Effects of Learner-Centered Laboratory Activities on Achievement and Students' Preferences in Two High School Biology Courses

Abstract

The effects of two types of teaching procedures in two sections of high school biology on 46 students' achievement and preferences were examined using a pre-posttest comparison-group design. The 19 students in the lab group were taught a unit in cell biology through lecture and a guided laboratory approach. The comparison group of 27 were students in 12th grade biology who were taught the same material by lecture and nonexperimental learner-centered activities. Pre- and posttest scores on an examination requiring formal operational reasoning and a teacher-designed questionnaire were analyzed. Students in the laboratory group scored significantly higher at posttest, but no significant differences in students' preferences were found. In high school biology instruction, use of guided laboratory activities may be advantageous.