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1 Introduction, History, and Definition of Laboratories
Pages 13-41

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From page 13...
... · Educators and researchers do not agree on the definition and goals of high school science laboratories or on their role in the high school science curriculum. · The committee defines high school science laboratories as follows: laboratory experiences provide opportunities for students to interact directly with the material world (or with data drawn from the material world)
From page 14...
... as sociated with different models of high school science labs? How might a new vision of laboratory experiences for high school students influence those costs?
From page 15...
... At the fact-finding meetings, some researchers presented evidence of student learning following exposure to sequences of instruction that included laboratory experiences; others provided data on how various technologies
From page 16...
... · Goals for science education · Organization and administration of · How laboratory experiences high schools contribute to the goals of science · Broader context of high schools: education Families and communities · Equity of access to laboratory · Finances and resources experiences · Standards and accountability · Continuity with middle school and · Curriculum post-secondary · Equipment/technologies · Safety FIGURE 1-1 High school science laboratory experiences: Role and vision. Concept map with references to guiding questions in committee charge.
From page 17...
... Within the short time frame of this study, the committee focused on identifying, assembling, and analyzing the limited research available on high school science laboratories and did not attempt to do the same analysis for middle school and undergraduate science laboratories. However, this report does discuss several studies of student laboratory learning in middle school (see Chapter 3)
From page 18...
... Finally, although engaging students in design or engineering laboratory activities appears to hold promising connections with science laboratory activities, the committee did not explore this possibility. Although all of these issues and questions are important, taking time and energy to address them would have deterred us from a central focus on the role of high school laboratories in promoting the teaching and learning of science for all students.
From page 19...
... The National Education Association produced an influential report noting the "absolute necessity of laboratory work" in the high school science curriculum (National Education Association, 1894) in order to prepare students for undergraduate science studies.
From page 20...
... By 1910, a clear tension had emerged between those emphasizing labo ratory experiments and reformers favoring an emphasis on interesting, prac tical science content in high school science. However, the focus on content also led to problems, as students became overwhelmed with "interesting" facts.
From page 21...
... . Over the following decades, high school science education (including laboratory education)
From page 22...
... By the early 1950s, some federal policy makers began to view a more rigorous, academic high school science curriculum as critical to respond to the Soviet threat. In 1956, physicist Jerrold Zacharias received a small grant from NSF to establish the Physical Science Study Committee (PSSC)
From page 23...
... . Development of New Science Curricula Although these changing views of the nature of science later led to changes in science education, they had little influence in the immediate aftermath of Sputnik.
From page 24...
... . The new approach to using laboratory experiences was also apparent in the Science Curriculum Improvement Study.
From page 25...
... In sum, the new approach of integrating laboratory experiences represented a marked change from earlier science education. In contrast to earlier curricula, which included laboratory experiences as secondary applications of concepts previously addressed by the teacher, the new curricula integrated laboratory activities into class routines in order to emphasize the nature and processes of science (Shymansky, Kyle, and Alport, 1983; see Table 1-1)
From page 26...
... . Developers of NSF-funded curricula embraced this interpretation of Bruner's ideas, as it leant support to their emphasis on laboratory activities.
From page 27...
... In the NRC definition, student inquiry may include reading about known scientific theories and ideas, posing questions, planning investigations, making observations, using tools to gather and analyze data, proposing explanations, reviewing known theories and concepts in light of empirical data, and communicating the results. The Standards caution that emphasizing inquiry does not mean relying on a single approach to science teaching, suggesting that teachers use a variety of strategies, including reading, laboratory activities, and other approaches to help students learn science (National Research Council, 1996)
From page 28...
... These standards emphasize the importance of creating scientific arguments and explanations for observations made in the laboratory. While most educators, scientists, and policy makers now agree that sci entific literacy for all students is the primary goal of high school science
From page 29...
... . In 2001, one earth science curriculum, five physical science curricula, five life science curricula, and six integrated science curricula were available for sale, while several others in various science disciplines were still under development (Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, 2001)
From page 30...
... On one hand, most states and school districts continue to invest in laboratory facilities and equipment, many undergraduate institutions require completion of labora tory courses to qualify for admission, and some states require completion of science laboratory courses as a condition of high school graduation. On the other hand, in early 2004, the California Department of Education consid ered draft criteria for the evaluation of science instructional materials that reflected skepticism about the value of laboratory experiences or other hands on learning activities.
From page 31...
... As a first step toward understanding the nature of the laboratory experience, the committee developed a definition and a typology of high school science laboratory experiences. DEFINITION OF LABORATORY EXPERIENCES Rapid developments in science, technology, and cognitive research have made the traditional definition of science laboratories -- as rooms in which students use special equipment to carry out well-defined procedures -- obsolete.
From page 32...
... With the help of the Internet, some students sitting in science class can now access these authen tic and timely scientific data. Students can manipulate and analyze these data drawn from the real world in new forms of laboratory experiences (Bell, 2005)
From page 33...
... All of these experiences, as well as those that take place in traditional school science laboratories, are included in our definition of laboratory experiences. Variety in Laboratory Experiences Both the preceding review of the history of laboratories and the committee's review of the evidence of student learning in laboratories reveal the limitations of engaging students in replicating the work of scientists.
From page 34...
... In Chapter 6, we describe the current state of laboratory facilities, equipment, and safety. Fi nally, in Chapter 7, we present our conclusions and an agenda designed to help laboratory experiences fulfill their potential role in the high school science curriculum.
From page 35...
... . Building or revising Although modeling scientific phenomena has always been a central scientific models practice of science, it has only been recognized as a driving force in generating scientific knowledge over the past 50 years (Duschl, 2004)
From page 36...
... Building or Laboratory experiences may engage students in interpreting data revising models that they gather directly from the material world or data drawn from large scientific data sets in order to create, test, and refine models. Scientific modeling is a core element in several innovative labora tory-centered science curricula that appear to enhance student learning (Bell, 2005)
From page 37...
... At the turn of the 20th century, high school science laboratory experiences were designed primarily to prepare a select group of young people for further scientific study at research universities. During the period between World War I and World War II, many high schools emphasized the more practical aspects of science, engaging students in laboratory projects related to daily life.
From page 38...
... . The school science laboratory: Considerations of learning, technology, and scientific practice.
From page 39...
... Paper prepared for the Committee on High School Science Laboratories: Role and Vision, July 12-13, National Research Council, Washington, DC. Available at: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/ July_12-13_2004_High_School_Labs_Meeting_Agenda.html [accessed Nov.
From page 40...
... Paper prepared for the Committee on High School Science Laboratories: Role and Vision, June 3-4, National Research Council, Washington, DC. Available at: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/June3-4_2004_High_School_Labs_ Meeting_Agenda.html [accessed April 2005]
From page 41...
... School Science and Mathematics, 90(5)


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