Biology student teachers’ ideas about purpose of laboratory work

All of the student biology teachers have defined more than one purpose for laboratory work in biology teaching. As a result of the analysis of the written responses, a total of 235 valid purposes were identified. Each has been further examined independently by the researcher and two lecturers in biology education, with an original agreement of 227 for the 235 purposes. The remaining 8 purposes were agreed upon during following consensus discussions. Nearly all participants have noted that laboratory work in biology teaching is beneficial and necessary. The purposes ascribed to laboratory work by the participants vary. These purposes have been gathered under 12 main categories. The distribution of these purposes according to categories is shown in Table 1. It should be noted that the responses of many participants fell into more than one category.

Table 1. Biology student teachers’ responses relating to the purpose of laboratory work

Category		n	%
1	Purposes related to verifying facts and principles already taught	51	64.6
2	Purposes related to laboratory techniques	43	54.4
3	Purposes related to meaningful learning	36	45.6
4	Purposes related to concrete abstract concepts	27	34.2
5	Purposes related to motivation	22	27.8
6	Purposes related to scientific process skills	15	18.1
7	Purposes related to problem solving skills	10	12.7
8	Purposes related to establishing a connection between science and daily life	10	12.7
9	Purposes related to understanding the nature of science	8	10.1
10	Purposes related to developing positive attitudes towards science and scientists	7	8.9
11	Purposes related to critical thinking skills	4	5.1
12	Purposes related to science, technology and society (STS)	2	2.5

According to the results, the first category encompasses purposes related to verifying theories and principles already known (64.6% of responses). In this category, participating students have mentioned the purpose of laboratory work as verifying theoretical knowledge taught in biology classes in the laboratory environment. For example, “The primary purpose of laboratory work is to strengthen theoretical knowledge. The students prove and try out the theoretical knowledge they obtain in the classroom, in the laboratory environment” (Student 12).

The second category covers purposes related to laboratory techniques (54.4% of responses). In this category, participating students have mentioned purposes related to the recognition and use of laboratory equipment such as the microscope and pH meter. For example, “Laboratory work enables students to recognize the tools and equipment they will use in experiments, learn what purpose [they serve] and how to use them. A student who doesn’t know how to use tools, such as the pH meter and microscope, cannot run most of the biological experiments. Therefore, laboratory tools and equipment need to be introduced to the students. For example, students learn the dissection process in the laboratory ” (Student 3).

The third category involves purposes related to meaningful learning (45.6% of responses). In this category, participating students have mentioned the role of laboratory work in meaningful learning. For example, “One of the most important methods we can use for meaningful learning is laboratory work. Students gain new knowledge during laboratory work, and they associate this new knowledge with knowledge they have learned before. Laboratory work aids students in acquiring application skills instead of memorizing” (Student 72).

The fourth category includes purposes related to concretization (34.2% of responses). In this category, participating students have pointed out that laboratory work plays an important role in concretizing abstract concepts. For example: “Biology lessons comprise many abstract concepts such as enzymes, DNA, chromosomes. . . These concepts are concretized in laboratory work. Students experience these abstract concepts in the laboratory environment.” (Student 54).

In the fifth category, the participating students are focused on the purposes of laboratory work related to motivation (27.8% of responses). For example: “Laboratory work helps to motivate students in a new subject. One of the most important factors affecting learning is motivation. An interesting laboratory work applied before starting a new subject will motivate the students in that subject, because students usually enjoy experimenting in the laboratory” (Student 35).

The sixth category covers purposes related to scientific process skills (18.1% of responses). In this category, participating students are focused on scientific process skills such as experimenting, establishing hypotheses and communicating. For example: “During laboratory work students learn both how to run experiments and how to function as a team and work in collaboration. Students share the work and the information during an experiment and learn how to work together” (Student 18).

The seventh category covers purposes relating to problem-solving skills. In this category, the participating students have focused on the solution of a scientific problem regarding the purposes of laboratory work (12.7% of responses). For example: “Practical work provides students with the skill to solve a scientific problem they encounter. To this end, open-ended experiments must be designed in the laboratory. During these experiments, students learn by doing and experiencing ” (Student 59).

In the eighth category, participating students have emphasized the necessity of laboratory work in creating associations between scientific knowledge and daily life (12.7% of responses). For example: “Students establish associations between scientific knowledge and daily life through experiments conducted in the laboratory. Thus, they learn to use scientific knowledge in daily life” (Student 42).

The ninth category covers purposes related to the nature of science (10.1% of responses). For example: “In my opinion, laboratory work may provide students with the idea that known theories and models may change through time. Furthermore, through laboratory work the students will realize that scientific knowledge can be tried out” (Student 30).

The tenth category involves purposes related to developing a positive attitude towards science and scientists (8.9% of responses). For example: “Laboratory work causes students to admire scientists and what they do. Through practical activities students may develop positive attitudes towards science” (Student 44).

The eleventh category covers purposes related to critical thinking skills (5.1% of responses). For example: “Through the activities they carry out in the laboratory environment, students learn how to judge, think logically and think creatively. Particularly open-ended experiments in particular require higher level thinking skills. Such experiments develop the critical thinking skills of the students” (Student 67).

The last category covers purposes concerned with creating associations between science, technology and society (2.5% of responses). For example: “Laboratory work helps the students to establish associations between science, technology and society” (Student 23).