Abstract
In this paper, we aim to summarize salient findings from a systematic review of empirical literature in post-secondary chemistry laboratory education and expert validation of the results. A part of a larger research project aimed at improving learning in the laboratory, the review was conducted with a purpose of characterizing learning outcomes associated with teaching laboratories. We focus our analysis of 355 empirical studies on evidence for learning substantiated through various theoretical, pedagogical, and methodological approaches. Through the lens of competence acquisition and development, we have characterized five large clusters of learning outcomes pertaining to multifarious domains of learning, viz. experimental competence, conceptual learning, higher-order thinking skills, affective outcomes, and transversal competence. These findings laid a foundation for the subsequent expert validation involving 31 professors and associate professors teaching laboratory courses in chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences. In our reviewed studies, we found that learning in the chemistry laboratory is distinctively multidimensional, encompassing students’ cognition, affect, conation, and psychomotor domain. Evidence has also been shown for learning outcomes pertaining to the social and epistemic domains. However, we argue that the manner in which those domains have been substantiated still necessitates integration. Our systematized expert validation concurs with some of these results, with further elaboration and addition emerging from the faculty members’ experience and expertise. Implications for laboratory education research were discussed.
Original language | English |
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Publication date | 2021 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Publication status | Published - 2021 |
Event | European Science Education Research Association Conference 2021: Fostering scientific citizenship in an uncertain world - University of Minho, Braga, Portugal Duration: 30 Aug 2021 → 3 Sep 2021 http://esera2021.org |
Conference
Conference | European Science Education Research Association Conference 2021 |
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Location | University of Minho |
Country/Territory | Portugal |
City | Braga |
Period | 30/08/2021 → 03/09/2021 |
Internet address |