Elever och laborationer - Gymnasieelevers uppfattningar om hur deras teoretiska kunskaper utvecklas under slutna laborationer i biologi

Abstract

Laboratory work constitutes a large part of biology teaching in upper secondary schools. Many teachers have a mindset that conducting laboratory work and allowing students to observe results contribute to the development of their theoretical knowledge. However, research shows that this is often not the case, and that deeper reflection and challenging of students’ thinking are required for theoretical knowledge to develop. This study aims to investigate to what extent upper secondary students perceive that laboratory work develops their theoretical knowledge in biology. The method used is semi-structured interviews with an inductive approach. The material has been analyzed using thematic analysis. The results show that students perceive that laboratory work helps to develop theoretical knowledge, for example, by revealing misconceptions and visualizing phenomena. Factors that hinder learning are that time for reflection is not always available, a lack of a clearly stated purpose, and that students do not always have the prior knowledge required to engage with the theoretical content of the laboratory work. The results also show that students perceive laboratory work as a fun and engaging element, as it differs from traditional forms of teaching. The findings of the study, together with previous research, indicate that it can be difficult to determine to what extent theoretical knowledge develops during a closed laboratory, as students describe that they also learn facts about things they have not worked with during the laboratory. At the same time, laboratory work can function as a support in the learning process. Based on the results, teachers therefore need to consider students’ current level of understanding, plan for opportunities for reflection, and clearly present the purpose of the laboratory work.