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ABSTRACT
Laboratories serve as an integral part of geoscience education at most colleges and universities. While anecdotal evidence supports the beneficial impact of laboratories on science class learning, little quantitative research backs this statement. This study compared classroom data from students who completed a geoscience laboratory in conjunction with an introductory-level lecture-based course to those who completed the lecture course only. Laboratory-enrolled students performed better in the lecture class, resulting in an increase of 5.5% in their final class score. Even after controlling for GPA, laboratory enrollment accounted for a statistically significant proportion of the variance. Nontraditional students (age 25 and over) primarily benefited from the laboratory. Nontraditional students enrolled in lab performed 21.1% higher overall than their lecture course only nontraditional counterparts, and 4.9% higher overall than traditional students who enrolled in both the laboratory and lecture courses. Geoscience laboratories play a significant role in student learning and appear particularly important for nontraditional students.
INTRODUCTION
Laboratories play a central role in teaching geosciences at most United States colleges and universities. They provide students with hands-on learning experiences commonly absent from, or minimized in, lecture-based courses and can help students develop practical problem- solving skills related directly to course content through inquiry, discovery, measurement, observation, and data gathering. For students whose major area of study is in the geosciences, laboratory skills help prepare them for further study in the discipline, employment in science fields, and entrance into graduate programs. For students majoring in other disciplines, introductory geoscience laboratories fulfill general education requirements, serving to broaden their understanding of the natural world. Geoscience laboratories provide these students with skills in observation, problem solving, mechanical manipulation of materials, models and equipment, and skills in scientific reasoning and interpretation designed to broaden their educational experiences.
Assessment of student learning in the geosciences, particularly in higher education, has increased in the past several years (Perkins, 2004) but quantitative study of student learning still lags behind other disciplines (Libarkin and Anderson, 2005). As greater emphasis is placed on assessment of student learning in higher education, institutions increasingly find themselves needing to offer quantitative evidence of continuous improvements in student learning. This study may provide a basis for evaluating the effect of introductory laboratories on overall performance in introductory...