Decision
1: What type of “Introduction to LabWrite” will be used in
your classes?
LabWrite provides
a range of introductions you can choose from, depending on the level
of your course, how much time you have for the introduction, what you’d
like the focus of the introduction to be (e.g., on the link between
the lab report and the scientific article or the concept of a scientific
method). See Introducing
Students to LabWrite for a description of the possibilities and
teaching methods and materials for each kind of introduction.
Decision
2: How will the PreLab be assigned, used by the instructor, and graded?
We believe the PreLab
is the most important stage in LabWrite for encouraging student learning
and scientific inquiry. We recommend assigning students the PreLab before
each lab. Students can be asked to turn the PreLab in before the lab
(for example, sending it to their instructors by email; you’ll
need to specify when it is due) or at the beginning of the lab period.
Another alternative is for students to do the PreLab in groups at the
beginning of the lab.
Instructors can
use the PreLabs turned in ahead of time to gauge students’ grasp
of the lab and then to address any areas of confusion before the lab
begins. If students bring their PreLabs to the lab, they can trade them
with others or go over with each other in groups for a few minutes and
then ask questions that emerge for class discussion. If they work on
the PreLabs in groups during the lab, the instructor could ask different
groups to read their answers and use those answers to spark discussion.
Students tend to
associate the importance of the PreLab with the credit they get for
it. PreLabs can be graded, mainly based on the effort students put into
answering the questions. Instructors can also simply give students a
check for doing it. You can include PreLab grades or credit as points
in the overall lab grade.
For more information,
see Assigning
the PreLab Before Labs under "How to Teach with LabWrite: The
Basics" on the Instructor's site.
Decision
3: Will students be asked to do the InLab?
The PreLab, PostLab,
and LabCheck are essential for LabWrite. The InLab, however, is more
discretionary. It acts as a lab notebook, prompting students as they
collect and analyze data and providing resources students can use to
help them with lab activities as they are working in the lab. The InLab
provides the opportunity to record lab notes and data in an organized
way and to have access to it later as they are writing their reports.
Students can use the InLab online (Self-Guide or Tutor) if there are
computers in their classes or as a hardcopy Handout if there are not.
Use the InLab if
you want students to keep lab notebooks and if you expect them to work
relatively independently. Also, if computers are available in your classes,
InLab might work very well. However, if your lab manual is quite detailed
and provides places for entering data, then InLab may not be appropriate
for your classes. See Teaching with InLab. Look over the InLab Self-Guide
(also available in Tutor) on the Student's site to see if InLab is right
for your students.
Decision 4: Which labs are hypothetical and which descriptive?
Some labs do not
lend themselves to hypotheses. Students become frustrated when asked
to establish a hypothesis for a lab for which it is not appropriate.
We call such labs descriptive labs and have provided full instructions
for students in all LabWrite stages for these labs. It is helpful, then,
to identify any labs that are descriptive, in which the focus of the
lab procedure is not to test a hypothesis but simply to make and report
observations or learn procedure. Assign students the descriptive lab
format for these labs accessible from the PreLab, InLab, and PostLab
homepages.
Decision
5: Do you want students to use peer review evaluation?
Some teachers provide
the occasion for students to review each other’s reports before
turning them in to the teacher. This has the beneficial effect not only
of giving the writers feedback for revising the reports but also of
giving the readers the learning experience of analyzing and making constructive
comments on them. The LabChecklist is useful as a guide to critiquing
the reports. To take advantage of peer review, you need to establish
the logistics (a system for how and when reports should be distributed
and returned and training for reviewers) and inform the students at
the beginning of the term.
Decision
6: What are the logistics for grading lab reports?
Especially
if you are directing teaching assistants, you need to decide how grading
will be handled so that the TAs know what they are expected to do: when
reports are to be turned in, in what form are they to be turned in (electronic,
hardcopy), when they are expected to be returned to students, how instructors
are to use the LabWrite grading rubric, what is to be returned to students
(rubric and lab report), etc. For help with these issues, see Grading
Lab Reports.
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