What can instructors focus on when improving undergraduate science experiments? Supporting a cross- disciplinary approach
For nearly two decades, the Australian national project Advancing Science and Engineering through Laboratory Learning (ASELL), has been using an evidence based approach to improve undergraduate experiments. This paper presents the ASELL Students Laboratory Experience (ASLE) survey, administered to 2...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
2019
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| Online Access: | https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/index.php/CAL/article/view/13220 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/79947 |
| _version_ | 1848764131983753216 |
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| author | Yeung, Alexandra Cornish, S. Kable, S. Sharma, M. |
| author_facet | Yeung, Alexandra Cornish, S. Kable, S. Sharma, M. |
| author_sort | Yeung, Alexandra |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | For nearly two decades, the Australian national project Advancing Science and Engineering through Laboratory Learning (ASELL), has been using an evidence based approach to improve undergraduate experiments. This paper presents the ASELL Students Laboratory Experience (ASLE) survey, administered to 2691 students in five disciplines: biochemistry, biology, chemistry, physics, and pharmacology. The 14 item survey probes students' perceptions of an experiment, practical or fieldwork. An exploratory factor analysis extracted two factors, 'experiment-based motivators' and 'course-level resources', and both factors correlate well with 'overall' learning experiences. Each survey item was also compared to the 'overall' learning experiences of the experiment, revealing the most critical elements of each experiment. The implications of this analysis, for practitioners is that the survey items in the 'course-level resources' taper off indicating that after an optimum value, further investment in these aspects do not necessarily influence student perceptions of their learning experiences. On the other hand, the survey items in the 'experiment-based motivators' behave differently in that they do not taper off indicating that further investment can influence experiences. How these factors relate to the overall experience suggest they correspond to the well-known two-factor theory of motivation. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:14:29Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-79947 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:14:29Z |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-799472021-01-25T05:46:40Z What can instructors focus on when improving undergraduate science experiments? Supporting a cross- disciplinary approach Yeung, Alexandra Cornish, S. Kable, S. Sharma, M. For nearly two decades, the Australian national project Advancing Science and Engineering through Laboratory Learning (ASELL), has been using an evidence based approach to improve undergraduate experiments. This paper presents the ASELL Students Laboratory Experience (ASLE) survey, administered to 2691 students in five disciplines: biochemistry, biology, chemistry, physics, and pharmacology. The 14 item survey probes students' perceptions of an experiment, practical or fieldwork. An exploratory factor analysis extracted two factors, 'experiment-based motivators' and 'course-level resources', and both factors correlate well with 'overall' learning experiences. Each survey item was also compared to the 'overall' learning experiences of the experiment, revealing the most critical elements of each experiment. The implications of this analysis, for practitioners is that the survey items in the 'course-level resources' taper off indicating that after an optimum value, further investment in these aspects do not necessarily influence student perceptions of their learning experiences. On the other hand, the survey items in the 'experiment-based motivators' behave differently in that they do not taper off indicating that further investment can influence experiences. How these factors relate to the overall experience suggest they correspond to the well-known two-factor theory of motivation. 2019 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/79947 https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/index.php/CAL/article/view/13220 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ unknown |
| spellingShingle | Yeung, Alexandra Cornish, S. Kable, S. Sharma, M. What can instructors focus on when improving undergraduate science experiments? Supporting a cross- disciplinary approach |
| title | What can instructors focus on when improving undergraduate science experiments? Supporting a cross- disciplinary approach |
| title_full | What can instructors focus on when improving undergraduate science experiments? Supporting a cross- disciplinary approach |
| title_fullStr | What can instructors focus on when improving undergraduate science experiments? Supporting a cross- disciplinary approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | What can instructors focus on when improving undergraduate science experiments? Supporting a cross- disciplinary approach |
| title_short | What can instructors focus on when improving undergraduate science experiments? Supporting a cross- disciplinary approach |
| title_sort | what can instructors focus on when improving undergraduate science experiments? supporting a cross- disciplinary approach |
| url | https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/index.php/CAL/article/view/13220 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/79947 |