Biology student teachers’ ideas about purpose of laboratory work

To date, many studies have been conducted on the importance of laboratory work while teaching science. Currently, science educators and teachers agree that laboratory work is indispensable to the understanding of science (Cardak et al., 2007; Ottander & Grelsson, 2006; Tan, 2008). The role of laboratory work in science education has been detailed by some researchers (Lazarowitz & Tamir, 1994; Lunetta, 1998). The main purpose of laboratory work in science education is to provide students with conceptual and theoretical knowledge to help them learn scientific concepts, and through scientific methods, to understand the nature of science. Laboratory work also gives the students the opportunity to experience science by using scientific research procedures. In order to achieve meaningful learning, scientific theories and their application methods should be experienced by students. Moreover, laboratory work should encourage the development of analytical and critical thinking skills and encorage interest in science (Ottander & Grelsson, 2006).

There are concerns about the effectiveness of laboratory work in helping the students understand the various aspects of scientific investigation (Lazarowitz & Tamir, 1994; Schwartz et al., 2004). Teachers usually want to develop students higher order thinking skills, like critical thinking, through laboratory work; but to what extent they can achieve this is controversial (Bol & Strage, 1996; Ottander & Grelsson, 2006). Therefore, it is important to analyze the purposes related to laboratory work, as the purposes need to be well understood and defined by teachers and students alike for the practical work in the laboratory to be effective.

In spite of efforts to better define the purposes and role of laboratory work in science education, research has shown that teachers see laboratory activities as contrived (Tan, 2008; Tobin, 1986). In general, teachers cannot see laboratory activities as conceptually integrated with theoretical science lessons. In addition, teachers fail to understand that laboratory activities may provide opportunities for students to produce new knowledge through scientific investigations. According to a research conducted by Kang and Wallace (2005), teachers perceive laboratory work solely as an activity for the purpose of verification. Researchers have also uncovered that teachers do not think of the laboratory as an environment where scientific knowledge claims are discussed.

Different reasons have been shown for the problems relating to laboratory work (Tan, 2008). According to Bencze and Hodson (1999), problems in laboratory work arise when students blindly follow the instructions of the teachers. Some researchers, on the other hand, claim that the laboratory, instead of being a place for science and experiments, has become a place where tasks set by the teacher are carried out. No attention is given to the methods or purposes during laboratory work, only the set tasks are carried out (Hart et al., 2000; Jimenez-Aleixandre et al., 2000). Wilkinson and Ward (1997a; b) have connected the problems with laboratory work to a poor evaluation of the purposes of the tasks undertaken in the laboratory.

The multiple purposes of laboratory work has been the subject of discussion worldwide for many years. Multiple lists of these purposes have been prepared for different levels of education. Many of these lists focus on carrying out experiments through scientific methods and technical skills. While some strongly emphasize effective objectives, others have dwelled on other purposes (Johnstone & Al-Shuaili, 2001; Reid & Shah, 2007). When university biology laboratories are considered, the general purposes of laboratory work may be:
- Supporting or strengthening theoretical knowledge,
- Experiencing the pleasure of discovery and development of their psycho-motor skills,
- Teaching how scientific knowledge may be used in daily life,
- Increasing creative thinking skills,
- Gains in scientific working methods and higher order thinking skills,
- Developing communication skills,
- Developing manual dexterity by using tools and equipment;
- and allowing students to apply skills instead of memorizing (Bayraktar et al., 2006).

There are many factors affecting the attainment of the above targets. These factors are: the attitudes of the teacher and the students towards the laboratory, student communications, laboratory manuals and the approaches used in laboratory instructions. Many studies have shown that teachers are not aware that the different practical activities in the laboratory have different objectives (Nott & Wellington, 1997; Wilkinson & Ward, 1997a). The teachers agree that carrying out a traditional laboratory work is a good thing without fully considering what the real purpose of the practical activity (Ergin et al., 2005).

Hirvonen and Viiri (2002) have reported that as a result of learning practical skills and scientific learning methods, students experience an increase in motivation and teachers gain the opportunity to evaluate the knowledge of their students. When this occurs, the theory-practice connection in student teachers was measured at the highest level. In addition, the researchers suggested that the nature of science and scientific knowledge requires a different approach to learning. Although it offers a biased view of the nature of science, laboratory work gives the impression that research is the core domain of science.

Sahin-Pekmez et al. (2005) examined science teachers’ thinking on the nature and purpose of practical work in the context of the National Curriculum for Science in England. Data was collected through individual interviews with science teachers about their classroom practice. The findings suggest that little attention is being given to procedural understanding in terms of ideas relating to the quality of data. It is argued that this is a key limiting factor in the development of pupils’ ability to engage in genuine investigative work.

Ottander and Grelsson (2006) investigated the ideas of biology teachers on the role of laboratory work. According to the results of this study, teachers agree that laboratory work is an important part of biology and science lessons. However, teachers focus on the most common purposes of laboratory work, such as building the connection between theory and practice and increasing motivation. Furthermore, teachers do not consider the purposes of laboratory work as being concerned with scientific process skills. Moreover, the interpretation of the learning outcomes of experimental activities differs between students and teachers.

The importance of laboratory work in science education is well known. However, there is a lack of clarity regarding the purposes of laboratory work and the perceptions and experiences of the students do not conform to known purposes (Reid & Shah, 2007). It is important that biology student teachers ideas about the purposes of laboratory work is understood in order for the expected outcomes to be acquired from laboratory work and for the proper planning of lessons.

Purpose
The aim of this study is to investigate biology student teachers’ ideas about the purpose of laboratory work in teaching biology. This study focuses on the following questions: What purpose do biology student teachers ascribe to laboratory work? What categories can be derived from these purposes in terms of common features?