To Have Labs or Not to Have Labs - That is the Question

Will increasing class sizes eliminate science laboratory lessons?

Currently at my school site, they are expecting a large increase in the number of students in each class. They are estimating that the average science class will be 38 students, which means some classes may have much more (some are projected as high as 45). And this is not unique to this school site. Schools all across the state are facing much larger class sizes. While this poses problems in every subject matter, it poses a particular problem to science and how to maintain safety in the laboratory setting.

High school laboratory settings often have students working with chemicals, open flames, and sharp objects. It is imperative that safety is always comes first. Many laboratory classrooms in older high school were not designed to effectively hold over 32 students and increasing those numbers may put students at risk. Another factor to consider is how well one teacher can monitor the students when they are working with hazardous chemicals and equipment.

Unfortunately, many teachers are discussing alternatives to the laboratory classroom, such as moving to demonstrations only, where the teacher performs the lab in front of the students, or virtual labs, where the students conduct the lab using a computer simulation. Teachers are considering these changes because they don’t want to assume the increased risk and liability that comes with the increased number of students in the classroom.

What does this mean for our students? It means less engagement and hands-on learning. The benefits of learning science through experimentation are numerous. Hands on laboratory lessons help students to retain the information they learned and to transfer and apply that information to new situations. It is fun and enjoyable for the students which keeps them interested and engaged. They become active participants in the learning process rather than a spectator.

As a science educator, I truly believe that laboratory lessons are essential to effectively science learning. It is crucial that we find ways to maintain laboratory lessons as part of our science curriculum. I sincerely hope that these increased class sizes do not ultimately result in the significant loss of the science lab.