Are Science Labs Vanishing from K-12 Classes?

The pressures on science teachers just keep increasing. Authorities have been taking away their labs for years.

High-stakes testing requires time for the test and for preparation. Where does that time come from? Often, it comes from the lab time because labs are inefficient at learning content, the main focus of high-stakes tests.

Safety regulations have increased considerably in recent years. Now, you cannot have mercury in your classroom at all, for example. States and districts have banned experiments considered hazardous, an action that further limits the ability of teachers to provide lab experience to students.

Budget cuts have hit science departments particularly hard. The cost of providing expendibles and maintaining equipment for experiments has forced the removal of many excellent lab experiences from curricula.

Because many science teachers have been asked to teach in unfamiliar areas, they aren't prepared to develop and run effective labs in these areas. As a result, they do fewer labs.

At the same time, authorities are asking science teachers to provide more lab experience for their students. They rightly argue that such experiences, if done well, can help generate enthusiasm for science, help in understanding the nature of science, help improve scientific reasoning skills, and generally improve student outcome in science courses.

I say that these contradictory trends can only be resolved by the innovative use of technology, and I have chosen to work toward that end. My efforts are beginning to bear the fruit of interest from major online schools, large school districts, and important publishers.

Here's a comparison of the different means that people now employ to provide lab experience to high school students. The list includes hands-on experiments, simulations, large online databases, remote robotic experiments, and prerecorded real experiments. I have been working on this last item.

Type	Cost	NOS	Time	Safety	Design	Kines.	Range
Hands-on	high	high	long	low	high	yes	mid
Simulations	free to mid	none	short	high	low	no	very large
Online DBs	free	mid	mid	high	none	no	small
Remote Robotics	free to low	mid to high	mid	high	low	no	small
Prerecorded Real	low	high	short	high	low	no	very large

NOS means "Nature of Science"
Design means "opportunity for experimental design"
Range means "range of experiments available"

Clearly, the choices you make for science labs depend on your goals for the labs. If cost is your primary consideration, then you'll minimize the number of hands-on labs you do. For example, you can use free simulations while sacrificing quality and the nature of science.

Remote robotics and large online databases can be used but, due to their small range, can only fill in for a small amount of a typical high school science course at best.

In my opinion, there's really no contest. Trim down the number of hands-on labs by eliminating those that cost too much, take too long, or don't work well to teach an understanding of the nature of science. Replace these labs with prerecorded real experiments. Pay close attention to the four lab integration goals of America's Lab Report. Ideally, increase the number of investigation experiences by adding more prerecorded real experiments. Find a place in your course for one or two ongoing investigation projects each semester. These projects may involve online databases, remote robotics, hands-on work, field trips, and even prerecorded real experiments or some combination.

You can improve the student investigation experience and handle budget shortfalls too.

© 2010 by Paracomp, Inc., U.S.A. www.smartscience.net
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School Science Labs

A recent article in District Adminstration magazine (http://www.districtadministration.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1742) discusses the aging science labs in schools across our nation and the cost of upgrading them all.

The article points out that science standards have been raised recently while lab facilities have been left to deteriorate. The costs of fixing the existing labs run between $150 and $200 per square foot meaning that an adequate lab space for 24 students will cost around $250,000 to upgrade.

In these days of plunging school budgets, this allocation of funds is simply not possible.

However, there's another answer. Scale back the full upgrade of the lab spaces so that only inexpensive, safe, and efficient hands-on labs are done. Safety equipment may be partially eliminated. Gas would no longer be required. Bunsen burners come from the 19^th century and are really archaic today. Highly chemical resistant desktops could be replaced with less expensive alternatives.

Why can we make this adjustment? Because the primary advantages of hands-on labs are two-fold.

1. They provide a kinesthetic learning experience, rounding out the other learning in science classes.
2. They allow students to do experimental design and redesign.

Any other purpose cited for having hands-on labs either can be handled in other, safer and less expensive ways or is not really necessary for high school students. The two purposes listed above are easily achieved in a facility that is no more complex or expensive than a kitchen. While such facilities are more expensive than ordinary classrooms, they fall far below the cost of a fully-equipped science lab.

What do you then do to provide the science experiences not capable of being provided in a kitchen? After all, simulations will not do. They misrepresent the nature of science and can even deliver erroneous results. The data all come from a programmer's pencil, which cannot represent the real world and may have other flaws as well.

The answer comes from a breakthough technology: the Smart Science® education system. This system uses prerecorded real experiments to deliver the materal world to students online. For more information, see www.smartscience.net.

© 2009 by Paracomp, Inc., U.S.A. www.smartscience.net
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A Bold Initiative

I was recently informed that a large high school in a very large district has decided to transition from its current hands-on labs to Smart Science® labs. The department chair has determined that Smart Science® labs are much more effective than the usual hands-on fare.

The Smart Science® labs do include some at-home hands-on experiences blended into the overall system. They are included so that students can experience some experimental design issues not available in virtual labs, so that they can have kinesthetic learning experiences, and so that they can have their own personal experience with the care and effort required to carry out scientific investigations.

The prerecorded real experiments provided with the Smart Science® system provide a broad and thorough scientific investigation experience.

This blended combination of inexpensive, safe hands-on experiments with virtual prerecorded real experiments presages the future of science education. Expect to see more schools adopting the same program soon.

© 2009 by Paracomp, Inc., U.S.A. www.smartscience.netFollow this author on ETC Journal.