A language laboratory component became an integral part of the ESL (English as a second language) program at Sacramento City College when student enrollment increased and a freeze on hiring new teachers went into effect. While the number of class hours of each ESL course was reduced, an hour or two per week of laboratory work was added. The term…

Presented in this article are trends in the use of the language laboratory in the United States and an overview of relevant language laboratory research. A section on trends discusses language laboratory popularity, prospective technological innovations, scheduling, different types of installations, and the increasing desirability of having…

The need for flexibility in science research facilities is discussed, with emphasis on the effect of that need on the design of laboratories. The relationship of office space, bench space, and special equipment areas, and the location and distribution of piping and air conditioning, are considered particularly important. This building type study…

Discusses the development of concentration and organizational skills, patience, self-discipline, attention to detail, and appreciation for error analysis through an expanded titration project. Describes the various activities in the extended project and the materials and instructional support needed. Stresses the advantage to students in their…

Discusses a project at the University of Louisville in which chemistry laboratories are being adapted for use by blind students. Describes the operational analysis of tasks normally performed in labs. Provides specific recommendations on how to utilize new technologies to enable blind students to conduct hands-on learning experiments. (TW)

Discusses the problem of mercury vapors caused by spills in high school and college laboratories. Describes a study which compared the mercury vapor levels of laboratories in both an older and a newer building. Concludes that the mercurial contamination of chemistry laboratories presents minimal risks to the students. (TW)

Introduces three physics experiments for high school and college classes. Topics include measuring the ratio of heat capacities using a microcomputer and a glass syringe, producing large electric sparks using a variation of a Leyden bucket, and observing transmission line behavior using television signals. Includes descriptions of materials and…

The purpose of this study was to survey the quantity and quality of laboratory work conducted by Grade 11 and 12 biology students in British Columbia High Schools, to analyze student performance on laboratory based questions on Provincial examinations, and to examine the curriculum for recommended laboratory work. Examination and curriculum data…

Describes a single technique for an enzyme assay of catalase. The method shows that vegetable seeds submitted to pre-sowing 'hardening' cycles of imbition and drying have greater catalase activity and more rapid germination than do the controls. (LS)

Describes an undergraduate organic chemistry experiment in which stilbene is cyclized to phenanthrene by irradiation for 24 hours in a photochemical reactor. (MLH)

Describes how to construct thin layer chromatography apparatus by using a sheet of glass, glass strips, epoxy resin and a chromatographic plate. (LS)

Describes the insertion reaction using the insertion of carbenes into carbon-hydrogen bonds as an example. Outlines an experiment that will illustrate dihalocarbene insertions into diisopropyl ether. (GS)