3 Laboratory Experiences and Student Learning - America's Lab Report - Investigations in High School Science - The National Academies Press PDF

10/3/2019 3 Laboratory Experiences and Student Learning | America's Lab Report: Investigations in High School Science | The National
ational Academies…
America's Lab Report: Investigations in High School Science
America's Lab Report: Investigations in High School Science (2006)

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Chapter: 3 Laboratory Experiences and StudentLaboratory
Learningexperiences as a part of most U.S. high
 Buy Paperback | $49.95
school science curricula have been taken for granted
for decades, but they have rarely been carefully
Visit NAP.edu/10766 to get more information about this book,examined.
to buy it inWhat
print,do
or they contribute
to download toascience
it as free PDF.
learning? What can they contribute to science
 Buy Ebook | $39.99 learning? What is the current status of labs in our
nationï¿½s high schools as a context for learning
science? This book looks at a range of questions about
how laboratory experiences t into U.S. high schools:
MyNAP members save
10% online.
3
Login or Register to
What is e ective laboratory teaching?
What does research tell us about learning in
Laboratory Experiences
save!
How and Student
high school science labs?
should student learning in laboratory
LearningDo all student have access to laboratory

Download Free PDF
experiences be assessed?
experiences?
What changes need to be made to improve
laboratory experiences for high school
Key Points students?
How can school organization contribute to
e ective laboratory teaching?
The science learning goals of laboratory experiences
With increased attentioninclude
to the U.S. education
enhancing mastery of science subject matter,
system developing
and student outcomes, no part of the
high school curriculum should escape scrutiny.
scienti c reasoning abilities, increasing understanding
This timely book investigatesof the that
factors
complexity and ambiguity of empirical work,
in uence developing
a high school laboratory experience,
looking closely at what currently takes place
practical skills, increasing understanding of the nature of
and what the goals of those experiences are
science, cultivating interest in science and science
and should learning,
be. Science educators, school
administrators, policy makers, and parents will
and improving teamwork abilities.
all bene t from a better understanding of the
The research suggests that laboratory need experiences will be more
for laboratory experiences to be an
integral part of the science
likely to achieve these goals if they (1) are designed with clear curriculumï¿½and
how that can be accomplished.
learning outcomes in mind, (2) are thoughtfully sequenced into
the ow of classroom science instruction, (3) integrate learning
of science content and process, and (4) incorporate ongoing
student re ection and discussion.
Computer-based representations and simulations of natural
phenomena and large scienti c databases are more likely to be
effective if they are integrated into a thoughtful sequence of
classroom science instruction that also includes laboratory
experiences.
https://www.nap.edu/read/11311/chapter/5 1/55
10/3/2019 3 Laboratory Experiences and Student Learning | America's Lab Report: Investigations in High School Science | The National Academies…
In this chapter, the committee rst identi es and clari es the learning
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goals of laboratory experiences and then discusses research evidence on
Laboratory experiences as a part of most U.S. high
attainment of thoseBuygoals. The review of research evidence have draws onforthree
 Paperback | $49.95
school science curricula been taken
granted
major strands of research: (1) cognitive research illuminating how students

examined. What do they contribute to science
learn; (2) studies that examine laboratory experiences
learning? What can theythat standtoalone,
contribute science
separate from the Buy  Ebook
ow of | $39.99
classroom learning? What is the current status
science instruction; and (3) research of labs in our
projects that sequence laboratory experiences with
science? This book other
looks at forms ofquestions
a range of science about
instruction.1 We propose
MyNAP the save
members phrase “integrated instructional units” to
describe these10% online. and design projectsWhat
research thatis integrate laboratory
Login or Register to What does research tell us about learning in
experiences within a sequence of science instruction. In the following
save! high school science labs?
section of this chapter, we present design principles for laboratory
How should student learning in laboratory
experiences derived from our analysis of these multiple strands of research
Download Free PDF Do all student have access to laboratory
and suggest that laboratory experiences designed according to these
experiences?
principles are most likely to accomplish their learning
What goals.
changes need Next
to be madewe to improve
consider the role of technology in supporting student learning from
students?
laboratory experiences. The chapter concludes with
How can a summary.
school organization contribute to
With increased attention to the U.S. education
system and student outcomes, no part of the
GOALS FOR LABORATORY EXPERIENCES high school curriculum should escape scrutiny.
This timely book investigates factors that
in uence a high school laboratory experience,
Laboratories have been purported to promote a number of goals for
students, most of which are also the goals ofand
science
what the education
goals of those in generalare
experiences
(Lunetta, 1998; Hofstein and Lunetta, 1982). and
Theshould be. Sciencecommissioned
committee educators, school
a paper to examine the de nition and goals allofbene
laboratory experiences
t from a better understanding of the
(Millar, 2004) and also considered research reviews on laboratory to be an
need for laboratory experiences
integral part of the science curriculumï¿½and
education that have identi ed and discussedhow learning goals (Anderson,
that can be accomplished.
1976; Hofstein and Lunetta, 1982; Lazarowitz and Tamir, 1994; Shulman and
Tamir, 1973). While these inventories of goals vary somewhat, a core set
remains fairly consistent. Building on these commonly stated goals, the
committee developed a comprehensive list of goals for or desired
outcomes of laboratory experiences:
Enhancing mastery of subject matter. Laboratory experiences may

enhance student understanding of speci c scienti c facts and
×
concepts and of the way in which these facts and concepts are
America'sorganized
Lab Report: Investigations
in the in High School Science
scienti c disciplines.
Developing scienti c reasoning. Laboratory experiences may promote
a student’s ability to identify questions and concepts that guide
scienti c Laboratory experiences as a part of most U.S. high
1 There
is a larger body of research onfor
howdecades, but theylearn
students have rarely been carefully
science that is
not considered in depth here because the committee’s
learning? focus istoscience
What can they contribute science
learning throughBuy
laboratory
Ebook experiences. The larger body of research is
 | $39.99 learning? What is the current status of labs in our
discussed in the National Research Council (2005) report, How Students
Learn: Science in the Classroom; it is also considered
how laboratory in ant ongoing
experiences into U.S. high schools:
MyNAP members save
National Research Council study of science
10% online. learning in grades K-8.
investigations;Download
to designFree
andPDF
conduct scienti c investigations;
Do all student to
have access to laboratory
experiences?
develop and revise scienti c explanations and models; to recognize
and analyze alternative explanations and models;
laboratory and toformake
experiences and
high school
students?
defend a scienti c argument. Making a scienti c argument includes
such abilities as writing, reviewing information, usingteaching?
e ective laboratory scienti c
With increased
language appropriately, constructing a reasoned argument, attention to the U.S. education
and
responding to critical comments. high school curriculum should escape scrutiny.
Understanding the complexity and ambiguity
in uenceof empirical
a high work. experience,
school laboratory
Interacting with the unconstrained environment of the
and what the goals material
of those world
experiences are
in laboratory experiences may help students
and shouldconcretely understand
the inherent complexity and ambiguityallofbenenatural phenomena.
t from a better understanding of the
Laboratory experiences may help students need forlearn to address
laboratory experiencestheto be an
challenges inherent in directly observing and manipulating the
material world, including troubleshooting equipment used to make
observations, understanding measurement error, and interpreting and
aggregating the resulting data.
Developing practical skills. In laboratory experiences, students may
learn to use the tools and conventions of science. For example, they
may develop skills in using scienti c equipment correctly and safely,
making observations, taking measurements, and carrying out well-
de ned scienti c procedures.
×
Understanding of the nature of science. Laboratory experiences may
America'shelp
Labstudents
Report: to Investigations
understand the in High
valuesSchool Science inherent in
and assumptions
the development and interpretation of scienti c knowledge, such as
the idea that science is a human endeavor that seeks to understand
the material world and that scientiLaboratory
c theories, models,
experiences and
as a part of most U.S. high
explanations change 
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school scienceof
the basis curricula have been taken for granted
new evidence.
Cultivating interest in science andexamined.
interestWhat
in learning science.
do they contribute As a
to science
result of laboratory experiences that make
learning? Whatscience “come alive,”
can they contribute to science
students may Buy  Ebook

become | $39.99
interested
learning? What is the current status of labs in our
in learning more about science and
see it as relevant to everyday life. science? This book looks at a range of questions about
Developing
MyNAPteamwork
membersabilities.
save Laboratory experiences may also
promote10% online. ability to collaborate
a student’s Whateffectively with others
is e ective laboratory teaching?in
carrying out complex tasks, to share the work of the task, to assume
different roles at different times, and toHow contribute
should student and respond
learning to
in laboratory
ideas.
Do all student have access to laboratory
Download Free PDF
experiences?
Although most of these goals were derived from previous
What changes need research
to be made toonimprove
laboratory experiences and student learning,laboratory experiences for
the committee high school
identi ed the
students?
new goal of “understanding the complexity and
How canambiguity of empirical
work” to re ect the unique nature of laboratory experiences.
e ective Students’
laboratory teaching?
direct encounters with natural phenomena system
in laboratory science courses
are inherently more ambiguous and messy than the representations
high school of scrutiny.
curriculum should escape
these phenomena in science lectures, textbooks, and mathematical
formulas (Millar, 2004). The committee thinks that
looking developing
closely students’
at what currently takes place
and what
ability to recognize this complexity and develop the goals offor
strategies those experiences are
sorting
and should be. Science educators, school
through it is an essential administrators, policy makers, and parents will
need for laboratory experiences to be an
goal of laboratory experiences. Unlike the other goals,
how that can bewhich coincide with
accomplished.
the goals of science education more broadly and may be advanced through
lectures, reading, or other forms of science instruction, laboratory
experiences may be the only way to advance the goal of helping students
understand the complexity and ambiguity of empirical work.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN RESEARCH

AND DESIGN OF LABORATORY
×
EXPERIENCES
In reviewing evidence on the extent to which students may attain the goals
of laboratory experiences listed above, the committee identi ed a recent
shift in the research. Historically, laboratory experiences
Laboratory experiences ashave
a part been
of most U.S. high
separate from the Buy  Paperback
ow of classroom|science
$49.95
school science curricula have
instruction andbeen
oftentaken for granted
lacked
clear learning goals. Because this approach remains
examined. What docommon today,
they contribute we
to science
refer to these isolated interactions withlearning?
natural What can they contribute
phenomena to science
as “typical”
laboratory experiences.
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2 Re ecting thisnationï¿½s
separation,
researchers
high schools as a contextoften
for learning
science? This book looks
engaged students in one or two experiments or other science activities at a range of questions about
MyNAP members
and then conducted save to determine whether their
assessments
understanding 10%
of online.
the science concept underlying What is ethe ective laboratory
activity hadteaching?
increased. Some studies directly compared measures of student
high school science labs? learning
save!
following laboratory experiences with measures of student
How should learning
student learning in laboratory
following lectures, discussions, videotapes, or other methods of science
Download Free PDF
instruction in an effort to determine which experiences?
modes of instruction were
most effective.
Over the past 10 years, some researchers students?
have shifted their focus.
Assuming that the study of the natural world requires opportunities to
directly encounter that world, investigators With areincreased
integratingattentionlaboratory
experiences and other forms of instruction into systeminstructional
and student outcomes, no part ofin
sequences the
order to help students progress toward science learning
This timely goals. These
book investigates factors that
studies draw on principles of learning derived froma the
in uence rapidlaboratory
high school growthexperience,
in
knowledge from cognitive research to address the question of how to
design science instruction, including laboratory experiences,
and should in order
be. Science educators, to
school
support student learning.
Given the complexity of these teaching and need learning sequences,
for laboratory experiencesthe to be an
committee struggled with how best to describe them. Initially, the
committee used the term “science curriculum units.” However, that term
failed to convey the importance of integration in this approach to
sequencing laboratory experiences with other forms of teaching and
learning. The research reviewed by the committee indicated that these
curricula not only integrate laboratory experiences in the ow of science
instruction, but also integrate
2 In Chapter 4, we argue that most U.S. high school students currently
engage in these typical laboratory experiences.
student learning about both the concepts and processes of science. To

re ect these aspects of the new approach, the committee settled on the
term “integrated instructional units” in this report.
×
The following sections brie y describe principles of learning derived
from recent research in the cognitive sciences and theirhave
application in granted

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school science curricula been taken for
design of integrated instructional units.for decades, but they have rarely been carefully
Principles
 Buy of Learning
Ebook | Informing Integratedlearning? What is the current status of labs in our
$39.99
Instructional Units science? This book looks at a range of questions about
MyNAP
Recent research andmembers save of integrated instructional units that
development
10% online. What is e ective laboratory teaching?
incorporate laboratory experiences are based on a large and growing body
of cognitive research.
save! This research has led high
to development of a coherent
school science labs?
How shouldthat
and multifaceted theory of learning that recognizes student learning
prior in laboratory
knowledge,
context, language, and social processes playDo critical roles
all student have in cognitive
access to laboratory
Download Free PDF
experiences?
development and learning (National Research Council, 1999). Taking each
of these factors into account, the National Research Council for
laboratory experiences (NRC) report
high school
How People Learn identi es four critical principles
students? that support effective
learning environments (Glaser, 1994; National Research Council, 1999), and
a more recent NRC report, How Students Learn, considers
With increased these
attention principles
as they relate speci cally to science (National Research Council, 2005).
These four principles are summarized below. This timely book investigates factors that
Learner-Centered Environments
The emerging integrated instructional unitsallare designed to be learner-
bene t from a better understanding of the
centered. This principle is based on research showing
need thatexperiences
for laboratory effectiveto be an
instruction begins with what learners bring to the setting, including
cultural practices and beliefs, as well as knowledge of academic content.
Taking students’ preconceptions into account is particularly critical in
science instruction. Students come to the classroom with conceptions of
natural phenomena that are based on their everyday experiences in the
world. Although these conceptions are often reasonable and can provide
satisfactory everyday explanations to students, they do not always match
scienti c explanations and break down in ways that students often fail to
notice. Teachers face the challenge of engaging with these intuitive ideas,
some of which are more rmly rooted than others, in order to help
×
students move toward a more scienti c understanding. In this way,
America's Lab Report:
understanding Investigations
scienti c knowledgeinoften
Highrequires
School Science
a change in—not just an
addition to—what students notice and understand about the world
(National Research Council, 2005).

Knowledge-Centered Environments

Buy Ebook | $39.99learning? What is the current status of labs in our
The developing integrated instructionalscience?
unitsThis
arebook
based
lookson
at a the
rangeprinciple
of questions about
how laboratory experiences
that learning is enhanced when the environment is knowledge-centered.t into U.S. high schools:
MyNAP members save
That is, the laboratory
10% online.experiences and other instruction
What included
is e ective laboratory in
teaching?
Login or Register
integrated instructional unitstoare designed to
What doesstudents
help research telllearn
us about learning in
with
understanding, rather than simply acquiringHow sets of disconnected
should student learning infacts and
laboratory
skills (National Research Council, 1999). experiences be assessed?
Download Do all student have access to laboratory
Free PDF with which
In science, the body of knowledge students must engage
experiences?
includes accepted scienti c ideas about natural phenomena
What changes need to beasmade
welltoas an
improve
understanding of what it means to “do science.” These two aspects of
students?
science are re ected in the goals of laboratory
How experiences, which
can school organization include
contribute to
mastery of subject matter (accepted scienti c ideas about phenomena) and
several goals related to the processes of science
system(understanding
and student outcomes, the
no part of the
high school curriculum
complexity of empirical work, development of scienti c reasoning). should escape scrutiny.
Research on student thinking about scienceinshowsuence aahigh
progression of ideas
school laboratory experience,
about scienti c knowledge and how it is justi ed. At the rst stage,
students perceive scienti c knowledge as right or wrong. Later, students
characterize discrepant ideas and evidence administrators,
as “mere opinion.” Eventually,
policy makers, and parents will
students recognize scienti c knowledge as being justi ed by evidence
derived through rigorous research. Several studies have
integral part of theshown that a large
science curriculumï¿½and
proportion of high school students are at the rst stage in their views of
scienti c knowledge (National Research Council, 2005).
Knowledge-centered environments encourage students to re ect on
their own learning progress (metacognition). Learning is facilitated when
individuals identify, monitor, and regulate their own thinking and learning.
To be effective problem solvers and learners, students need to determine
what they already know and what else they need to know in any given
situation, including when things are not going as expected. For example,
students with better developed metacognitive strategies will abandon an
×
unproductive problem-solving strategy very quickly and substitute a more
productive Investigations
one, whereas in High
students with lessSchool
effective Science
metacognitive skills
will continue to use the same strategy long after it has failed to produce
results (Gobert and Clement, 1999). The basic metacognitive strategies
include: (1) connecting new informationLaboratory
to former knowledge,
experiences as a part (2) selecting
of most U.S. high
thinking strategies Buy Paperback
deliberately, and|(3)
$49.95
school science curricula
monitoring one’shave been taken
progress for granted
during
problem solving. examined. What do they contribute to science
A nal aspect of knowledge-centeredlearning? learning,
What which
can they may be particularly
contribute to science
relevant to integrated 
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Ebook | $39.99 learning? What is the current status of labs in our
units, is that the practices and
activities in which people engage whilescience?
learning shape
This book what
looks theyoflearn.
at a range questions about
Transfer (theMyNAP
ability members
to apply learning
save in varying situations) is made
10%
possible to the online.
extent that knowledge and learning are grounded
What is e ective in
multiple contexts. Transfer is more dif cult when a concept is taught in a
limited set of contexts or through a limited How set of activities.
should By in laboratory
student learning
encountering the same concept at work in multiple contexts (such as in
laboratory experiences and in discussion), experiences?
students?
students can develop a deeper understanding Howof the
can concept
school andcontribute
organization how it to
can be used as well as the ability to transferewhat
ective laboratory teaching?
has been learned in one
context to others (Bransford and Schwartz, system
2001).and student outcomes, no part of the
Assessment to Support Learning
Another important principle of learning thatand has informed development of
should be. Science educators, school
integrated instructional units is that assessment can bepolicy
administrators, used to support
makers, and parents will
learning. Cognitive research has shown that feedback is fundamental to
learning, but feedback opportunities are scarce
integralinpart
most classrooms.
of the This
research indicates that formative assessments provide students with
opportunities to revise and improve the quality of their thinking while also
making their thinking apparent to teachers, who can then plan instruction
accordingly. Assessments must re ect the learning goals of the learning
environment. If the goal is to enhance understanding and the applicability
of knowledge, it is not suf cient to provide assessments that focus
primarily on memory for facts and formulas. The Thinkertools science
instructional unit discussed in the following section incorporates this
×
principle, including formative self-assessment tools that help students
America's
advanceLab Report:
toward Investigations
several of the goalsinofHigh Schoolexperiences.
laboratory Science
Community-Centered Environments
Research has shown BuyPaperback
that learning is|enhanced
$49.95
school science
in acurricula have beensetting,
community taken for granted
when students and teachers share norms that What
examined. value doknowledge
they contributeand
to science
participation (see Cobb et al., 2001). Such norms
learning? Whatincrease people’s

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opportunities and motivation $39.99learning? What is the current status of labs in our
| interact, receive feedback, and learn.
Learning is enhanced when students have multiple
science? This bookopportunities
looks at a range of to
questions about
articulate their ideasmembers
MyNAP to peerssave
and to hear and discuss others’ ideas. A
10% online.
community-centered classroom environment Whatmay
is e not
ectivebe organized
laboratory teaching?in
traditional ways. For example, in science classrooms, the teacher is often
the sole authority and arbiter of scienti c knowledge, placing
How should student students
learning in a
in laboratory
relatively passive role (Lemke, 1990). Such an organization may promote
students’ view that scienti c knowledge is aexperiences?
collection of facts about the
What changesto
world, authorized by expert scientists and irrelevant need to be made
students’ ownto improve
experience. The instructional units discussed below have attempted to
students?
restructure the social organization of the classroom andorganization
How can school encourage contribute to
students and the teacher to interact and learn from each other.
Design of Integrated Instructional Units
The learning principles outlined above havelooking
begun to inform design of
closely at what currently takes place
integrated instructional units that include laboratory experiences
and what the goals with are
of those experiences
other types of science learning activities. These integrated instructional
units were all bene t from a better understanding of the
developed through research programs that tightly couple research, design,
and implementation in an iterative process. The research programs are
beginning to document the details of student learning, development, and
interaction when students are given systematic support—or scaffolding—in
carefully structured social and cognitive activities. Scaffolding helps to
guide students’ thinking, so that they can gradually take on more autonomy
in carrying out various parts of the activities. Emerging research on these
integrated instructional units provides guidance about how to design
effective learning environments for real-world educational settings (see
×
Linn, Davis, and Bell, 2004a; Cobb et al., 2003; Design-Based Research
America's Lab 2003).
Collective, Report: Investigations in High School Science
Integrated instructional units interweave laboratory experiences with
other types of science learning activities, including lectures, reading, and
discussion. Students are engaged in framing research
Laboratory experiences questions, designing
and executing experiments,
gathering schoolanalyzing
and science curricula
data, have
andbeen taken for granted
constructing
arguments and conclusions as they carry out investigations.
examined. What do they contribute Diagnostic,
to science
formative assessments are embedded into theWhat
learning? instructional sequences
can they contribute to scienceand
can be used to gauge Buy

student’s $39.99learning? What is the current status of labs in our
Ebook |developing understanding and to promote
their self-re ection on their thinking. science? This book looks at a range of questions about
With respect to laboratory
MyNAP experiences, these instructional units share
members save
10% online.
two key features. The rst is that speci c laboratory
What is e ectiveexperiences are
carefully selected on the basis of research-based ideas of what students
are likely to learn from them. For example, any How particular
should studentlaboratory
learning in laboratory
activity is likely to contribute to learning only if it engages students’
current thinking about the target phenomena and is likely to make them
experiences?
What changes
critically evaluate their ideas in relation to what they see needduring
to be madetheto improve
activity. The second is that laboratory experiences
students? are explicitly linked to
and integrated with other learning activitiesHow in the unit.organization
can school The assumptioncontribute to
behind this second feature is that just because students do a laboratory
activity, they may not necessarily understand what
system andthey
studenthave done.no part of the
outcomes,
Nascent research on integrated instructional units suggests that both
framing a particular laboratory experience ahead in uenceof time
a high andlaboratory
school following it
experience,
with activities that help students make sense of the experience are crucial
in using a laboratory experience to support and science
should learning. This school
be. Science educators,
“integration” approach draws on earlier research administrators,
showing policythat
intervention
and negotiation with an authority, usually a need teacher, was essential
for laboratory experiencesto help
to be an
students make meaning out of their laboratory activities (Driver, 1995).
Examples of Integrated Instructional Units
Scaling Up Chemistry That Applies
Chemistry That Applies (CTA) is a 6-8 week integrated instructional unit

designed to help students in grades 8-10 understand the law of
conservation
×
of matter. Created by researchers at the Michigan Department of
America's Lab (Blakeslee
Education Report: Investigations in High
et al., 1993), this School Science
instructional unit was one of only a
few curricula that were highly rated by American Assocation for the
Advancement of Science Project 2061 in its study of middle school science
curricula (Kesidou and Roseman, 2002).LaboratoryStudent experiences
groups as a part of four
explore most U.S. high

Buy Paperback
chemical reactions—burning, rusting,| $49.95
the decomposition
for decades, but they haveof water,
rarely and the
been carefully
volcanic reaction of baking soda and vinegar. examined.They
What do cause these reactions
they contribute to science to
happen, obtain and record data in individual notebooks, analyze the data,

Buy Ebook | $39.99
and use evidence-based arguments to explain
nationï¿½s the data. as a context for learning
high schools
The instructional unit engages the students in a carefully structured
MyNAP members save
sequence of hands-on laboratory investigations interwoven with other
forms of instruction (Lynch, 2004). Student understanding is “pressed”
through many experiences
save! with the reactions highandschoolbyscience
group and individual
labs?
pressures to make meaning of these reactions. For example, video
transcripts indicateDownload
that students engaged in
Free PDF Do“science talk”
all student have during
access teacher
to laboratory
demonstrations and during student experiments. experiences?
Researchers at George Washington University, laboratory in experiences
a partnership for highwith
school
Montgomery County public schools in Maryland, are currently conducting
students?
a ve-year study of the feasibility of scaling eup effective integrated
instructional units, including CTA (Lynch, Kuipers, With increasedPyke, and Szesze,
attention to the U.S.ineducation
press). In 2001-2002, CTA was implemented in ve highly diverse middle
schools that were matched with ve comparison This timelyschools using traditional
book investigates factors that
curriculum materials in a quasi-experimental research design. All 8th
graders in the ve CTA schools, a total of about and what1,500 students,
the goals of those experiences are
and should
participated in the CTA curriculum, while all 8th graders in the be. Science educators,
matched school
schools used the science curriculum materials normally
all bene available.
t from a better Students
understanding of the
were given pre- and posttests. need for laboratory experiences to be an
In 2002-2003, the study was replicated inhow thethat same ve pairs of schools.
can be accomplished.
In both years, students who participated in the CTA curriculum scored
signi cantly higher than comparison students on a posttest. Average
scores of students who participated in the CTA curriculum showed higher
levels of uency with the concept of conservation of matter (Lynch, 2004).
However, because the concept is so dif cult, most students in both the
treatment and control group still have misconceptions, and few have a
exible, fully scienti c understanding of the conservation of matter. All
subgroups of students who were engaged in the CTA curriculum—
including low-income students (eligible for free and reduced-price meals),
×
black and Hispanic students, English language learners, and students
America's
eligibleLab
for Report: Investigations
special educational in High School
services—scored Science
signi cantly higher than
students in the control group on the posttest (Lynch and O’Donnell, 2005).
The effect sizes were largest among three subgroups considered at risk for
low science achievement, including Hispanic
Laboratorystudents,
experienceslow-income
students, and English 
Buylanguage
Paperback | $49.95
learners.
Based on these encouraging results, examined.
CTA wasWhat scaled upcontribute
do they to include about
to science
6,000 8th graders in 20 schools in 2003-2004 andcan
learning? What 12,000 8th graders
they contribute in 37
to science
schools in 2004-2005 
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Ebookand
| $39.99learning? What is the current status of labs in our
O’Donnell, 2005).
MyNAP members save
ThinkerTools
save!
The ThinkerTools instructional unit is a sequence
experiencesof laboratory
be assessed?
Download Freeactivities
PDF Do all student have access to laboratory
experiences and other learning that, in its initial version, yielded
experiences?
substantial gains in students’ understandingWhat of Newton’s
changes need laws
to beof motion
made to improve
(White, 1993). Building on these positive results, ThinkerTools was
students?
expanded to focus not only on mastery of these How can laws of organization
school motion but also on
contribute to
scienti c reasoning and understanding of the nature of science (White and
Frederiksen, 1998). In the 10-week unit, students
system were guided
and student to reno ect
outcomes, onthe
part of
high school
their own thinking and learning while they carry outcurriculum
a seriesshould
of escape scrutiny.
investigations. The integrated instructional inunit was
uence designed
a high to help
school laboratory them
experience,
learn about science processes as well as about theclosely
looking subject
at whatofcurrently
force takes
and place
motion. The instructional unit supports students as they formulate
hypotheses, conduct empirical investigations, work with
administrators, conceptually
analogous computer simulations, and re ne a conceptual model for the
phenomena. Across the series of investigations, the
integral partintegrated
of the science curriculumï¿½and
instructional unit introduces increasingly complex concepts. Formative
assessments are integrated throughout the instructional sequence in ways
that allow students to self-assess and re ect on core aspects of inquiry and
epistemological dimensions of learning.
Researchers investigated the impact of Thinker Tools in 12 7th, 8th, and
9th grade classrooms with 3 teachers and 343 students. The researchers
evaluated students’ developing understanding of scienti c investigations
using a pre-post inquiry test. In this assessment, students were engaged in
a thought experiment that asked them to conceptualize, design, and think
×
through a hypothetical research study. Gains in scores for students in the
America's Labself-assessment
re ective Report: Investigations in High
classes and School
control Sciencewere compared.
classrooms
Results were also broken out by students categorized as high and low
achieving, based on performance on a standardized test conducted before
the intervention. Students in the re ective self-assessment
Laboratory classes
experiences as a part of most U.S. high
exhibited greater gains 
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on a test of | $49.95
school scienceskills.
investigative curricula havewas
This been especially
taken for granted
true for low-achieving students. The researchers
examined. Whatfurther analyzed
do they contribute speci c
to science
components of the associated scienti clearning?processes—formulation
What can they contribute to ofscience
hypotheses, designing 
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experiment,
predicting results, drawing
conclusions from made-up results, andscience? relating
This those conclusions
book looks back toabout
at a range of questions
the original hypotheses.
MyNAP members Students
save in the re ective-self-assessment classes
did better on10% online.
all of these components than those inective
What is e control classrooms,
especially on the more dif cult components (drawing conclusions and
relating them to the original hypotheses). How should student learning in laboratory
Computer as Learning Partner
experiences?
Beginning in 1980, a large group of technologists,
students? classroom teachers, and
education researchers developed the Computer How can asschool
Learning Partner
organization (CLP)
contribute to
integrated instructional unit. Over 10 years, high
theschool
teamcurriculum
developedshouldand
escape scrutiny.
tested
eight versions of a 12-week unit on thermodynamics.
in uence a highEach year,
school a cohort
laboratory of
experience,
about 300 8th grade students participated in a sequence
looking of teaching
closely at what and
currently takes place
learning activities focused primarily on a speci c learning goal—enhancing
students’ understanding of the difference between heatpolicy
administrators, andmakers,
temperature
and parents will
(Linn, 1997). The project engaged students in a sequence of laboratory
experiences supported by computers, discussions, and
integral part other
of the forms
science of
curriculumï¿½and
science instruction. For example, computer images and words prompted
students to make predictions about heat and conductivity and perform
experiments using temperature-sensitive probes to con rm or refute their
predictions. Students were given tasks related to scienti c phenomena
affecting their daily lives—such as how to keep a drink cold for lunch or
selecting appropriate clothing for hiking in the mountains—as a way to
motivate their interest and curiosity. Teachers play an important role in
carrying out the curriculum, asking students to critique their own and
×
each others’ investigations and encouraging them to re ect on their own
thinking.
Over 10 years of study and revision, the integrated instructional unit
proved increasingly effective in achieving its stated learning goals. Before
the sequenced instruction was introduced, onlyexperiences
Laboratory 3 percent as aof
partmiddle school
of most U.S. high
students could adequately 
explain the school science between
difference curricula have beenand
heat taken for granted
temperature. Eight versions later, about half ofWhat
examined. thedo students participating
they contribute to science
in CLP could explain this difference, representing
learning? What cana 400 percenttoincrease
they contribute science in
achievement. In addition, 
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nearly| 100
$39.99 learning? What is the current status of labs in our
percent of students who participated
in the nal version of the instructional science?
unit demonstrated
This book looks at a understanding of
range of questions about
conductors (Linn
MyNAP and Songer,save
members 1991). By comparison, only 25 percent of a
10% online. chemistry studentsWhat
group of undergraduate at the
is e University
ective laboratory ofteaching?
California
at Berkeley could adequately explain the difference between heat and
temperature. A longitudinal study comparing How high
shouldschool
studentseniors
learning inwholaboratory
participated in the thermodynamics unit in middle school with seniors who
had received more traditional middle schoolexperiences?
science instruction found a 50
percent improvement in CLP students’ performance What changes inneed to be made to improve
distinguishing
between heat and temperature (Linn and Hsi, 2000)
students?
Participating in the CLP instructional unitHow alsocanincreased students’
interest in science. Longitudinal studies of CLP participants revealed that,
among those who went on to take high school physics,
system over
and student 90 percent
outcomes, no part of the
thought science was relevant to their lives. And 60 percent could provide
examples of scienti c phenomena in their daily lives.
in uence Byschool
a high comparison, only
laboratory experience,
60 percent of high school physics students who had not participated in the
unit during middle school thought science was relevant
and should to their
be. Science lives,school
educators, and
only 30 percent could give examples in theiradministrators,
daily lives policy
(Linn makers, and parents will
and Hsi,
2000). need for laboratory experiences to be an
EFFECTIVENESS OF LABORATORY
EXPERIENCES
Description of the Literature Review

The committee’s review of the literature on the effectiveness of laboratory
experiences considered studies of typical laboratory experiences and
×
emerging research focusing on integrated instructional units. In reviewing
both bodies Investigations
of research, we aim to in High how
specify School Scienceexperiences can
laboratory
further each of the science learning goals outlined at the beginning of this
chapter.

Limitations of the Research
Our review was complicated by weaknesses inWhat
learning? thecanearlier research
they contribute on
to science

Buy Ebook |isolated
typical laboratory experiences,
$39.99from the stream of instruction
(Hofstein and Lunetta, 1982). First, the investigators
science? This book do not
looks at a agree
range ofon a
questions about
precise de nition
MyNAP ofmembers
the “laboratory”
save experiences under study. Second,
many studies10%wereonline.
weak in the selection andWhat
control of laboratory
is e ective variables. teaching?
Investigators failed to examine or report important variables relating to
student abilities and attitudes. For example,Howthey failed
should to note
student students’
prior laboratory experiences. They also did not give enough attention to
extraneous factors that might affect studentexperiences?
outcomes, such as instruction
outside the laboratory. Third, the studies of What
typicalchanges need to be made
laboratory to improve
experiences
usually involved a small group of students with little diversity, making it
students?
dif cult to generalize the results to the large,
How diverse
can school population of U.S. to
organization contribute
high schools today. Fourth, investigators didWith
notincreased
give enough attention to
attention to the U.S. education
the adequacy of the instruments used to measure
system and student outcomes.
student outcomes, Asofan
no part the
example, paper and pencil tests that focus on testing mastery of subject
matter, the most frequently used assessment, do not
in uence capture
a high student
attainment of all of the goals we have identi ed. Such tests are not able to
measure student progress toward goals thatand may be be.
should unique
Scienceto laboratory
educators, school
experiences, such as developing scienti c reasoning, understanding parents
administrators, policy makers, and the will
complexity and ambiguity of empirical work,need and fordevelopment of practical
laboratory experiences to be an
skills. integral part of the science curriculumï¿½and
Finally, most of the available research on typical laboratory experiences
does not fully describe these activities. Few studies have examined teacher
behavior, the classroom learning environment, or variables identifying
teacher-student interaction. In addition, few recent studies have focused
on laboratory manuals—both what is in them and how they are used.
Research on the intended design of laboratory experiences, their
implementation, and whether the implementation resembles the initial
design would provide the understanding needed to guide improvements in
laboratory instruction. However, only a few studies of typical laboratory
×
experiences have measured the effectiveness of particular laboratory
experiences Investigations
in terms in High School Science
of both the extent
to which their activities match those that the teacher intended and the
extent to which theBuy 
students’ learning
Paperback matches
| $49.95
school science the learning
curricula objectives
have been of
taken for granted
the activity (Tiberghien, Veillard, Le Marchal, Buty, and Millar, 2000).
We also found weaknesses in the evolving learning?research
What can they oncontribute
integrated to science
instructional units.Buy
First,Ebook
these |new
$39.99learning? What is the current status of labs in our
units tend to be hothouse projects;
researchers work intensively with teachers toThis
science? construct
book looks at atypical
a range oflearning
questions about
environments. Whilemembers
some have how laboratory experiences t into U.S. high schools:
MyNAP savebeen developed and studied over a
number of years
10% and iterations, they usuallyWhat
online. involve relatively
is e ective laboratory small
teaching?
samples of students. Only now are some of these efforts expanding learning
What does research tell us about to a in
scale that willsave!
allow robust generalizations about How should their value
student and inhow
learning best
laboratory
to implement them. Second, these integrated instructional
experiences units have not
be assessed?
been designed speci cally toFree PDF some version of laboratory
contrast experiences?
or
practical experience with a lack of such experience.What changes Rather,
need to they
be made assume
to improve
that educational interventions are complex, systemic “packages” (Salomon,
students?
1996) involving many interactions that may in Howuence
can school speci c outcomes,
organization contribute to
and that science learning requires some opportunities for direct
engagement with natural phenomena. Researchers system andcommonly
student outcomes, aimno topart of the
document the complex interactions between highandschool curriculum
among should escape scrutiny.
students,
teachers, laboratory materials, and equipment in an
in uence effort
a high tolaboratory
school developexperience,
pro les of successful interventions (Cobb etlooking al., 2003;closely Collins, Joseph,
at what currently takesand
place
Bielaczyc, 2004; Design-Based Research Collective, 2003). These newer
studies focus on how to sequence laboratory experiences
administrators, and
policy other
makers, and forms
parents will
of science instruction to support students’ science learning.
Scope of the Literature Search
A nal note on the review of research: the scope of our study did not allow
for an in-depth review of all of the individual studies of laboratory
education conducted over the past 30 years. Fortunately, three major
reviews of the literature from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s are available
(Lazarowitz and Tamir, 1994; Lunetta, 1998; Hofstein and Lunetta, 2004).
The committee relied on these reviews in our analysis of studies published
×
before 1994. To identify studies published between 1994 and 2004, the
committee searchedInvestigations in High School Science
electronic databases.
To supplement the database search, the committee commissioned three
experts to review the nascent body of research on integrated instructional
units (Bell, 2005; Duschl, 2004; Millar, 2004). We
Laboratory also invited
experiences researchers

Buy Paperback
who are currently developing, | $49.95
revising,school
and science
studyingcurricula
thehave been taken for of
effectiveness
granted
integrated instructional units to present their What

examined. ndings
do theyatcontribute
committee to science
meetings (Linn, 2004; Lynch, 2004). learning? What can they contribute to science
All of these activities 
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Ebook |few$39.99 learning? What is the current status of labs in our
studies that focused on the high school
level and were conducted in the Unitedscience? States.ThisFor
bookthis
looksreason,
at a rangethe
of questions about
committee expanded the range
MyNAP members of the literature considered to include
save
some studies10% online.at middle school and What
targeted some is einternational studies. We
included stud- Login or Register to What does research tell us about learning in
ies at the elementary through postsecondary levels as well as studies of
experiences?
teachers’ learning in our analysis. In drawingWhat
conclusions
changes needfrom studies
to be made that
to improve
were not conducted at the high school level, the committee took into
students?
consideration the extent to which laboratory How experiences in highcontribute
can school organization school to
differ from those in elementary and postsecondary education.
Developmental differences among students,system the organizational
and student outcomes, structure
no part of of
the
high school curriculum should
schools, and the preparation of teachers are a few of the many factors that escape scrutiny.
vary by school level and that the committeeinconsidered in making
uence a high school laboratory experience,
inferences from the available research. Similarly, when deliberatingtakes
looking closely at what currently on place
studies conducted outside the United States, we considered differences in
the science curriculum, the organization of administrators,
schools, and other
policy factors
makers, thatwill
and parents
might in uence the outcomes of laboratory education.
Mastery of Subject Matter
Evidence from Research on Typical Laboratory

Experiences
Claims that typical laboratory experiences help students master science

content rest largely on the argument that opportunities to directly interact
with, observe, and manipulate materials will help students to better grasp
dif cult scienti c concepts. It is believed that these experiences will force
×
students to confront their misunderstandings about phenomena and shift
America's
towardLab
more Report:
scientiInvestigations in High School Science
c understanding.
Despite these claims, there is almost no direct evidence that typical
laboratory experiences that are isolated from the ow of science
instruction are particularly valuable forLaboratory
learning speci casscienti
experiences c content
a part of most U.S. high
(Hofstein and Lunetta, 
Buy1982,
Paperback | $49.95
school science
2004; Lazarowitz andcurricula
Tamir,have been White
1994). taken for granted
(1996) points out that many major reviews of science
examined. What do they education
contributefrom the
to science
1960s and 1970s indicate that laboratory workWhat
learning? does canlittle to improve
understanding of science 
Buy Ebook | $39.99
content
as measured by paper and pencil tests,
and later studies from the 1980s and early 1990s
science? do not
This book lookschallenge
at a range of this view.
questions about
Other studiesMyNAP
indicate that typical
members save laboratory experiences are no more
10% online.
effective in helping students master scienceWhat subject matter
is e ective thanteaching?
laboratory
demonstrations in high school biology (Coulter, 1966), demonstration and
discussion (Yager, Engen, and Snider, 1969), How andshould
viewing studentlmed
experiments in chemistry (Ben-Zvi, Hofstein, Kempa, and Samuel, 1976). In
contrast to most of the research, a single comparative
experiences? study (Freedman,
2002) found that students who received regular What changes
laboratoryneed toinstruction
be made to improve
over
the course of a school year performed better on a test of physical science
students?
knowledge than a control group of studentsHow who cantook
schoolaorganization
similar physical
contribute to
science course without laboratory activities.With increased attention to the U.S. education
Clearly, most of the evidence does not support system andthestudent
argument that
outcomes, no typical
part of the
laboratory experiences lead to improved learning of science content. More
speci cally, concrete experiences with phenomena in uence a alone do laboratory
high school not appear to
experience,
force students to confront their misunderstandings andpolicy
administrators, reevaluate
makers, andtheir
parents will
own assumptions. For example, VandenBerg, Katu, and Lunetta (1994)
reported, on the basis of clinical studies with individual
integral students,
part of the that
hands-on activities with introductory electricity materials facilitated
students’ understanding of the relationships among circuit elements and
variables. The carefully selected practical activities created conceptual
con ict in students’ minds—a rst step toward changing their naïve ideas
about electricity. However, the students remained unable to develop a fully
scienti c mental model of a circuit system. The authors suggested that
greater engagement with conceptual organizers, such as analogies and
concept maps, could have helped students develop more scienti c
understandings of basic electricity. Several researchers, including Dupin
×
and Joshua (1987), have reported similar ndings. Studies indicate that
America's Lab
students Report:
often holdInvestigations in High
beliefs so intensely thatSchool Science
even their observations in the
laboratory are strongly in uenced by those beliefs (Champagne, Gunstone,
and Klopfer, 1985, cited in Lunetta, 1998; Linn, 1997). Students tend to
adjust their observations to t their current beliefs
Laboratory rather
experiences as athan
part ofchange
most U.S. high
their beliefs in the face 
Buy Paperback
of con icting| $49.95
observations.
Evidence from Research on Integrated Instructional
 Buy Ebook | Units learning? What is the current status of labs in our
$39.99
MyNAP instructional
Current integrated members saveunits build on earlier studies that found
integration of10% online. experiences with other
laboratory What is instructional
e ective laboratoryactivities
teaching?
enhanced mastery of subject matter (Dupin high
andschool
Joshua,
science1987;
labs? White and
save!
Gunstone, 1992, cited in Lunetta, 1998). A recent review
How should of learning
student these and other
in laboratory
studies concluded (Hofstein and Lunetta, 2004, p. 33):
Download Free PDF
experiences?
When laboratory experiences are integrated with other
metacognitive learning experiences such as “predict-observe-
students?
explain” demonstrations (White and Gunstone, 1992)organization
How can school and when they to
contribute
e ective of
incorporate the manipulation of ideas instead laboratory
simply teaching?
materials
and procedures, they can promote the learning
system andof science.
student outcomes, no part of the
Integrated instructional units often focus onThiscomplex science
timely book topics
investigates factorsthat
that
are dif cult for students to understand. Their design is based on research
on students’ intuitive conceptions of a science topic
and what theand
goalshow those
of those experiences are
conceptions differ from scienti c conceptions. Students’ ideas often do not
match the scienti c understanding of a phenomenon
all bene t fromand, as understanding
a better noted of the
previously, these intuitive notions are resistant to change. For this reason,
the sequenced units incorporate instructional howactivities speci cally
that can be accomplished.
designed to confront intuitive conceptions and provide an environment in
which students can construct normative conceptions. The role of
laboratory experiences is to emphasize the discrepancies between
students’ intuitive ideas about the topic and scienti c ideas, as well as to
support their construction of normative understanding. In order to help
students link formal, scienti c concepts to real
×
phenomena, these units include a sequence of experiences that will push
America's
them to Lab Report:
question Investigations
their intuitive andinoften
Highinaccurate
School Science ideas.
Emerging studies indicate that exposure to these integrated
instructional units leads to demonstrable gains in student mastery of a
number of science topics in comparison to more
Laboratory traditional
experiences approaches.
as a part In
of most U.S. high
physics, these subjects 
Buy include
Paperback | $49.95
schoolmechanics
Newtonian science curricula have been
(Wells, taken for granted
Hestenes,
and
Swackhamer, 1995; White, 1993); thermodynamicsexamined. What (Songer and Linn,
do they contribute 1991);
to science
electricity (Shaffer and McDermott, 1992); optics
learning? What(Bell and
can they Linn, 2000;
Reiner, Pea, and Shulman, 

Buy Ebook1995);| and
matter (Lehrer, Schauble, Strom, and
Pligge, 2001; Smith, Maclin, Grosslight,science?
and Davis, 1997;
This book looksSnir, Smith,
at a range and about
of questions
Raz, 2003). Integrated
MyNAP membersinstructional
save units in biology have enhanced student
10% online.
mastery of genetics (Hickey, Kind eld, Horwitz, What isand Christie,
e ective laboratory2003) and
teaching?
natural selection (Reiser et al., 2001). A chemistry unit has led to gains in
student understanding of stoichiometry (Lynch, 2004).
How should Many,
student butinnot
learning all, of
laboratory
these instructional units combine computer-based simulations of the
phenomena under study with direct interactions with these phenomena.
experiences?
The role of technology in providing laboratory Whatexperiences
changes need tois bedescribed
made to improve
later in this chapter. students?
Developing Scienti c Reasoning
While philosophers of science now agree that highthere
school is no single
curriculum scienti
should c
escape scrutiny.
method, they do agree that a number of reasoningThis timelyskills
book investigates
are criticalfactors
tothat
research across the natural sciences. These looking
reasoning skills
closely at includetakes place
what currently
identifying questions and concepts that guide andscienti c investigations,
what the goals of those experiences are
designing and conducting scienti c investigations, developing and revising
scienti c explanations and models, recognizing and
all bene analyzing
t from alternative
a better understanding of the
explanations and models, and making and defending a scienti c argument.
It is not necessarily the case that these skillshow
arethat
sequenced in a particular
way or used in every scienti c investigation. Instead, they are
representative of the abilities that both scientists and students need to
investigate the material world and make meaning out of those
investigations. Research on children’s and adults’ scienti c reasoning (see
the review by Zimmerman, 2000) suggests that effective experimentation
is dif cult for most people and not learned without instructional support.
×
Experiences
Early research on the development of investigative skills suggested that

students could learn aspects of scienti Laboratory
c reasoning through
experiences typical
laboratory instruction 
BuyinPaperback | $49.95
college-level
physics (Reif and St. John, 1979, cited
in Hofstein and Lunetta, 1982) and in high school
examined. Whatand college
do they biology
(Raghubir, 1979; Wheatley, 1975, cited inlearning?
HofsteinWhat can they contribute to science
and Lunetta, 1982).
 learning? What is the current status of labs in our
Buy Ebook | $39.99
More recent research,
MyNAP however,
members save suggests that high school and college
10% often
science teachers online.emphasize laboratory procedures,
What leaving
is e ective laboratory little time
teaching?
for discussion of how to plan an investigation or interpret its results
(Tobin, 1987; see Chapter 4). Taken as a whole,Howthe evidence
should indicates
student learning that
in laboratory
typical laboratory work promotes only a few aspects of the full process of
scienti c reasoning—making observations and organizing, communicating,
experiences?
What changes need
and interpreting data gathered from these observations. to be made
Typical to improve
laboratory
experiences appear to have little effect on more complex aspects of
students?
scienti c reasoning, such as the capacity toHow formulate
can schoolresearch
organizationquestions,
contribute to
design experiments, draw conclusions fromWith observational data, and make
increased attention to the U.S. education
inferences (Klopfer, 1990, cited in White, 1996).
Units and what the goals of those experiences are
Research developing from studies of integrated instructional units
indicates that laboratory experiences can play
needan forimportant role in to be an
integral part of the
developing all aspects of scienti c reasoning, including the more science curriculumï¿½and
complex
aspects, if the laboratory experiences are integrated with small group
discussion, lectures, and other forms of science instruction. With carefully
designed instruction that incorporates opportunities to conduct
investigations and re ect on the results, students as young as 4th and 5th
grade can develop sophisticated scienti c thinking (Lehrer and Schauble,
2004; Metz, 2004). Kuhn and colleagues have shown that 5th graders can
learn to experiment effectively, albeit in carefully controlled domains and
with extended supervised practice (Kuhn, Schauble, and Garcia-Mila, 1992).
Explicit instruction on the purposes of experiments appears necessary to
×
help 6th grade students design them well (Schauble, Giaser, Duschl,
America's Lab
Schulze, Report:
and Investigations
John, 1995).These in High
studies School
suggest thatScience
must be carefully designed to support the development of scienti c
reasoning.
Given the dif culty most students have with experiences
Laboratory reasoningasscienti cally,
a part of most U.S.ahigh
number of instructional 
units have focusedschool on
science
thiscurricula
goal. have
Evidencebeen taken for granted
from
several studies indicates that, with the examined.
appropriate
What doscaffolding
they contribute provided
to science in
these units, students can successfully reason scienti
learning? What cally.
can they Theytocan
contribute learn
science
to design experiments 
Buy(Schauble
et al., nationï¿½s
1995; White and Frederiksen, 1998),
high schools as a context for learning
make predictions (Friedler, Nachmias, and Linn,
science? This 1990), and
book looks at ainterpret and about
range of questions
explain data (Bell
MyNAP and Linn, 2000;
members save Coleman, 1998; Hatano and Inagaki, 1991;
10% online.
Meyer and Woodruff, 1997; Millar, 1998; Rosebery,
What is eWarren, and Conant,
1992; Sandoval and Millwood, 2005). Engagement with these instructional
units has been shown to improve students’ abilities How shouldto recognize
discrepancies between predicted and observed outcomes (Friedler et al.,
1990) and to design good experiments (Dunbar, 1993; Kuhn et al., 1992;
experiences?
Schauble et al., 1995; Schauble, Klopfer, and What changes need
Raghavan, 1991). to be made to improve
students?
Integrated instructional units seem especially bene cial in developing
scienti c reasoning skills among lower ability students
system (White
and student andno part of the
outcomes,
Frederiksen, 1998). high school curriculum should escape scrutiny.
Recently, research has focused on an important
in uence element
a high schooloflaboratory
scientiexperience,
c
reasoning—the ability to construct scienti clooking
arguments. Developing,
revising, and communicating scienti c arguments is now recognized as a
core scienti c practice (Driver, Newton, andadministrators,
Osborne, 2000; Duschl
policy makers, and and
parents will
Osborne, 2002). Laboratory experiences play a key role in instructional
units designed to enhance students’ argumentation
integral partabilities, because
of the science they
curriculumï¿½and
provide both the impetus and the data for constructing scienti c
arguments. Such efforts have taken many forms. For example, researchers
working with young Haitian-speaking students in Boston used the
students’ own interests to develop scienti c investigations. Students
designed an investigation to determine which school drinking fountain had
the best-tasting water. The students designed data collection protocols,
collected and analyzed their data, and then argued about their ndings
(Rosebery et al., 1992). The Knowledge Integration Environment project
asked middle school students to examine a common set of evidence to
×
debate competing hypotheses about light propagation. Overall, most
America's Lab
students Report:
learned theInvestigations in High
scienti c concept School
(that Science
light goes on forever),
although those who made better arguments learned more than their peers
(Bell and Linn, 2000). These and other examples (e.g., Sandoval and
Millwood, 2005) show that students in Laboratory
middle and high school
experiences can
as a part of learn
most to
U.S. high
argue scienti cally,Buy 
Paperback
by learning | $49.95
school science
to coordinate curricula have
theoretical been taken
claims withfor granted
evidence taken from their laboratory investigations.
 Buy Ebook |
Developing
$39.99
Practical Skills
MyNAP members save
Login or Register toExperiences
What does research tell us about learning in
Science educators and researchers have long claimed that learning
practical laboratoryDownload
skills is one
Freeof
PDFthe important goalshave
Do all student foraccess
laboratory
to laboratory
experiences?
experiences and that such skills may be attainable only through such
experiences (White, 1996; Woolnough, 1983).laboratory
However, development
experiences of
for high school
practical skills has been measured in research less frequently than mastery
students?
of subject matter or scienti c reasoning. Such practical outcomes deserve
more attention, especially for laboratory experiences
With increasedthat aretoa the
attention critical
U.S. education
part of vocational or technical training in some high school programs.
When a primary goal of a program or courseThis is timely
to train
bookstudents for jobs
investigates factors thatin
laboratory settings, they must have the opportunity to learn to use and
read sophisticated instruments and carry out andstandardized experimental
what the goals of those experiences are
and should be. Science
procedures. The critical questions about acquiring these skills through educators, school
laboratory experiences may not be whetheralllaboratory
bene t from aexperiences helpof the
better understanding
students learn them, but how the experiences needcan be constructed
for laboratory experiencesso asanto
to be
be most effective in teaching such skills. how that can be accomplished.
Some research indicates that typical laboratory experiences speci cally

focused on learning practical skills can help students progress toward
other goals. For example, one study found that students were often
de cient in the simple skills needed to successfully carry out typical
laboratory activities, such as using instruments to make measurements
and collect accurate data (Bryce and Robertson, 1985). Other studies
indicate that helping students to develop relevant instrumentation skills in
×
controlled “prelab” activities can reduce the probability that important
measurements Investigations
in a laboratory in Highwill
experience School Science
be compromised due to
students’ lack of expertise with the apparatus (Beasley, 1985; Singer, 1977).
This research suggests that development of practical skills may increase
the probability that students will achieve the intended
Laboratory experiencesresults
as a partin laboratory
of most U.S. high
experiences. Achieving 
Buy the
Paperback
intended| results
$49.95
school science curricula haveactivity
of a laboratory been takenisforagranted
necessary, though not suf cient, step towardexamined.effectiveness in helping
What do they contribute to science
students attain laboratory learning goals. learning? What can they contribute to science
Some research on Buy 

Ebook
typical | $39.99
laboratory
experiences indicates that girls
handle laboratory equipment less frequently science? than boys,
This book looksand thatofthis
at a range questions about
tendency is associated
MyNAP memberswith less
saveinterest in science and less self-
con dence in10% online.
science ability among girls (Jovanovic andlaboratory
What is e ective King, 1998). It is
teaching?
possible that helping girls to develop instrumentation skills may help them
to participate more actively and enhance their How interest in learning
should student science.
experiences?
Units laboratory experiences for high school
students?
Studies of integrated instructional units have not examined the extent to
which engagement with these units may enhance practical
With increased skills
attention inU.S.
to the using
education
laboratory materials and equipment. This resystemectsandanstudent outcomes, no part of the
instructional
emphasis on helping students to learn scienti This c ideas
timely bookwith real factors that
investigates
understanding and on developing their skillsin at investigating
uence scienti experience,
a high school laboratory c
phenomena, rather than on particular laboratory techniques, such as
taking accurate measurements or manipulating equipment.
and should be. ScienceThere is school
educators, no
evidence to suggest that students do not learn practical skills through
integrated instructional units, but to date researchers have
need for laboratory not assessed
experiences to be an
such practical skills.
Understanding the Nature of Science

Throughout the past 50 years, studies of students’ epistemological beliefs
about science consistently show that most of them have naïve views about
the nature of scienti c knowledge and how such knowledge is constructed
and evaluated by scientists over time (Driver, Leach, Millar, and Scott, 1996;
Lederman, 1992). The general public understanding of science is similarly
inaccurate. Firsthand experience with science is often seen as a key way to
×
advance students’ understanding of and appreciation for the conventions
America's Lab Laboratory
of science. Report: Investigations
experiencesin High
are School Science
considered the primary mecha-
nism for providing rsthand experience and are therefore assumed to


improve students’ understanding
Buy Paperbackof|the nature
$49.95
school of curricula
science science. have been taken for granted
 Buy Ebook Experiences

| learning? What is the current status of labs in our
$39.99
Research on student understanding
MyNAP members save of the nature of science provides little
10% online. with science instruction
evidence of improvement What is e (Lederman,
ective laboratory1992; Driver
teaching?
et al., 1996). Although much of this research historically did not examine
details of students’ laboratory experiences, it How often
shouldincluded veryinlarge
student learning laboratory
samples of science students and thus arguably captured typical laboratory
experiences (research from the late 1950s through
experiences? the 1980s is reviewed by
What changes
Lederman, 1992). There appear to be developmental need toin
trends be students’
made to improve
understanding of the relations between experimentation
students? and theory-
building. Younger students tend to believe that How canexperiments yieldcontribute
school organization direct to
answers to questions; during middle and high school, students shift to a
vague notion of experiments being tests of ideas.
system and Only a small
student number
outcomes, no partof
of the
students appear to leave high school with a notion of science as model-
building and experimentation, in an ongoinginprocessuence a high of school
testing and experience,
laboratory
revision (Driver et al., 1996; Carey and Smith, 1993; Smith et al., 2000). The
conclusion that most experts draw from these results
and should be.is that educators,
Science the isolated
school
administrators, policy
nature and rote procedural focus of typical laboratory experiences inhibitsmakers, and parents will
students from developing robust conceptions need offorthe nature
laboratory of science.
Consequently, some have argued that the nature of science must be an
explicit target of instruction (Khishfe and Abd-El-Khalick, 2002; Lederman,
Abd-El-Khalick, Bell, and Schwartz, 2002).

Units
As discussed above, there is reasonable evidence that integrated

instructional units help students to learn processes of scienti c inquiry.
However, such instructional units do not appear, on their own, to help
×
students develop robust conceptions of the nature of science. One large-
scale study Investigations
of a widely in High Schoolcurriculum,
available inquiry-oriented Science in which
integrated instructional units were an explicit feature, showed no
signi cant change in students’ ideas about the nature of science after a
year’s instruction (Meichtry, 1993). Students engaged
Laboratory experiencesin the BGuILE
as a part of mostscience
U.S. high
instructional unit showed 
Buy Paperback
no gains in| $49.95
understanding thehave been taken
nature for granted
of science
from their participation, and they seemed not even
examined. What do tothey
see their experience
in the unit as necessarily related to professional
learning? Whatscience (Sandoval
can they contribute and
to science
Morrison, 2003). These 

Buy Ebook
ndings| and
others have led to the suggestion that
the nature of science must be an explicit target
science? Thisof instruction
book (Lederman
looks at a range et
of questions about
al., 2002). MyNAP members save
10% online.
There is evidence from the ThinkerTools science instructional
What is e ective unit that
by engaging in re ective self-assessment on their own scienti c investiga-
tions, students gained a more sophisticated understanding of the nature of
experiences?
science than matched control classes who used the curriculum
What changes without
need to be made the
to improve
ongoing monitoring and evaluation of their own and others’ research
students?
(White and Frederiksen, 1998). Students whoHow engaged
can schoolinorganization
the re ective
contribute to
assessment process “acquire knowledge of the forms that scienti c laws,
models, and theories can take, and of how the development
system of scienti
and student outcomes, no partcof the
high school
theories is related to empirical evidence” (White andcurriculum should escape
Frederiksen, 1998,scrutiny.
p.
92). Students who participated in the laboratory
in uenceexperiences and other
learning activities in this unit using the re ective assessment process were
less likely to “view scienti c theories as immutable and never subject to
revision” (White and Frederiksen, 1998, p. 72). Instead, they
administrators, policy saw science
makers, as will
and parents
meaningful and explicable. The ThinkerTools ndings support the idea that
attention to nature of science issues shouldintegral
be anpart explicit part of
of the science curriculumï¿½and
integrated instructional units, although even with such attention it
remains dif cult to change students’ ideas (Khishfe and Abd-el-Khalick,
2002).
A survey of several integrated instructional units found that they seem to
bridge the “language gap” between science in school and scienti c practice
(Duschl, 2004). The units give students “extended opportunities to explore
the relationship between evidence and explanation,” helping them not only
to develop new knowledge (mastery of subject matter), but also to evaluate
claims of scienti c knowledge, re ecting a deeper understanding of the
×
nature of science (Duschl, 2004). The available research leaves open the
America's Lab
question ofReport:
whetherInvestigations in High School
or not these experiences help Science
students to develop an
explicit, re ective conceptual framework about the nature of science.
Cultivating Interest in Science and Interest

Laboratory experiences in U.S. high
as a part of most

Learning
Science
 Buy Ebook | learning? What is the current status of labs in our
$39.99
Experiences science? This book looks at a range of questions about
MyNAP members save
Studies of the effect of typical laboratory experiences on student interest
are much rarer than
Login or those focusing
Register to on student
Whatachievement
does research tell or other
cognitive outcomes
save! (Hofstein and Lunetta, 2004; White,
high school science1996).
labs? The number
of studies that address interest, attitudes, and other affective outcomes
has decreased overDownload
the past Free
decade,
PDF as researchers have
Do all student havefocused almost
access to laboratory
experiences?
exclusively on cognitive outcomes (Hofstein and Lunetta, 2004). Among the
few studies available, the evidence is mixed.laboratory
Some studies
experiences indicate that
for high school
students?
laboratory experiences lead to more positive attitudes (Renner, Abraham,
and Birnie, 1985; Denny and Chennell, 1986).eOther studiesteaching?
ective laboratory show no
relation between laboratory experiences and With increased
affect (Ato attention to the U.S. education
and Wilkinson,
1986; Freedman, 2002), and still others report highlaboratory
school curriculumexperiences
should escape scrutiny.
turned students away from science (Holden, 1990; Shepardson and
This timely book investigates Pizzini,
factors that
1993). looking closely at what currently takes place
There are, however, two apparent weaknessesall beneint from
studies ofunderstanding
a better interest and of the
attitude (Hofstein and Lunetta, 1982). One is that researchers often do not
carefully de ne interest and how it should be measured. Consequently, it is
unclear if students simply reported liking laboratory activities more than
other classroom activities, or if laboratory activities engendered more
interest in science as a eld, or in taking science courses, or something
else. Similarly, studies may report increased positive attitudes toward
science from students’ participation in laboratory experiences, without
clear description of what attitudes were measured, how large the changes
were, or whether changes persisted over time.
×
Student Perceptions of Typical Laboratory
Experiences
Students’ perceptions of laboratory experiences may affect their interest

and engagement in science, and some studiesLaboratoryhave examined
experiences as a partthose
of most U.S. high

Buy Paperback
perceptions. Researchers have found| $49.95
that students often do not have clear
ideas about the general or speci c purposesexamined.ofWhat
theirdo work in typical
science laboratory activities (Chang and Lederman, 1994) and that their
understanding of the 
Buy Ebook
goals
| $39.99
of lessons frequently
nationï¿½s highdo not match
schools as a context their
for learning
science? This book looks at
teachers’ goals for the same lessons (Hodson, 1993; Osborne and Freyberg, a range of questions about
1985; WilkensonMyNAP
andmembers save When students do not understand the
Ward, 1997).
10% online. What is enegative
goals of experiments or laboratory investigations, consequences
for learning occur (Schauble et al., 1995). In fact, students
high school science often
labs? do not
save!
make important connections between the purpose How should ofstudent
a typical
learninglaboratory
in laboratory
investigation and the design of the experiments. They do not connect the
Download Free PDF
experiment with what they have done earlier, and they do not note the
experiences?
discrepancies among their own concepts, the concepts of their peers, and
those of the science community (Champagne et al., 1985; Eylon and Linn,
students?
1988; Tasker, 1981). As White (1998) notes, “toHow can school organization contribute to
many students, a ‘lab’ means
manipulating equipment but not manipulating Withideas.”
increasedThus,
attentionin toconsidering
the U.S. education
how laboratory experiences may contributesystem and student
to students’ outcomes,in
interest noscience
part of the
and to other learning goals, their perceptions Thisof those
timely bookexperiences
investigates factors mustthat be
considered. in uence a high school laboratory experience,
A series of studies using the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory
(SLEI) has demonstrated links between students’ perceptions
and should of laboratory
experiences and student outcomes (Fraser, McRobbie, and Giddings, 1993;
Fraser, Giddings, and McRobbie, 1995; Henderson, Fisher, and
need for laboratory Fraser,
experiences 2000;
to be an
Wong and Fraser, 1995). The SLEI, which has been validated cross-
nationally, measures ve dimensions of the laboratory environment:
student cohesiveness, open-endedness, integration, rule clarity, and
material environment (see Table 3-1 for a description of each scale). Using
the SLEI, researchers have studied students’ perceptions of chemistry and
biology laboratories in several countries, including the United States. All
ve dimensions appear to be positively related with student attitudes,
although the
×
TABLE 3-1 Descriptive Information for the Science Laboratory
Environment Investigations in High School Science
Inventory
Scale Name Description
Student Extent to which students know, help, and are supportive of
cohesiveness one another Laboratory experiences as a part of most U.S. high
Open-
Extent to which the laboratory activities
for decades, emphasize
but they have an
rarely been carefully
endedness open-ended, divergent approach to experimentation
Integration  Buy
Extent toEbook
which | $39.99learning?
laboratory What is the
activities arecurrent status of labs
integrated with in our
nonlaboratory and theory classes
Rule clarity MyNAP members
Extent save
to which behavior in the laboratory is guided by
10% online.
formal rules What is e ective laboratory teaching?
Material Extent to which the laboratory
save! equipment
high school scienceand
labs?materials are
environment adequate How should student learning in laboratory
SOURCE: Henderson, Fisher,Free
Download andPDF
Fraser (2000). Reprinted
Do all student withtopermission
have access laboratory
experiences?
of Wiley-Liss, Inc., a subsidiary of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
relation of open-endedness with attitudes seemsstudents?to vary with student
population. In some populations, there is a negative relation to attitudes
(Fraser et al., 1995) and to some cognitive outcomes
With increased(Henderson etU.S.
attention to the al.,education
2000).
Research using the SLEI indicates that positive student
This timely attitudes
book investigates arethat
factors
in uence a(the
particularly strongly associated with cohesiveness high school
extent laboratory
to which experience,
students know, help, and are supportive of one another)
and what the goalsand integration
of those experiences are
and should be. Science educators,
(the extent to which laboratory activities are integrated with nonlaboratory school
and theory classes) (Fraser et al.,1995; Wongalland
beneFraser,
t from a 1995). Integration
better understanding of the
also shows a positive relation to students’ cognitive outcomes
need for laboratory (Henderson
et al., 2000; McRobbie and Fraser, 1993). how that can be accomplished.

Units
Students’ interest and attitudes have been measured less often than other
goals of laboratory experiences in studies of integrated instructional units.
When evidence is available, it suggests that students who participate in
these units show greater interest in and more positive attitudes toward
science. For example, in a study of ThinkerTools, completion of projects
×
was used as a measure of student interest. The rate of submitting
completed projects Investigations in High School
was higher for students Science
in the ThinkerTools curriculum
than for those in traditional instruction. This was true for all grades and
ability levels (White and

Buy Paperback | $49.95school science curricula have been taken for granted
Frederiksen, 1998). This study also found that students’ ongoing evaluation
of their own and other students’ thinking increased
learning? What canmotivation
they contributeand self-
to science
con dence in theirBuy Ebookability:
individual | $39.99 learning? What is the current status of labs in our
students who participated in this
ongoing evaluation not only turned in their
science? nal project
This book looks reports
at a range ofmore
questions about
frequently, but they were also less likely to turn in reports that werehigh schools:
MyNAP members save
how laboratory experiences t into U.S.
identical to their
10% research
online. partner’s. What is e ective laboratory teaching?
Login or Register to What does
Participation in the ThinkerTools instructional research
unit appearstell usto
about learning in
change
students’ attitudes toward learning science.How After completing
should thein laboratory
student learning
integrated instructional unit, fewer studentsexperiences
indicated that “being good at
be assessed?
science” was a result of inherited traits, andexperiences?
fewer agreed with the
statement, “In general, boys tend to be naturally betterneed
What changes at science
to be madethan
to improve
girls.” In addition, more students indicated that they preferred taking an
students?
active role in learning science, rather than simply
How can being told the correct
answer by the teacher (White and Frederiksen, 1998).
Researchers measured students’ engagement systemand motivation
and student outcomes,to no
master
part of the
the complex topic of conservation of matter as part of the study of CTA.scrutiny.
high school curriculum should escape
Students who participated in the CTA curriculum in uencehad a highhigher levels of
school laboratory basic
experience,
engagement (active participation in activities) andclosely
looking were at more likelytakes
what currently to place
focus on learning from the activities than students in the control group
(Lynch et al., in press). This positive effect on engagement
administrators, policywas especially
strong among low-income students. The researchers speculate, “perhaps
as a result of these changes in engagement and integral motivation, theycurriculumï¿½and
part of the science learned
more than if they had received the standardhow that can be accomplished.
curriculum” (Lynch et al., in
press).
Students who participated in CLP during middle school, when surveyed
years later as high school seniors, were more likely to report that science is
relevant to their lives than students who did not participate (Linn and Hsi,
2000). Further research is needed to illuminate which aspects of this
instructional unit contribute to increased interest.
Developing Teamwork Abilities

×
Experiences
Teamwork and collaboration appear in research on typical laboratory

experiences in two ways. First, workingLaboratory
in groups is seenasas
experiences a way
a part to U.S. high
of most

Buy Paperback
enhance student learning, | $49.95
usually with
reference to literature on
cooperative learning or to the importance of providing
examined. What do theyopportunities for
students to discuss their ideas. Secondlearning?
and more What can they contribute to science
recently, attention has
focused on the ability 
BuytoEbook | $39.99
work in
groups as an outcome
nationï¿½s high schools itself, with
as a context for learning
science? This book looks
laboratory experiences seen as an ideal opportunity to develop these at a range of questions about
skills.
The focus onMyNAP members
teamwork as ansave
outcome is usually linked to arguments that
10% online. What is e ective(Partnership
this is an essential skill for workers in the 21st century for 21st
Century Skills, 2003). high school science labs?
save!
experiences?
Units students?
There is considerable evidence that collaborative workattention
With increased can help students
learn, especially if students with high abilitysystem
workand student
with outcomes,
students no part
with lowof the
ability (Webb and Palincsar, 1996). Collaboration seems
This timely book especially helpful
investigates factors that to
lower ability students, but only when they workin uencewith more
a high school knowledgeable
peers (Webb, Nemer, Chizhik, and Sugrue, 1998). Building on this research,
integrated instructional units engage students in small-group
and should collaboration
as a way to encourage them to connect what they know (either from their
own experiences or from prior instruction) to need their laboratory
for laboratory experiences.
integral part of the
Often, individual students disagree about prospective answers to the science curriculumï¿½and
questions under investigation or the best way to approach them, and
collaboration encourages students to articulate and explain their
reasoning. A number of studies suggest that such collaborative
investigation is effective in helping students to learn targeted scienti c
concepts (Coleman, 1998; Roschelle, 1992).
Extant research lacks speci c assessment of the kinds of collaborative
skills that might be learned by individual students through laboratory
work. The assumption appears to be that if students collaborate and such
×
collaborations are effective in supporting their conceptual learning, then
America's Lab
they are Report:learning
probably Investigations in High
collaborative School
skills, too. Science
Overall Effectiveness of Laboratory Experiences

The two bodies of research—the earlierschool research on typical laboratory

Buy Paperback | $49.95science curricula have been taken for granted
experiences and the emerging researchforon integrated
decades, instructional
but they have units—
rarely been carefully
yield different ndings about the effectiveness of laboratory experiences in
advancing the goals identi ed by the committee.
learning? WhatIn general, the nascent

Buy Ebook | $39.99
nationï¿½s
body of research on integrated instructional units
is the
high schools
current status
offersasthe a context
of labs in our
promisefor learning
that
laboratory experiences embedded in a how larger stream
laboratory of science
experiences t into instruction
U.S. high schools:
MyNAP members save
can be more effective in advancing these goals than are typical laboratory
experiences (see
LoginTable 3-2). to
or Register What does research tell us about learning in
Research on high school science
the effectiveness of typical laboratory
save! labs?
experiences is
methodologically weak and fragmented. Theexperiences limited evidence
be assessed?available
suggests that typical laboratory
Download Freeexperiences,
PDF Doby themselves,
all student have accessaretoneither
laboratory
experiences?
better nor worse than other methods of science instruction for helping
students master science subject matter. However, laboratorymore recent
experiences research
for high school
students?
indicates that integrated instructional units enhance students’ mastery of
subject matter. Studies have demonstrated increases in student
e ective laboratory teaching?mastery of
complex topics in physics, chemistry, and biology. With increased attention to the U.S. education
Typical laboratory experiences appear, based on the
high school limited
curriculum research
should escape scrutiny.
This timely book investigates
available, to support some aspects of scienti c reasoning; however, typical factors that
laboratory experiences alone are not suf cient for
looking promoting
closely moretakes place
at what currently
sophisticated scienti c reasoning abilities, such and whatas theasking appropriate
goals of those experiences are
questions, administrators, policy makers, and parents will
TABLE 3-2 Attainment of Educational Goals in Typical Laboratory
Experiences and Integrated Instructional Units
Goal Typical Laboratory Integrated Instructional
Experiences Units
Mastery of subject matter No better or worse Increased mastery
than other modes of compared with other
instruction modes of instruction
Scienti c reasoning Aids development of Aids development of
some aspects more sophisticated
×
aspects
Understanding Investigations
of the in High SchoolSome
Little improvement Science
improvement when
nature of science explicitly targeted at this
goal
Interest in science Some evidence of Greater evidence of
increased interest increased
for decades, but interest
they have rarely been carefully
Understanding the Inadequate learning?
evidence What Inadequate evidence
complexity and ambiguity

Buy Ebook | $39.99learning? What is the current status of labs in our
of empirical work science? This book looks at a range of questions about
DevelopmentMyNAP
of practical
membersInadequate
save evidence Inadequate evidence
skills 10% online. What is e ective laboratory teaching?
Development of Inadequate evidence Inadequate
high school science labs?evidence
save!
teamwork skills How should student learning in laboratory
designing experiments, and drawing inferences. Research on integrated
experiences?
instructional units provides evidence that theWhat laboratory
changes needexperiences and
to be made to improve
other forms of instruction they include promote
students?
development of several
aspects of scienti c reasoning, including theHow ability to ask
can school appropriate
questions, design experiments, and draw inferences.
The evidence indicates that typical laboratory
systemexperiences do little
and student outcomes, toof the
no part
increase students’ understanding of the nature of science. In contrast,
some studies nd that participating in integrated
in uenceinstructional unitsexperience,
a high school laboratory that
looking
are designed speci cally with this goal in mind closely at what
enhances currently takes place
understanding of
the nature of science. and should be. Science educators, school
The available research suggests that typical laboratory
administrators, experiences
policy can will
makers, and parents
play a role in enhancing students’ interest inneed
science and in learning
for laboratory experiences to be an
science. There is evidence that engagementintegral
with the laboratory
part of the science curriculumï¿½and
experiences and other learning activities included in integrated
instructional units enhances students’ interest in science and motivation to
learn science.
In sum, the evolving research on integrated instructional units provides

evidence of increases in students’ understanding of subject matter,
development of scienti c reasoning, and interest in science, compared
with students who received more traditional forms of science instruction.
×
Studies conducted to date also suggest that the units are effective in
America's
helpingLab Report:
diverse Investigations
groups of students in Highthese
attain School threeScience
learning goals. In
contrast, the earlier research on typical laboratory experiences indicates
that such typical laboratory experiences are neither better nor worse than
other forms of science instruction in supporting studentasmastery
Laboratory experiences a part of mostof U.S. high
subject matter. Typical 
Buy laboratory
Paperbackexperiences
| $49.95
appear tohave
aidbeen
in taken for granted
development of only some aspects of scientiexamined.cWhat
reasoning, and they
do they contribute appear
to science
to play a role in enhancing students’ interest
learning?in science
What can theyand in learning
science. 
Buy Ebook | $39.99 learning? What is the current status of labs in our
Due to a lack of available studies, thescience?
committee
This bookwas
looksunable
at a rangetoofdraw
questions about
conclusions about
MyNAPthe extentsave
members to which either typical laboratory
experiences or10% online.
laboratory experiences incorporated intolaboratory
What is e ective integratedteaching?
instructional units might advance the other goals identi ed at the
beginning of this chapter—enhancing understanding of thelearning
How should student complexity and
in laboratory
ambiguity of empirical work, acquiring practical skills, and developing
teamwork skills. experiences?
PRINCIPLES FOR DESIGN OF EFFECTIVE students?

LABORATORY EXPERIENCES e ective laboratory teaching?

The three bodies of research we have discussed—research
high school curriculum on howescape
should peoplescrutiny.
learn, research on typical laboratory experiences, and developing research
on how students learn in integrated instructional units—yield
looking closely information
that promises to inform the design of more effective laboratory
experiences. administrators, policy makers, and parents will
The committee considers the emerging evidence suf cient to suggest
four general principles that can help laboratory experiences
integral achieve
part of the science the
curriculumï¿½and
how that can
goals outlined above. It must be stressed, however, be accomplished.
that research to date
has not described in much detail how these principles can be implemented
nor how each principle might relate to each of the educational goals of
laboratory experiences.
Clearly Communicated Purposes

Effective laboratory experiences have clear learning goals that guide the
design of the experience. Ideally these goals are clearly communicated to
students. Without a clear understanding of the purposes of a laboratory
×
activity, students seem not to get much from it. Conversely, when the
America's LabofReport:
purposes Investigations
a laboratory inclearly
activity are High School Science by teachers to
communicated
students, then students seem capable of understanding them and carrying
them out. There seems to be no compelling evidence that particular
purposes are more understandable to students than others.

 Buy Ebook | $39.99

Sequenced
into the Flow of Instruction
Effective laboratory experiences are thoughtfully sequenced into the ow
MyNAP members save
of classroom science instruction. That is, they are explicitly linked to what
has come before and what will come after. AWhat common theme in reviews of
Login or Register to does research tell us about learning in
laboratory practice
save! in the United States is that
high laboratory experiences are
school science labs?
presented to students as isolated events, unconnected with other aspects
of classroom work.Download
In contrast, integrated
Free PDF instructional units
Do all student have accessembed
to laboratory
experiences?
laboratory experiences with other activities that build on the laboratory
experiences and push students to re ect onlaboratory
and better understand
experiences these
for high school
experiences. The way a particular laboratorystudents?
experience is integrated into
a ow of activities should be guided by the goals
e ectiveof the overall
laboratory sequence of
teaching?
instruction and of the particular laboratory With
experience.
Integrated Learning of Science Concepts and
Processes looking closely at what currently takes place
Research in the learning sciences (National Research
and should be. Council, 1999, 2001)
Science educators, school
strongly implies that conceptual understanding, scienti c reasoning,parents
administrators, policy makers, and and will
practical skills are three capabilities that areneed
notformutually exclusive.toAn
laboratory experiences be an
educational program that partitions the teaching and learning of content
from the teaching and learning of process is likely to be ineffective in
helping students develop scienti c reasoning skills and an understanding
of science as a way of knowing. The research on integrated instructional
units, all of which intertwine exploration of content with process through
laboratory experiences, suggests that integration of content and process
promotes attainment of several goals identi ed by the committee.
Ongoing Discussion and Re ection
×
Laboratory experiences are more likely to be effective when they focus
America's Lab
students Report:
more Investigations
on discussing in High they
the activities School haveScience
done during their
laboratory experiences and re ecting on the meaning they can make from
them, than on the laboratory activities themselves. Crucially, the focus of
laboratory experiences and the surrounding instructional
Laboratory experiences as aactivities
part of mostshould
U.S. high
not simply be on con 
Buyrming
Paperback | $49.95
presented school science
ideas, but curricula have been taken for granted
on developing
explanations to make sense of patternsexamined.
of data.What
Teaching strategies
do they contribute that
to science
encourage students to articulate their hypotheses about
learning? What can phenomena
they contribute prior
to science
to experimentationBuy 
andEbook
to then|re $39.99 learning? What is the current status of labs in our
ect nationï¿½s
on theirhighideas after experimentation
schools as a context for learning
are demonstrably more successful at supporting student
science? This book looks atattainment of the
a range of questions about
goals of mastery of subject
MyNAP members matter,
save developing scienti c reasoning, and
10% online.
increasing interest in science and science learning. At the
What is e ective sameteaching?
laboratory time,
opportunities for ongoing discussion and re ection could potentially
support students in developing teamwork skills. How should student learning in laboratory
experiences?
COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES AND students?

LABORATORY EXPERIENCES e ective laboratory teaching?

From scales to microscopes, technology in many forms
high school playsshould
curriculum an integral
escape scrutiny.
role in most high school laboratory experiences. Over the past two
decades, personal computers have enabled the lookingdevelopment of software
speci cally designed to help students learn and what theand
science, goalsthe
Internet is an are
increasingly used tool for science learning and for science
administrators, policyitself.
makers,This
and parents will
section examines the role that computer technologies
all bene t from now and
a better may
someday play in science learning in relationintegral
to laboratory experiences.
Certain uses of computer technology can behow seenthat as
canlaboratory
be accomplished.
experiences themselves, according to the committee’s de nition, to the

extent that they allow students to interact with data drawn directly from
the world. Other uses, less clearly laboratory experiences in themselves,
provide certain features that aid science learning.
Computer Technologies Designed to Support

Learning
×
Researchers and science educators have developed a number of software
America's LabtoReport:
programs supportInvestigations in High
science learning School
in various Science
ways. In this section, we
summarize what we see as the main ways in which computer software can
support science learning through providing or augmenting laboratory
experiences. Laboratory experiences as a part of most U.S. high

Scaffolded Representations of Natural
examined. Phenomena
What do they contribute to science
Perhaps the most common

Buy Ebook | $39.99
form
of science education software are
programs that enable students to interact with
science? Thiscarefully crafted
book looks at models
a range of questionsofabout
natural phenomena that are dif
MyNAP members savecult to see and understand in the real
world and have10% online. historically dif cult for
proven Whatstudents to understand.
is e ective laboratory teaching?
Such programs are able to show conceptual interrelationships and
connections between theoretical constructsHow and natural
should phenomena
through the use of multiple, linked representations. For example, velocity
can be linked to acceleration and position inexperiences?
ways that make the
interrelationships understandable to students What changes need Kaput,
(Roschelle, to be made andto improve
Stroup, 2000). Chromosome genetics can bestudents? linked to changes in pedigrees
and populations (Horowitz, 1996). MolecularHow chemical
can schoolrepresentations
organization contribute canto
be linked to chemical equations (Kozma, 2003). With increased attention to the U.S. education
In the ThinkerTools integrated instructional unit,
system and abstracted
student outcomes, no part of the
representations of force and motion are provided for students to help
them “see” such ideas as force, acceleration,inand uencevelocity in two
dimensions (White, 1993; White and Frederiksen, 1998). Objects in the
ThinkerTools microworld are represented asand simple,
should be.uniformly sized school
Science educators, “dots”
to avoid students becoming confused aboutadministrators,
the idea ofpolicy center makers, and parents will
of mass.
Students use the microworld to solve various needproblems of experiences
for laboratory motion into one be anor
two dimensions, using the com- integral part of the science curriculumï¿½and
puter keyboard to apply forces to dots to move them along speci ed paths.
Part of the key to the software’s guidance is that it provides
representations of forces and accelerations in which students can see
change in response to their actions. A “dot trace,” for example, shows
students how applying more force affects an object’s acceleration in a
predictable way. A “vector cross” represents the individual components of
×
forces applied in two dimensions in a way that helps students to link those
America's
forces Lab
to anReport:
object’sInvestigations
motion. in High School Science
ThinkerTools is but one example of this type of interactive,
representational software. Others have been developed to help students
reason about motion (Roschelle, 1992), Laboratory
electricity (Gutwill,
experiences as aFredericksen,
part of most U.S. high
Buyand
and White, 1999), heat 
Paperback | $49.95
temperature school science
(Linn, Bell,curricula
and Hsi, have been
1998),taken for granted
genetics
(Horwitz and Christie, 2000), and chemical reactions
examined. (Kozma,
What do they 2003),
among others. These programs differ substantially
learning? What canfrom one another
they contribute in
to science
how they representBuy 

Ebook
their
target|phenomena,
$39.99 as there are substantial
differences in the topics themselves and in the
science? Thisproblems
book looks atthat students
a range of questionsareabout
known to have in understanding
MyNAP members savethem. They share, however, a common
10% online.
approach to solving a similar set of problems—how to represent
What is e ective natural
phenomena that are otherwise invisible in ways that help students make
their own thinking explicit and guide them to Hownormative
should student scienti c laboratory
learning in
understanding.
When used as a supplement to hands-on laboratory
experiences? experiences within
What changescan
integrated instructional units, these representations needsupport
to be madestudents’
to improve
conceptual change (e.g., Linn et al., 1998; White and Frederiksen, 1998). For
students?
example, students working through the ThinkerTools
How can school curriculum always to
organization contribute
experiment with objects in the real world before they work with the
computer tools. The goals of the laboratory systemexperiences
and student are to provide
some experience with the phenomena under study and some initial ideas
that can then be explored on the computer. in uence a high school laboratory experience,
Structured Simulations of Inaccessible Phenomena
Various types of simulations of phenomena need
represent another
for laboratory formtoof
experiences be an
technology for science learning. These simulations allow students to
explore and observe phenomena that are too expensive, infeasible, or even
dangerous to interact with directly. Strictly speaking, a computer
simulation is a program that simulates a particular phenomenon by
running a computational model whose behavior can sometimes be changed
by modifying input parameters to the model. For example, the GenScope
program provides a set of linked representations of genetics and genetics
phenomena that would otherwise be unavailable for study to most
students (Horowitz and Christie, 2000). The software represents alleles,
chromosomes, family pedigrees, and the like and links representations
×
across levels in ways that enable students to trace inherited traits to
America's
speci cLab Report:
genetic Investigations
differences. in Highuses
The software School Science Mendelian
an underlying
model of genetic inheritance to gov-

ern its behavior. AsBuy
withPaperback
the representations
| $49.95 described
school science curriculaabove,
have been embedding
taken for granted
the use of the software in a carefully thought out curriculum sequence is
crucial to supporting student learning learning?
(HickeyWhatet al., 2000).
Another exampleBuy  Ebookis| the
in biology $39.99 learning? What is the current status of labs in our
BGuILE project (Reiser et al., 2001).
The investigators created a series of structured
science? Thissimulations allowing
book looks at a range of questions about
how laboratory experiences
students to investigate problems of evolution by natural selection. In t into U.S. high schools:
the
MyNAP members save
Galapagos nch 10%environment,
online. for example, students canlaboratory
What is e ective examine a
teaching?
Login set
carefully selected or Register
of datato
from the islandWhat does research
of Daphne tell usto
Major about learning
explain a in
historical case of natural selection. The BGuILE software
How should does
student not,
learning strictly
in laboratory
speaking, consist of simulations because it does not “run”
experiences a model; from a
be assessed?
student’s perspective, it simulates either Daphne Major or laboratory
experiences?
experiments on tuberculosis bacteria. StudiesWhatshow that
changes needstudents
to be madecan learn
to improve
from the BGuILE environments when these environments are embedded in
students?
a well-organized curriculum (Sandoval and Reiser, 2004).
How can school They also
organization showto
contribute
that successful implementation of such technology-supported curricula
relies heavily on teachers (Tabak, 2004). system and student outcomes, no part of the
Structured Interactions with Complex Phenomena and
Ideas and what the goals of those experiences are
The examples discussed here share a crucialadministrators,
feature. The policy makers, and parents will
representations
built into the software and the interface tools
need provided forexperiences
for laboratory learnerstoarebe an
intended to help them learn in very speci c ways. There are a great
number of such tools that have been developed over the last quarter of a
century. Many of them have been shown to produce impressive learning
gains for students at the secondary level. Besides the ones mentioned,
other tools are designed to structure speci c scienti c reasoning skills,
such as prediction (Friedler et al., 1990) and the coordination of claims with
evidence (Bell and Linn, 2000; Sandoval, 2003). Most of these efforts
integrate students’ work on the computer with more direct laboratory
experiences. Rather than thinking of these representations and simulations
as a way to replace laboratory experiences, the most successful
×
instructional sequences integrate them with a series of empirical
America's Lab investigations.
laboratory Report: Investigations in High School
These sequences of scienceScience
instruction focus
students’ attention on developing a shared interpretation of both the
representations and the real laboratory experiences in small groups (Bell,
2005). Laboratory experiences as a part of most U.S. high

Computer Technologiesexamined.
Designed What do to
they Support
Science
 learning? What is the current status of labs in our
Buy Ebook | $39.99
Advances in computer technologies have had a tremendous impact on how
science is done and on what scientists how canlaboratory
study. These changes
experiences arehigh
t into U.S. vast,
schools:
MyNAP members save
and summarizing them is well beyond the scope
10% online. of the committee’s charge.
We found, however,
Login or that some
Register to innovations in scienti
What c practice,
does research especially
tell us about learning in
uses of the Internet, are beginning to be applied to secondary
experiences?
science education. With respect to future laboratory experiences, perhaps
the most signi cant advance in many scientilaboratory
c elds is the aggregation
experiences for high school of
students?
large, varied data sets into Internet-accessible databases. These databases
are most commonly built for speci c scientie cective
communities, but some
With increased attention
researchers are creating and studying new, learner-centered interfaces to the U.S. education
to
allow access by teachers and schools. Thesehighresearch projects
school curriculum build
should on scrutiny.
escape
Thisthe
instructional design principles illuminated by timely book investigates
integrated factors that
instructional
units discussed above. looking closely at what currently takes place
One example is the Center for Embedded and Networked
what the goals Sensing (CENS), aare
National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center investigating
the development and deployment of large-scaleall benesensor
t from anetworks
better understanding of the
embedded in physical environments. CENS is currently working on
ecosystem monitoring, seismology, contaminanthow that canowbe transport,
accomplished. and
marine microbiology. As sensor networks come on line, making data
available, science educators at the center are developing middle school
curricula that include web-based tools to enable students to explore the
same data sets that the professional scientists are exploring (Pea, Mills, and
Takeuchi, 2004).
The interfaces professional scientists use to access such databases tend
to be too in exible and technical for students to use successfully (Bell,
2005). Bounding the space of possible data under consideration,
supporting appropriate considerations of theory, and promoting
×
understanding of the norms used in the visualization can help support
America's Lab
students inReport:
developingInvestigations in High School
a shared understanding Science
of the data. With such
support, students can develop both conceptual understanding and
understanding of the data analysis process. Focusing students on causal
explanation and argumentation based on the data
Laboratory analysis
experiences as aprocess
part of mostcan
U.S.help
high

Buy Paperback
them move from a descriptive, | $49.95
phenomenological view of have been taken
science to for
one
granted
that considers theoretical issues of cause (Bell,What

examined. 2005).
do they contribute to science
Further research and evaluation of the educational
learning? bene
What can they t of student
interaction with large 

Buyscienti learning? What is the current status of labs in our
Ebookc|databases
$39.99 are absolutely necessary. Still,
the development of such efforts will certainly expand
science? This over
book looks at atime, and,
range of as about
questions
they change notions of what save
MyNAP members it means to conduct scienti c experiments,
they are also 10% online.
likely to change what it meansWhat to conduct
is e ective a schoolteaching?
laboratory laboratory.
SUMMARY
experiences?
The committee identi ed a number of science learning goals that have
been attributed to laboratory experiences. Our review
laboratory of thefor
experiences evidence
high schoolon
attainment of these goals revealed a recent students?
shift in research, re ecting
some movement in laboratory instruction. Historically, laboratory
experiences have been disconnected from the ow of classroom
With increased attention science
lessons. We refer to these separate laboratory experiences as typical
laboratory experiences. Re ecting this separation,
This timelyresearchers
book investigatesoften
factors that
engaged students in one or two
experiments or other science activities and all
then conducted assessments to
bene t from a better understanding of the
determine whether their understanding of theneedscience concept
for laboratory underlying
the activity had increased. Some studies compared the outcomes of these
separate laboratory experiences with the outcomes of other forms of
science instruction, such as lectures or discussions.
Over the past 10 years, researchers studying laboratory education have
shifted their focus. Drawing on principles of learning derived from the
cognitive sciences, they have asked how to sequence science instruction,
including laboratory experiences, in order to support students’ science
learning. We refer to these instructional sequences as “integrated
instructional units.” Integrated instructional units connect laboratory
experiences with other types of science learning activities, including
×
lectures, reading, and discussion. Students are engaged in framing
America's
researchLab Report: Investigations
questions, in Highdesigning
making observations, School Science and executing
experiments, gathering and analyzing data, and constructing scienti c
arguments and explanations.
The two bodies of research on typical laboratory
Laboratory experiences
experiences as a part of and
most U.S. high
integrated instructional 
units, includingschool science curricula
laboratory have been taken
experiences, yield
for granted
different ndings about the effectiveness of laboratory

examined. What do theyexperiences in
advancing the science learning goals identi ed
learning? bycan
What thetheycommittee. The
earlier research onBuy 

Ebook
typical | $39.99
laboratory
experiences is weak and fragmented,
making it dif cult to draw precise conclusions.
science? ThisThe
bookweight
looks at a of theof evidence
range questions about
from research focused
MyNAP on thesave
members goals of developing scienti c reasoning and
10% online.
enhancing student interest in science showed What slight improvements
is e ective in both
after students participated in typical laboratory experiences. Research
focused on the goal of student mastery of subject How should matter
studentindicates that
typical laboratory experiences are no more or less effective than other
forms of science instruction (such as reading, lectures, or discussion).
experiences?
What changes need
Studies conducted to date on integrated instructional to be indicate
units made to improve
that
the laboratory experiences, together with the other forms of instruction
students?
included in these units, show greater effectiveness for these
How can school same
organization three to
contribute
goals (compared with students who receivedWith more traditional forms of
science instruction): improving students’ mastery system and of student
subject matter,
increasing development of scienti c reasoning, and enhancing interest in
science. Integrated instructional units also appear
in uence ato beschool
high effective in helping
diverse groups of students progress toward these three learning goals. A
major limitation of the research on integrated andinstructional
should be. Scienceunits, however,
educators, school
is that most of the units have been used in small numbers of science parents will
administrators, policy makers, and
classrooms. Only a few studies have addressed needthe challenge
for laboratory of
implementing—and studying the effectiveness of—integrated instructional
units on a wide scale.
Due to a lack of available studies, the committee was unable to draw
conclusions about the extent to which either typical laboratory
experiences or integrated instructional units might advance the other
goals identi ed at the beginning of this chapter—enhancing understanding
of the complexity
×
and ambiguity of empirical work, acquiring practical skills, and developing
America's Labskills.
teamwork Report: Investigations
Further research isinneeded
High School
to clarify Science
how laboratory
experiences might be designed to promote attainment of these goals.
The committee considers the evidence suf cient to identify four general
principles that can help laboratory experiences achieve the
Laboratory experiences learning
as a part goals
of most U.S. high

Buy Paperback
we have outlined. Laboratory | $49.95
school
experiences science
are more curricula
likely have
tobeen taken for
achieve
granted
their
intended learning goals if (1) they are designed withdoclear
examined. What learning
outcomes in mind, (2) they are thoughtfully sequenced
learning? What can theyinto the toow
contribute of
science

Buy Ebook |(3)$39.99
classroom science instruction,
they nationï¿½s
are designed to integrate learning
of science content with learning aboutscience?
the processes of science,
This book looks at a range ofand (4) about
questions
they incorporate
MyNAPongoing
membersstudent
save re ection and discussion.
10% online.
Computer software and the Internet haveWhat enabled development
is e ective of
several tools that can support students’ science learning, including
representations of complex phenomena, simulations, and student
interaction with large scienti c databases. Representations and
simulations are most successful in supporting student learning when they
experiences?
are integrated in an instructional sequence that What changes need to belaboratory
also includes made to improve
experiences. Researchers are currently developing students? tools to support student
interaction with—and learning from—large scienti c databases.
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Denny, M., and Chennell, F. (1986). Exploring pupils’ views and feelings
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
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12, 73-86.
Design-Based Research Collective. (2003). Design-based
science? This book looks atresearch: An
a range of questions about
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Driver, R. (1995). Constructivist approaches to What does research
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Steffe and J. Gale (Eds.), Constructivism inHow education (pp.learning
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Scott, P. (1996). Young people’s images of
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10/3/2019 3 Laboratory Experiences and Student Learning | America's Lab Report: Investigations in High School Science | The National

America's Lab Report: Investigations in High School Science

America's Lab Report: Investigations in High School Science (2006)

LearningDo all student have access to laboratory

America's Lab Report: Investigations in High School Science

major strands of research: (1) cognitive research illuminating how students

Enhancing mastery of subject matter. Laboratory experiences may

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RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN RESEARCH

student learning about both the concepts and processes of science. To

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Examples of Integrated Instructional Units

Scaling Up Chemistry That Applies

Chemistry That Applies (CTA) is a 6-8 week integrated instructional unit

Description of the Literature Review

integrated instructional units to present their What

Evidence from Research on Typical Laboratory

Claims that typical laboratory experiences help students master science

Reiner, Pea, and Shulman, 

Early research on the development of investigative skills suggested that

Some research indicates that typical laboratory experiences speci cally

Some research on Buy 

Understanding the Nature of Science

nism for providing rsthand experience and are therefore assumed to

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Evidence from Research on Integrated Instructional

As discussed above, there is reasonable evidence that integrated

Morrison, 2003). These 

Cultivating Interest in Science and Interest

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Students’ perceptions of laboratory experiences may affect their interest

Evidence from Research on Integrated Instructional

Developing Teamwork Abilities

Teamwork and collaboration appear in research on typical laboratory

Overall Effectiveness of Laboratory Experiences

In sum, the evolving research on integrated instructional units provides

PRINCIPLES FOR DESIGN OF EFFECTIVE students?

LABORATORY EXPERIENCES e ective laboratory teaching?

Clearly Communicated Purposes

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Ongoing Discussion and Re ection

COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES AND students?

LABORATORY EXPERIENCES e ective laboratory teaching?

experiences themselves, according to the committee’s de nition, to the

Computer Technologies Designed to Support

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Perhaps the most common

how they representBuy 

Laboratory experiences as a part of most U.S. high

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that considers theoretical issues of cause (Bell,What

interaction with large 

different ndings about the effectiveness of laboratory

earlier research onBuy 

Beasley, W.F. (1985). Improving student laboratory performance: How much

Blakeslee, T., Bronstein, 

achievement. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 31, 167-181.

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science classroom: Who’s doing the performing? American Educational

Kuhn, D., Schauble,Buy Ebook

Roschelle, J. (1992). Learning by collaborating: Convergent conceptual

Salomon, G. (1996). Studying novel learning environments as patterns of