Liked and Disliked Physical Science Laboratories Spring 2017

During the spring term of 2017 there were fourteen laboratories:

Laboratory one: Density of soap
Laboratory two: Velocity of a rolling ball
Laboratory three: Acceleration of gravity by dropping a ball
Laboratory four: Investigation of momentum of colliding marbles in, marbles out
Laboratory five: Force of friction
Laboratory six: Heat conduction in materials
Laboratory seven: Using a GPS to determine meters per minute of latitude or longitude
Laboratory eight: Coloring clouds
Laboratory nine: Sound:, clapping wood blocks to determine the speed of sound
Laboratory ten: Spectra, RGB colors, hue saturation luminosity, X11 colors, HTML
Laboratory eleven: Reflection in a mirror and apparent depth of pennies underwater
Laboratory twelve: Batteries and bulbs, conductors, Ohm's law
Laboratory thirteen: Chemistry, acid and base detection using flowers
Laboratory fifteen: Site Swap Notation

Note that due to Thursday holidays, laboratory fourteen (an open exploration laboratory) did not occur.

Students were asked to identify their favorite and least favorite laboratory. 

Laboratory thirteen and seven followed by laboratory ten were the most favored laboratories, with seven and fifteen the least favored laboratories. Seven was loved or hated, essentially a well remembered laboratory that made an impression. There is a 0.50 correlation between the liked and disliked laboratories: the number of students choosing a laboratory as a favorite is correlated with the number choosing a laboratory as a least liked laboratory.

When looked at across multiple terms, the correlation rises to 0.75, a moderate to strong correlation. Laboratories are favored and disfavored at somewhat equivalent levels. Perhaps the laboratories that are most polarizing of opinion are also the best remembered. 

The reasons for liking and disliking are many and varied, ranging from finding the topic interesting to getting a good or poor mark on the subsequent laboratory report. Confusion over the system being investigated was also often cited. Some level of uncertainty is desired in a science laboratory, that is part and parcel of the enterprise of science. Exploring systems that seem confusing and seeking order and predictability within those systems. I tend to shy away from, "Here is what I want you to learn," as that approach degenerates into mere memorization. 

In general the laboratories are perhaps more structured than I would like them to be. The difficulty is that some of my students have had no contact with science in a laboratory setting. They are working from effectively blank slates. To ask, "How do you think we might tackle this question" without providing scaffolding and structure does not seem to be an option here.

Laboratory comments

I can't just say one lab because all the lab were all my favorites. I learned new things, and of course they give more knowledge to my mind. Nothing I dislike but outside lab the sun got me blind, I couldn't see well under the shine of the sun.

I liked the more active laboratories. They were more fun: 1, 2, 3, 7, 8.

Laboratory one

Like

Because it is my first time to make a lab report and its not that bad. It's from when we cut the soap, find the mass, and the height of the soap. This lab is fun and understandable, that why I chose it.

Dislike

I didn't know how to fix up a lab.

It was boring.

Laboratory three

Dislike

I have a hard time doing it and understanding.

Because I didn't understand clearly.

Laboratory four

Like

I enjoy playing with the marbles and at the same time I know what I am doing. 

Dislike

Sometimes I get all confused of how to do my work in the working way. I really get confused sometimes.

Laboratory five

Dislike

Because it is all about frictions. I do not like science.

I was confused and out of confusion I really did not know how to complete it and I didn't have a chance to submit it because I don't know what to do.

Laboratory seven

Like

Fun playing hide and seek using the GPS.

I loved laboratory seven because it was extremely exciting and I learned as well as had fun.

The experiment was fun. It was a good experience to the GPS and walk around campus.

We had a great adventure trying to get to the designated destination.

Dislike

First of all or most likely, I never knew or even used a GPS before in my entire life. And in this lab, I never even used the GPS correctly which I did long walks and I never got to my destination in search of. I would recommend that each person is to use her own GPS to find the given destination and not as a group.

I did not know how to read the GPS.

I have no idea about reading the GPS.

Laboratory eight

Like

We didn't have to do reports, just draw clouds.

Because there are no mathematics involved in it.

Dislike

I forgot the names of the clouds and how they look like and their names.

I did not learn how to name a cloud.

Laboratory nine

Like

I liked and enjoyed doing this lab mostly because I was so surprised to see and know that a clap of two woods could echo for such long distances and be heard.

Laboratory ten

Like

It help me learn different colors

More exploring on colors that we didn't know where it came from.

I got a perfect score in this lab

Dislike

It is confusing! I don't get it.

Laboratory twelve

Dislike

Generally, because I am a girl and I am not good at dealing with those stuff like connecting batteries to light bulbs

I never understood the laws.

Laboratory thirteen

Like

We did a lot of work like experiment on the color of the flowers to what is acid and what is base.

I tamper with the chemicals and found something really amazing. A formula that separate the acid and base in one tube. 

It was really interesting.

I learn how the color looks like when it is an acid, neutral, and base.

I learned a lot more about the different colors of acid and base reaction.

Dislike

I didn't understand it well. 

I did'nt prepare that day. I went around the campus looking for flowers and wasted my time on it. Other than this, I also failed on adding base. It didn't change. These problems led me to failed the whole lab.

Laboratory fifteen

Like

No work, hands on.

Because we didn't do any laboratory report. We just did in class and that's all. 

Dislike

I was absent.

I wasn't here for it.

I can't even juggle.