School of Education, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Learning Science Ltd, Bristol, UK.
FEBS Open Bio. 2023 Oct;13(10):1810-1830. doi: 10.1002/2211-5463.13687. Epub 2023 Aug 28.
Teaching laboratory practical sessions are major components of undergraduate bioscience curricula, but research into staff perceptions and intentions across institutions in this context is lacking. This study describes a mixed-methods study using questionnaires and follow-up interviews to explore staff perceptions of their goals for UK bioscience teaching labs, the extent to which they incorporate student inquiry and challenges encountered with these sessions. The findings show that staff aim for strong lecture connections, applying taught theory to actively develop students' technical and data handling skills. They value teaching labs as opportunities for authentic contact through hands-on learning with scientific equipment and human connection with staff and other students. Student inquiry (e.g. experimental design decisions) was present in individual elements of teaching labs but not deeply embedded. Staff participants saw teaching labs as first steps to scientific inquiry, often intending to adopt more inquiry activities, but were concerned about time investment and student readiness, especially for early-year students. Staff who used more inquiry showed stronger goal focus on scientific reasoning, research experience and collaboration. Staff enjoy teaching labs and consider them meaningful learning experiences. Time and budget limitations were more constraining than sense of agency, but overriding challenges were student lab anxieties, and finding ways to increase their confidence and preparation for these sessions. These findings collate staff perceptions of teaching labs across UK institutions and could facilitate reflection, discussion and further research on the goals and impact of these prevalent but resource-intensive sessions on training the next generation.
教学实验室实践课程是本科生物科学课程的主要组成部分，但在这种背景下，缺乏对机构内工作人员的看法和意图的研究。本研究采用问卷调查和后续访谈相结合的混合方法，探讨了工作人员对英国生物科学教学实验室目标的看法，以及他们在多大程度上将学生探究纳入其中，以及在这些课程中遇到的挑战。研究结果表明，工作人员的目标是与讲座紧密联系，将所教理论应用于积极培养学生的技术和数据处理技能。他们重视教学实验室，将其作为通过使用科学仪器进行实践学习和与工作人员及其他学生进行人际接触的真实接触机会。学生探究（例如实验设计决策）存在于教学实验室的个别元素中，但并未深入嵌入。工作人员认为教学实验室是科学探究的第一步，他们通常打算采用更多的探究活动，但担心时间投入和学生的准备情况，尤其是对于低年级学生。那些采用更多探究方法的工作人员表现出更强的科学推理、研究经验和合作目标重点。工作人员喜欢教学实验室，并认为它们是有意义的学习体验。时间和预算限制比能动性的感觉更具约束力，但更具挑战性的是学生的实验室焦虑，以及寻找方法来增加他们对这些课程的信心和准备。这些发现综合了英国各机构工作人员对教学实验室的看法，可以促进对这些普遍存在但资源密集型课程的目标和影响的反思、讨论和进一步研究，以培训下一代。
