Are Science Labs Up to Snuff?
Q. With
all the exciting things going on in science right now, and constant demands for
improved science education, surely the science labs in our public schools are
really high-tech and the best in the world. True?
Not really. According
to a report by the National Research Council, the typical high school science lab
is an isolated add-on that's not well-integrated into the curriculum. It is
thought that this is because of limited funding, large class sizes and a
pervasive lack of consensus about what science education is really all about.
Consequently, according to the
report, the corresponding science classes lack clear goals, block effective
student discussions, and fail to link scientific methods in students' minds with
the building of a knowledge base integral to preparing for a career in a
scientific field.
There are questions about teacher
qualifications, time management, and the scope and sequence of what kinds of
science are taught in what order.
The council, which advises
government officials about science and engineering, says that too many science
teachers aren't prepared very well to run science learning labs. They say the
quality and availability of scientific equipment varies widely from school to
school, and is often antiquated and of little utility.
Another criticism: state assessments
don't measure scientific lab skills even though those skills are crucial to
building science literacy and our next generation of scientists.
"For literally 150 years, laboratories
have been the sacred cows of science education," said Susan Singer,
chairwoman of the committee that wrote the report and professor of biology at
Carleton College. "Nobody has stopped to question what the value added is,
or how we should go about using labs to improve learning. We haven't asked the
right questions."
The study, "America's Lab
Report," was financed by the independent National Science Foundation.
Homework: For more about science education,
see the National Research Council, http://www.nationalacademies.org/nrc/
and the National Science Teachers Association, http://www.nsta.org
Copyright 2005 • Susan
Darst Williams, www.DailySusan.com, is a writer, wife and mother of four who lives at the base
of Mount Laundry, Neb.
