We analyzed the practitioner literature on lab-based instruction in biology in "The American Biology Teacher" between 2007 and 2012. We investigated what laboratory learning looks like in biology classrooms, what topics are addressed, what instructional methods and activities are described, and what is being learned about student…

Practical work in school science plays many essential roles that have been discussed in the literature. However, less attention has been paid to how teachers learn the different roles of practical work and to the kind of challenges they face in their learning during laboratory courses designed for teachers. In the present study we applied the…

Augmented reality (AR) provides huge opportunities for online teaching in science and engineering, as these disciplines place emphasis on practical training and unsuited to completely nonclassroom training. This paper proposes a new concept in virtual and remote laboratories: the augmented remote laboratory (ARL). ARL is being tested in the first…

We describe a new approach to teaching introductory biology. Our introductory experience for undergraduates is a laboratory course that is entirely inquiry and discovery based. We introduce our students to fundamental concepts in biology in the framework of three multi-week laboratory modules, each of which is an open-ended investigation of a…

We designed and implemented curriculum intended to be used by students in an algebra-based introductory physics laboratory course. Our curricular goal was to foster, through observations in the lab, a coherent framework in students' understanding of general principles presented in the introductory mechanics course, while addressing known student…

Uses a method which involves weighing out an amount of the appropriate weak acid or base and dissolving it in distilled water close to the final volume. Solution is then titrated with strong acid or base to give the desired pH. Provides three examples. (MVL)

Discusses the use of a teaching fellows program (undergraduates teaching undergraduates) in a psychology laboratory class. Examines the goals, outcomes, curriculum, and implementation of the laboratory class and how these were impacted through the use of teaching fellows. Includes a table showing curriculum, content area, laboratory activities,…

This seventh in a series of twenty-nine learning modules on instructional execution is designed to give secondary and postsecondary vocational teachers skill in assisting student development of laboratory work plans, in guiding student progress through the use of these plans, and in developing special instructional materials for use in the…