In theory, the chemistry laboratory offers unique opportunities for students to practice "doing" science and to form links between phenomena that can be seen by the naked eye and atomic- and molecular-scale interpretations of these phenomena. Laboratories can also stimulate and motivate students to learn more about science. Unfortunately, science education research suggests that the potential of the laboratory environment is seldom realized. The primary goal of Advancing Chemistry by Enhancing Learning in the Laboratory (ACELL) project is to provide professional development to chemistry faculty by expanding their understanding of teaching and learning in the instructional laboratory environment. To meet this goal, ACELL is holding a workshop, in which 24 faculty work alongside 24 undergraduate students to experience and learn about a variety of new laboratory approaches that research suggests are more successful at conveying the practice of science to students; to examine their beliefs about the role of laboratory education in light of current educational research; and to analyze and revise more traditional chemistry laboratory experiments to make them engaging and meaningful for students. Faculty members conduct small, locally-relevant educational research projects that allow them to critically evaluate and improve the laboratory learning experiences at their home institutions as post-workshop activities. Overall, ACELL is developing a community of chemistry faculty across the US who are knowledgeable about educational research in the area of laboratory pedagogy, who share that knowledge with colleagues through both informal conversations and formal conference presentations, and who carry out educational research in their own classrooms.
The chemistry laboratory is a unique learning environment. Ideally, participation in laboratory activities can motivate students to learn more about science; allow students opportunities to practice "doing" science; and help students form links between macroscopic events and the associated particulate-level entities1-3. Unfortunately, educational research suggests that the potential for learning in the laboratory is seldom achieved1-2. Several instructional approaches have been developed to improve learning in the laboratory environment. However, a review of the literature shows that many science faculty are not aware of or versed in these approaches3. The main goal of the ACELL project was to increase faculty understanding of research-based teaching strategies that can support learning in the laboratory classroom. At the 2012 ACELL workshop, held at Purdue University, 24 faculty from various types of institutions across the United States worked alongside 24 undergraduate students to experience, discuss, and reflect on three teaching strategies that research has shown can promote learning in the laboratory learning environment: discovery-based activities, inquiry-oriented activities, and activities supported by the Science Writing Heuristic (Figures 1-4). The participants also provided feedback to each other in order to improve laboratory activities that are currently used at their home institutions. Because of the success of the 2012 workshop, the ACELL leadership team was invited to deliver four additional workshops the following year. Each of these was funded by the host institution and focused exclusively on helping faculty, high school teachers, and pre-service teachers analyze and modify existing laboratory activities to increase (1) the level of inquiry present in the activity and (2) the level of student involvement in the activity. These workshops expanded the potential impact of the ACELL project to high school teachers in Sydney, Australia (in collaboration with an Australian group focused on improving learning in the laboratory environment); chemistry faculty in Colombia (hosted by the Consejo Profesional de Química); chemistry and biology faculty in Brooklyn, New York (hosted by the New York City College of Technology); and chemistry faculty, high school teachers, and pre-service teachers in Kansas (hosted by Emporia State University and the Jones Institute for Educational Excellence). Overall, 98 chemistry faculty—including high school teachers and university instructors—and 48 undergraduate students have directly participated in an ACELL workshop and increased their understanding of issues related to teaching and learning in the laboratory learning environment. Specifically, participants in the May 2012 ACELL workshop showed an increase in their understanding of research-based laboratory teaching strategies and a shift in their beliefs about the extent to which laboratory activities should be student-directed (t=2.86, df=38, p=0.01). For example, prior to the workshop, 62.5% of the faculty participants had not heard of or did not know much about research-based laboratory teaching strategies; and many of those who had heard of these strategies had fragile conceptions of them. Additionally, many of these faculty stated that they believed that laboratory activities should be fairly structured and guided by the instructor. After the workshop, all participants expressed a deeper understanding of the research-based teaching strategies that were the focus of the workshop. They also expressed a shift toward laboratory activities that are more flexible, open-ended, and student-directed. Perhaps the best indications of the influence of the ACELL workshops come from comments made by the participants. For example, one of the student participants wrote about the potential impact of the ACELL workshop on their future career as a high school chemistry teacher: "I cannot thank you enough for giving me an opportunity to participate as a student in this workshop. […] I can already tell you [...] that I feel this is going to be one of the most valuable and amazing experiences I will have in my undergraduate career." Similarly, a faculty member who has since implemented some of the research-based laboratory teaching strategies from the ACELL workshop noted that "I have been teaching the laboratory general chemistry course for 20 years now and I can report that this section of students was more engaged and invested in their work, they came to the lab more prepared than usual, and there was a good camaraderie in the lab. […] I wanted to let you know how much I appreciated the training I received at the ACELL workshop. It was particularly valuable for me to learn how to run a lab ‘as if’ it were inquiry-based when it's really just a cookbook experiment." 1. Hegarty-Hazel, E. (Ed.). (1990). The student laboratory and the science curriculum. London: Routledge. 2. Hofstein, A., & Lunetta, V. N. (1982). The role of the laboratory in science teaching: Neglected aspects of research. Review of Educational Research, 52, 201-217. 3. Hofstein, A., & Lunetta, V. N. (2004). The laboratory in science education: Foundations for the twenty-first century. Science Education, 88, 28-54.
