors’ and researchers’ confidence in using SPRUCE for measuring students’ proficiency with measurement uncertainty concepts and practices to ultimately improve laboratory instruction. Additionally, our results using couplets and assessment objectives demonstrate how these can be used with traditional classic test theory analysis. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Enhancing student performance through laboratory-based instruction: A study on the relative density and buoyancy of liquids

Abstract This study investigates the effectiveness of laboratory-based instruction in conveying fundamental concepts related to the relative density and buoyancy of liquids within a secondary laboratory science program at a leading university in Mindanao. Despite the challenges posed by digital technology and remote learning, traditional laboratory experiments remain integral to science education, providing active, hands-on learning experiences. The primary focus is to assess the impact of laboratory instruction on student performance according to these principles. Our findings reveal a significant improvement in the performance of students in the experimental group. Notable enhancements were observed between pre-tests and post-tests, with statistical significance established at α = 0.05. This underscores the substantial role of laboratory-based instruction in augmenting student performance. Additionally, when comparing final grades as an independent variable, we find that the laboratory teaching method significantly contributes to overall effectiveness in student learning. Furthermore, students’ positive perceptions of the subject and their attitudes toward both the laboratory and the subject matter emerged as significant contributors to performance improvements. Consequently, this enhanced likelihood of achieving better grades in physics highlights the broader impact of laboratory-based instruction on student academic outcomes.

Virtual Laboratories in STEM

Virtual laboratory utilization has been trending in STEM undergraduate curricula for over twenty years. A virtual laboratory is an interactive computer simulation that mimics real-world laboratory experiences in silico. Virtual labs are cost-effective pedagogical options for academic institutions that lack adequate funding for physical infrastructure and instrumentation. Virtual labs are an excellent proxy for lab activities threatening individual safety and public health. Further, during the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual labs were the primary pedagogical strategy for laboratory instruction. STEM faculty have developed numerous techniques for incorporating virtual labs into classroom and laboratory activities. New technology like artificial intelligence will expand virtual lab usability and effectiveness. Educational research demonstrates positive student outcomes and other benefits from virtual lab engagement. Continued effective mixed-methods research and production of essential virtual lab-based evaluation materials, such as discipline-specific rubrics, are needed to advance the application of this vital technology further. Moreover, from a software development perspective, many more virtual laboratories are needed in technology, engineering, mathematics, and specialized scientific fields.

Dynamics of productive confirmation framing in an introductory lab

In introductory physics laboratory instruction, students often expect to confirm or demonstrate textbook physics concepts. This expectation is largely undesirable: labs that emphasize confirmation of textbook physics concepts are generally unsuccessful at teaching those concepts and even in contexts that do not emphasize confirmation, such expectations can lead to students disregarding or manipulating their data in order to obtain the expected result. In other words, when students expect their lab activities to confirm a known result, they may relinquish epistemic agency and violate disciplinary practices. We present a contrasting case where, we claim, confirmatory expectations can actually support productive disciplinary engagement. In this case study, we analyze the complex dynamics of students’ epistemological framing in a lab where students’ confirmatory expectations support and even generate epistemic agency and disciplinary practices, including developing original ideas, measures, and apparatuses to apply to the material world. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Development of Discovery Learning-Based Laboratory Instructions Integrated with Quranic Values for Senior High School Grade XI

Development of Discovery Learning-Based Laboratory Instructions Integrated with Quranic Values for Senior High School Grade XI

Gambaran Performa Instruktur Clinical Skill lab pada Masa Pandemi Covid-19 di Fakultas Kedokteran UMI

Skill labs are an important means for students to practice clinical skills, prepare them to achieve competency standards during their undergraduate education, and prepare themselves before entering professional education. Skill lab involves practicing communication skills, physical examination, as well as medical actions and invasive procedures. This study aims to determine the performance of clinical Skill lab instructors during the Covid-19 pandemic at the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Muslim Indonesia (UMI), Class of 2019. Using a cross-sectional design, all respondents filled out a questionnaire through the Google Form application. Of the 155 respondents, 96.1% rated the instructor's teaching skills as good and very good, 92.9% rated the instructor's interpersonal and communication skills as good, and 92.9% rated the clinical skills training conditions or strategies at FK UMI as good. In general, the performance of clinical Skill lab instructors during the Covid-19 pandemic at FK UMI Class of 2019 is considered good based on student perceptions.

Modeling novel physics in virtual reality labs: An affective analysis of student learning

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Instructional labs: Improving traditions and new directions.] We report on a study of the effects of laboratory activities that model fictitious laws of physics in a virtual reality environment on (i) students’ epistemology about the role of experimental physics in class and in the world; (ii) students’ self-efficacy; and (iii) the quality of student engagement with the lab activities. We create opportunities for students to practice physics as a means of creating and validating new knowledge by simulating real and fictitious physics in virtual reality (VR). This approach seeks to steer students away from a confirmation mindset in labs by eliminating any form of prior or outside models to confirm. We refer to the activities using this approach as Novel Observations in Mixed Reality (NOMR) labs. We examined NOMR’s effects in 100-level and 200-level undergraduate courses. Using pre-post measurements, we find that after NOMR labs, students in both populations were more expertlike in their epistemology about experimental physics and held stronger self-efficacy about their abilities to do the kinds of things experimental physicists do. Through the lens of the psychological theory of flow, we found that students engage as productively with NOMR labs as with traditional hands-on labs. This engagement persisted after the novelty of VR in the classroom wore off, suggesting that these effects were due to the pedagogical design rather than the medium of the intervention. We conclude that these NOMR labs offer an approach to physics laboratory instruction that centers the development of students’ understanding of and comfort with the authentic practice of science. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Two-Method Indoor Laboratory Instruction: How Effective Is It on Secondary School Students’ Performance in Physics?

This study probed the effectiveness of two-method indoor laboratory instruction on secondary school students’ performance in physics in Jos Metropolis, Nigeria. The quasi-experimental research design of the non-equivalent control group pre-test, post-test type was employed. The population for the study comprised 1,112 senior secondary two students offering physics in 18 schools in Jos metropolis, with the schools purposively obtained. The study sample consisted of 80 SSS II students obtained from two intact classes, one class each from two schools selected using simple random sampling technique. Two research questions were raised and two hypotheses were formulated. Physics Performance Test (PPT) was the instrument validated and used to gather data. The test-retest method was used to obtain the reliability of PPT and its coefficient was computed as 0.73 using Kuder-Richardson formula 21 (K-R 21). Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while independent t-test of difference and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) were the statistical tools used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 levels of significance. The results revealed that students taught concepts of simple harmonic motion and elasticity using group indoor laboratory method performed better than their counterparts taught using individual indoor laboratory method; although male students performed slightly higher than their female counterparts after exposure to the two methods, gender was found to have no interaction effect on their performance; there was a significant interaction effect of treatments and gender on students’ performance in the study area, with the methods as source of interaction effect. Based on the findings, recommendations were made, which include that curriculum developers should ensure that laboratory teaching methods are included in physics curriculum in order to enhance students’ performance in the subject.

Evaluating the effectiveness and challenges of online laboratory practices in physical chemistry

Relevance. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the necessity of utilizing information technology in higher education, particularly for laboratory practices in physical chemistry. Purpose. This study aims to explore the characteristics of online laboratory practices, evaluate existing training methods, and determine the effectiveness of various approaches in laboratory instruction. Methodology. The study employed a combination of basic statistical methods and the Pearson chi-square test to analyze survey data collected from teachers and students regarding their familiarity with, interest in, and preferences for online laboratory practices. Additionally, case analysis was conducted to identify the advantages, disadvantages, and overall effectiveness of online laboratory methods used during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results. The study reveals differing preferences between teachers and students regarding laboratory practices. Most teachers (88%) favor traditional on-site laboratory work, while a significant portion of students (70%) prefer online methods. Familiarity and interest in new technological tools were assessed, showing that 94% of professors are unfamiliar with virtual laboratories, though 80% wish to learn more, and 47% actively use them. Among students, 95% are unfamiliar with virtual labs, but 88% want to learn more, and 77% see virtual labs as beneficial. Conclusions. The paper discusses challenges in integrating modern technology into physical chemistry labs and suggests that the findings could aid educators in adapting to new teaching conditions and improving educational quality monitoring. Keywords: virtual laboratory; remote learning; teaching methods; information technology; COVID-19

3D printing: optics topics for the classroom and an enabler in the instructional lab

3D printing: optics topics for the classroom and an enabler in the instructional lab

Evaluating a method of creating artificial caries in typodont teeth for teaching Class III cavity preparations.

The purpose of the study was to report a step-by-step process of creating artificial caries typodont teeth and to determine the perception and efficacy of their use in preclinical operative training. Artificial caries material comprised of commercially available hide glue and chocolate powder for more realistic coloring was embedded into the distolingual of #9 ModuPRO plastic typodont teeth. First-year dental students having no clinical experience in excavating Class III cavity preparations were divided into two groups. Group BA prepared conventional typodont teeth (CTT) first, then artificial caries typodont teeth. Group AB prepared the ACT first, then CTT. The preps were scored employing a rubric used in the operative dentistry course class. A feedback questionnaire was conducted to rate students' satisfaction regarding the use of ACT and CTT. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used to compare the scores between groups ACT-CTT and CTT-ACT and the Chi-Square test was used to evaluate the positive and negative questionnaire responses. The two groups showed no significant difference in grades and no significant changes in their scores regardless of which order they prepped the teeth (P>0.05). The questionnaire heavily favored the use of artificial caries typodont teeth (P<0.05). The artificial caries typodont teeth protocol described in this study was feasible when implemented at the preclinical laboratory instruction level with positive questionnaire feedback from dental students.

Identifying Teaching and Laboratory Instruction Concerns of Illinois Agriculture Teachers

Concerns of teachers must be identified to provide quality teacher education programs and professional development. The theoretical framework of this study was the Teacher Career Cycle (Fessler &amp; Christensen, 1992). The theory explains that as teachers move through the cycle, their characteristics and professional needs change. The purpose of this study was to identify the concerns of Illinois agriculture teachers of different experience levels. A multi-part instrument of demographic information, two teacher concern statements, and a Likert-type scale of concerns was administered. The sample was divided into three experience groups: early career, mid-career, and late career. The results indicate that certain concerns do change with the level of experience and that mid-career teachers in this sample have the most concerns. We recommend that these results be shared with the Illinois Association of Vocational Agriculture Teachers, universities, state agricultural education staff, and other stakeholders. Those leading professional development should consider years of experience when planning for workshops. Professional development topics on student motivation, funding for supplies, and student safety should be explored.

Der Einfluss multimedialer Versuchsanleitungen auf die Lernwirksamkeit und die Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung

ZusammenfassungDie vorliegende Studie geht der Frage nach, welchen Einfluss der Präsentationsmodus einer Versuchsanleitung auf die Lernwirksamkeit und die Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung nimmt. Im Rahmen dieser Studie erarbeiteten N = 820 Schüler:innen im Alter von 12 bis 16 Jahren (M = 13,7 Jahre, SD = 1,1 Jahre) mit drei Anleitungsvarianten Versuche zur Optik und Infrarotstrahlung. Zum Einsatz kamen Versuchsanleitungen mit identischem Text- und Bildmaterial, einzig im Präsentationsmodus variierend. Die Anleitungsvarianten umfassten Bild-Text-Anleitungen in Form klassischer Arbeitsblätter, Bild-Instruktions-Anleitungen ähnlich dem Frontalunterricht mit einstudiertem Sprechtext der Workshop-Leitenden, und Video-Anleitungen, bei denen Teenager den Versuchsaufbau demonstrierten, basierend auf den gleichen Text- und Bildinhalten wie die Bild-Text-Anleitungen. Die Resultate der Untersuchung sollen Erkenntnisse liefern, welche Präsentationsmodi bei Versuchsanleitungen geeignet sind, damit Schüler:innen mit unterschiedlich hoher Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung selbständig und lernwirksam Schüler:innenversuche im Fach Physik durchführen können. Die Daten wurden in einem Prä- und Post-Test quantitativ erhoben und mögliche Zusammenhänge zwischen den Präsentationsmodi von Versuchsanleitungen, der Lernwirksamkeit und der Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung mittels Multilevel-Regressionsanalysen getestet. Die Auswertung der Daten lässt vermuten, dass innerhalb dieser Untersuchung alle drei Anleitungsvarianten bezüglich ihrer Lernwirksamkeit als ähnlich effektiv angesehen werden können. Bezüglich der Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung deuten die Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass ein Überdenken des Einsatzes von Bild-Text-Anleitungen angebracht sein könnte, da bei dieser Anleitungsvariante eine signifikante Abnahme der Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung festgestellt wurde.

A framework for designing experimental tasks in contemporary physics lab courses

While lab courses are an integral part of studying physics aiming at a huge variety of learning objectives, research has shown that typical lab courses do not reach all the desired goals. While diverse approaches by lab instructors and researchers try to increase the effectiveness of lab courses, experimental tasks remain the core of any lab course. To keep an overview of these developments and to give instructors (and researchers) a guideline for their own professional efforts at hand, we introduce a research-informed framework for designing experimental tasks in contemporary physics lab courses. In addition, we demonstrate within the scope of the EU-co-funded DigiPhysLab project how the framework can be used to characterize existing or develop new high-quality experimental tasks for physics lab courses.

Young's double-slit interference demonstration with single photons

This article presents a table-top experiment that acquires the interference pattern from single photons passing through a double-slit. The experiment is carried out using the heralded, single-photon experimental setup now affordable and fairly common in advanced instructional laboratories. By scanning a single-photon detector on a translation stage, this experiment is implemented without the need of an expensive gate-intensified CCD camera. The authors compare the acquired single-slit and double-slit interference patterns to predicted ones and include a quantum eraser measurement. The experiments are dramatic demonstrations of wave-particle quantum effects and are excellent additions to the collection of single-photon experiments that have been developed over the past several years for the advanced instructional laboratory curriculum.

School-based agricultural education teachers’ lived experience of integrating virtual reality into their classroom

Agricultural Education uses a combination of classroom and laboratory instruction, experiential learning, and leadership education to prepare students for jobs in industry. With the recent promotion of Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR) as an option for educational programs, this technology allows teachers to incorporate experiential learning and give students real experiences who otherwise might not have the opportunity. VR has been used across many industries, such as medicine, construction, manufacturing, military training programs, tractor and machinery operation, as a form of training. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore [state] SBAE teachers’ lived experiences of incorporating a VR experience and technology into their curriculum. Eleven teachers participated in semi-structured interviews to describe their lived experiences. Three themes and 11 sub-themes emerged from those results. Participants described their experience as one that provided valuable benefits, introduced new challenges, and a semi-realistic interpretation of a hands-on activity. VR can be successfully integrated into skill-based instruction by ensuring that teachers and students have positive user experiences, addressing students’ performance, and providing a realistic interpretation of a hands-on activity.

Designer spectrographs for applications in the advanced undergraduate instructional lab

In an advanced undergraduate instructional laboratory, it is often necessary to analyze the spectrum of light emitted from an experimental setup. There are numerous instruments that are used to accomplish this analysis, including spectrometers and spectrographs. In this report, we present 3D-printed, low-budget spectrographs (∼ US $200), which are specifically designed for different applications. For example, one can either observe a visible spectrum over a large range of wavelengths about a desired center wavelength or achieve more precise measurements by choosing a smaller part of the visible spectrum. Our generalized design approach is well within the knowledge base of advanced undergraduate physics majors and can be applied to a wide range of applications within the visible spectrum. To demonstrate the utility of these designer spectrographs, we provide examples of recording multiple doublets in the sodium spectrum (a determination of the fine structure spin-orbit splitting of the 3p energy level) as well as measuring the wavelength differences between the hydrogen and deuterium Balmer alpha lines (a measurement of an isotope shift).

Chapter 11: Astrobiology Education, Engagement, and Resources.

Although astrobiology is a relatively new field of science, the questions it seeks to answer (e.g., "What is life?" "What does life require?") have been investigated for millennia. In recent decades, formal programs dedicated specifically to the science of astrobiology have been organized at academic, governmental, and institutional scales. Constructing educational programs around this emerging science relies on input from broad expertise and backgrounds. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of this field, career pathways in astrobiology often begin in more specific fields such as astronomy, geology, or biology, and unlike many other sciences, typically involve substantial training outside one's primary discipline. The recent origin of astrobiology as a field of science has led to strong collaborations with education research in the development of astrobiology courses and offers a unique instructional laboratory for further pedagogical studies. This chapter is intended to support students, educators, and early career scientists by connecting them to materials and opportunities that the authors and colleagues have found advantageous. Annotated lists of relevant programs and resources are included as a series of appendices in the supplementary material.