TY - JOUR
T1 - A Cross-Institutional Perspective of Pre-Laboratory Activities in Undergraduate Chemistry
AU - Scarborough, David L.A.
AU - George-Williams, Stephen R.
AU - Thompson, Christopher D.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank Professor Tina Overton of Monash University for her advice when designing the research project and questionnaire. DS would like to thank Dr Erica Smith and Dr Mitch Parkes from the University of New England for their input on a similar study undertaken prior this research project. The authors would also like to acknowledge the reviewers for their detailed feedback and recommendations.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022. All Rights Reserved.
PY - 2022/6/17
Y1 - 2022/6/17
N2 - Pre-laboratory exercises may help reduce cognitive load in the laboratory, boost confidence, develop theoretical understanding and skills, and improve grades on assessment tasks. This study compared pre-laboratory activities at two institutions, Go8-1 and Go8-2, to evaluate which attributes of pre-laboratory activities were perceived by students to best prepare them for laboratory classes. Students were surveyed towards the end of their laboratory course, and were asked a series of Likert-style and open response questions. Factor analysis was used to construct three scales, incorporating items relating to performance and understanding, items relating to affective and personal laboratory experience, and items relating to requiring support with laboratory equipment. No difference between cohorts was observed between the two institutions regarding requiring support with equipment. While Go8-1 students rated performance and understanding more highly than Go8-2 students, the opposite result was observed for affective and personal factors. The factor analysis results and responses to the open response questions indicated that students felt most prepared for laboratory exercises when the pre-class activities touched upon all aspects of the laboratory class. It is recommended that quizzes and video be used in pre-laboratory activities, with these resources covering theory, aims, methods, calculations and data analysis.
AB - Pre-laboratory exercises may help reduce cognitive load in the laboratory, boost confidence, develop theoretical understanding and skills, and improve grades on assessment tasks. This study compared pre-laboratory activities at two institutions, Go8-1 and Go8-2, to evaluate which attributes of pre-laboratory activities were perceived by students to best prepare them for laboratory classes. Students were surveyed towards the end of their laboratory course, and were asked a series of Likert-style and open response questions. Factor analysis was used to construct three scales, incorporating items relating to performance and understanding, items relating to affective and personal laboratory experience, and items relating to requiring support with laboratory equipment. No difference between cohorts was observed between the two institutions regarding requiring support with equipment. While Go8-1 students rated performance and understanding more highly than Go8-2 students, the opposite result was observed for affective and personal factors. The factor analysis results and responses to the open response questions indicated that students felt most prepared for laboratory exercises when the pre-class activities touched upon all aspects of the laboratory class. It is recommended that quizzes and video be used in pre-laboratory activities, with these resources covering theory, aims, methods, calculations and data analysis.
KW - cognitive load
KW - equipment support
KW - first-year chemistry
KW - mixed methods
KW - student performance
KW - student perspectives
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85135096453&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.30722/IJISME.30.02.004
DO - 10.30722/IJISME.30.02.004
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85135096453
SN - 2200-4270
VL - 30
SP - 46
EP - 64
JO - International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education
JF - International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education
IS - 2
ER -