Use In Laboratory Work Research Articles

Laboratory Work and Its Impact in Learning Chemistry at Middle Secondary Schools of Trongsa, Bhutan

Aims: The study aimed to assess the impact of laboratory work in learning chemistry among Middle Secondary School students in Trongsa. It explored the effect of laboratory work.
 Study Design: The study employed mixed method research design that encompasses both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the research approach.
 Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in the schools of Trongsa, Bhutan over a period of one year.
 Methodology: Using a concurrent mixed-method approach, data were collected from 104 Class X students, 4 science teachers, 2 principals, and 2 chemistry laboratory assistants. Instruments included surveys, interviews, observations, document analysis, and checklists.
 Results: Questionnaires were reliable (α=0.82 for teachers, α=0.71 for students). Additionally, a pre-post quasi-experimental design involving 102 students in experimental (N=50) and control (N=52) groups revealed significant impact. Experimental group achievement (M=16.98, SD=2.66) exceeded control (M=13.07, SD=3.30) with p=.000, t(100)=5.764, and Cohen's d=1.4.
 Conclusion: Laboratory work significantly enhanced Chemistry learning outcomes, as evidenced by the experimental groups’ markedly improved post-test scores. The study recommended addressing constraints like teacher workload and competency to promote more effective use of laboratory work in Chemistry education.

Investigating students understanding of organic reaction mechanisms from performing organic chemistry experiments

The use of laboratory work to improve students’ knowledge of theory is one that is disputed. Student reflections of what they learn during practical work repeatedly show that students rarely think about theory. There is a lack of data that objectively compares students’ knowledge of theory where they complete an associated experiment to when they do not in order to understand if practical work does effect students’ knowledge of scientific concepts. In this work we aimed to address this gap by investigating the effect of students’ knowledge of organic mechanisms where they both perform and associated experiment and where they did not. Our results showed that organic chemistry experiments had no effect on students’ knowledge of organic mechanisms. These results support the view that there is little evidence to support the use of laboratory work to aid understanding of theory.

An Embedded Systems Laboratory for Aerospace Students

The UPM Master in Space Systems (MUSE) is a two-year graduate program focused on space systems technology. The program is largely project-based, with the UPMSat-2 satellite mission as a general framework to which the various course subjects are applied. The course on Data Housekeeping deals with the hardware and software aspects of the on-board computer systems in charge of data acquisition, monitoring and control within a spacecraft, with special reference to UPMSat-2, as well as the command and supervision functions of the associated ground segment. Since the real hardware used on the satellite is expensive and thus not amenable to use in laboratory work, except in very limited situations, a simplified engineering model of it has been developed by the authors. The model is based on a cheap, reduced size microcomputer board kit that can be easily acquired and taken home by the students in order to carry out the laboratory assignments and supplementary work as needed. The hardware and software components of the laboratory kit, its use in the course, and its impact on the students performance, are described in the paper.

Sc1: scientific investigation ‐‐ the creation of policy in science education in England and Wales

In the 1991 National Curriculum for England and Wales, one of the prescribed assessment categories in science was ‘scientific investigation’. The subject was a novel one for both teachers and students; the policy represented a considerable exercise in curriculum development. The research upon ,which this paper is based was concerned with issues surrounding the policy in the secondary phase of education. The inclusion of scientific investigation in the National Curriculum represented a development of the tradition of teaching students through the use of laboratory work which is supposed to mimic the practice of professional scientists. The philosophical and pedagogical problems associated with such work are outlined here. The form in which this policy was realized proved to be a particularly problematic one for both teachers and students. This paper is concerned with the origins of the policy. It is argued that scientific investigation was introduced as part of an attempt to simplify the assessment procedures of the previous version of the science National Curriculum. The research upon which the model was based was minimal, the new version was not trialled and teachers received little training in its use. It was the combination of these factors which made the policy a failure. This version of scientific investigation has since been replaced by a more flexible one, as part of a review of the whole National Curriculum. The paper concludes that centralized policy‐making should not concern itself with curriculum development, which is more properly left to teachers themselves, and that the essentially social nature of scientific activity makes it likely that any formalized attempt to assess individuals’ investigative skills must distort significantly the very activity under examination.

A Guide to the Effective Use of Otoacoustic Emissions

Otoacoustic emission test instruments are now entering routine audiological practice. Two general classes of technique are in use in laboratory work--those employing spectrum analysers to observe the continuous generation of OAEs, both stimulated or unstimulated, and those using transient stimulation and waveform averaging to extract a delayed OAE or "cochlear echo" waveform from ear canal sound. Both methods have particular advantages in clinical applications. The transient OAE type of method has proved very effective in screening applications, particularly in neonates. It is possible to perform noninvasive screening acoustic cochleography in about a minute. The technique is also useful for characterizing cochlear mechanical status prior to long term monitoring. Achieving routinely reliable OAE test performance in clinical and screening applications under nonideal conditions makes special demands on the instrumental design and the response evaluation procedures. The essential requirements are reviewed and discussed in a general and specific context. We have tried to meet these requirements in a transient evoked otoacoustic emission system (the ILO88) which we designed to operate with a personal computer. We report on our design of probe, and our use of evaluation procedures for probe fit, and response quality. Signal processing methods have been developed to reject noncochlear acoustic responses, and to optimise the rejection of patient noise. Examples of its clinical use, and the practical problems typically encountered are given here.

Technology in ambulatory medical care: Cost increasing or cost saving?

Health insurers fear that increased use of medical technology in ambulatory care results in increased billings per physician. This view may overlook certain subtle links between available, appropriated technology in ambulatory practice and the propensity to hospitalize a marginal patient. In this paper, the impacts of technology on four components of total per physician treatment cost were analyzed statistically using 1976–1978 percentage changes for a sample of more than 700 Swiss physicians: number of cases treated, per case billings for ambulatory care, rate of hospitalization and cost of a hospital stay relative to ambulatory care. On net, a 10% reduction in use of laboratory work and X-ray procedures was estimated to result in about 2 and 0.4% savings, respectively. A similar reduction of direct drug sales to patients would increase total cost by 0.3%. From the vantage point of society, even the modest savings indicated probably disappear as soon as the full social cost of a hospital stay is taken into account.