What do Students Gain from Laboratory Experiences?

Abstract

The University of Western Australia invested significant funding to develop and test new technologies for student learning using the internet, including a substantial investment in remote access laboratories. Over 15 years of operation, some significant limiting factors have become apparent. The technology has not been widely adopted, either in our own faculty or elsewhere. Nearly all engineering laboratory classes still follow traditional patterns, as do lecture and tutorial classes. Therefore it is worth asking why the adoption of such an apparently attractive technology has been so much slower than expected. To answer this question we started a project to understand more about the practical learning outcomes from traditional laboratory classes. When we applied tools from psychologists to measure practical intelligence in an electronics laboratory class, we not only found we could measure a significant gain in hands-on practical intelligence, but also predict students’ ability to diagnose equipment faults. For the first time, therefore, we can demonstrate that there are real advantages inherent in hands-on laboratory classes, and we can measure this advantage. It is possible that measurements of practical intelligence may reveal new and more powerful ways for students to acquire practical knowledge and skills from remote laboratories as well.

UniMAP e-Lab for Electrical Engineering Technology: Future Online Laboratory Classes

“…In 2000, UWA decided to build on the Telelabs project to combine automated assessment and performance monitoring techniques with internet-connected remotely operable laboratory equipment to enhance student learning and provide a real return on investment through savings in laboratory demonstrator time [4].…”

“…In an electronics laboratory, for example, this learning might include convenient ways to strip connecting wires, ways to make reliable electrical connections, etc. This is what we refer to as practical knowledge, and one way to measure this learning is through the notion of practical intelligence [4].…”

“…So far, it would appear, no detailed cost benefit studies have been reported. It would seem that the technology has stalled [4]. Early implementations, such as Telelabs at the University of Western Australia (UWA), are in regular operation for large classes of students [4].…”

“…It would seem that the technology has stalled [4]. Early implementations, such as Telelabs at the University of Western Australia (UWA), are in regular operation for large classes of students [4]. Yet the technology does not seem to have been widely adopted, nor have there been reports of serious attempts to negotiate industry standards that would be a necessary precursor for large-scale adoption.…”

“…A report by Trevelyan and his colleague [4] on a fundamental investigation of some learning phenomena in conventional hands-on laboratories that arose from the question "What do students really learn in laboratory classes or remote lab experiences?". To explore this issue, the authors started a project in order to understand more about the results of practical learning in the traditional classroom lab.…”