MedEdPORTAL (May 2010)
Crafting the Laboratory Experience: An Exercise in Pedagogical Design, Development and Assessment
Abstract
Abstract The laboratory program A Short Course in Experimental Philosophy places an emphasis on getting students to ask their own questions, to work more effectively in groups and as members of a community, and to actively model the process of research and experimentation. This resource consists of the lab handbook, the TA manual, and the faculty manual for the program. In the faculty manual, I focus on the objectives of the laboratory experience and the techniques used to guide the inquiry, to promote a community of learners, and to encourage a stronger self-image among students of themselves as effective and capable researchers. I also present the assessment instruments developed and used to measure the level of extended self-directed inquiry, the amount and quality of the communal interaction developed among the students, and the level of satisfaction of the students with the laboratory environment. In addition, I discuss the role of the teaching assistants, almost all of whom are undergraduates, in an inquiry-based environment. The faculty manual does not focus on the physics content of the laboratory but on the activities and perspectives used by students as they become more adept at the process of scientific exploration and the pedagogical techniques used to both promote and monitor this transformation. The new lab environment was very successful in terms of improving students' perceptions of themselves as effective investigators. In addition, their skills of group participation and leadership; communication via written journals and oral presentations; developing, pursuing, and modifying a line of critical inquiry; and building and critiquing mathematical models based on their observations improved significantly. However, the lab was designed for students who were good students ready to be challenged by an introduction to a more realistic portrayal of the research process and by a more cooperative, communal engagement. Essentially, the students began the semester with a large question, which they broke down into smaller questions. They had to come up with a plan to answer those questions, studied the results, and then found that their answers led them to more questions. Along the way, they had to develop concepts that came out of the patterns they saw in their observations, describe these ideas mathematically, and find ways to check if they were right. While doing this they talked to each other, critiqued each other's work, and shared their results. At the end of the semester, we stopped, but we were still pursuing answers to the questions that arose from our first day. In a very substantial way, the new lab environment provided excellent preparation for scientific research.
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