TRANSFERRING BEST PRACTICE FROM UNDERGRADUATE PRACTICAL TEACHING TO SECONDARY SCHOOLS: THE DYNAMIC LABORATORY MANUAL - Volume 2 - Number 1 - 2009

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Putri

Pre-laboratory work is presented as an effective investment for undergraduate chemistry, with a Dynamic Laboratory Manual (DLM) enabling students to rehearse practicals through virtual experiments, video clips, and assessment support. The paper describes developing and implementing a DLM for post-16 learners in school or college and highlights its use in teacher training. Evaluation results indicate improvements in both practical skill and cognition.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

1. Introduction

2. Developmental History

Volume 2 Number 1, 2009 TRANSFERRING BEST PRACTICE FROM UNDERGRADUATE PRACTICAL TEACHING TO SECONDARY SCHOOLS: THE DYNAMIC LABORATORY MANUAL Timothy G. Harrison, Dudley E. Shallcross, William J. Heslop, John R. Eastman and Anthony J. Baldwin Abstract: Pre-laboratory work has been shown to be an effective investment at undergraduate level in chemistry at the University of Bristol. A Dynamic Laboratory Manual (DLM) has been developed to allow undergraduate students to rehearse practicals using virtual experiments, video clips and a range of assessment support. The DLM has been shown to be highly successful in its goals. In this paper we describe the development and implementation of a DLM appropriate to post-16 students at school or college which also has applications in teacher training courses. First results from evaluation are presented which show an improvement in practical skill and cognition. Zusammenfassung: "Pre-Arbeit" im Labor hat sich gezeigt, auf eine wirksame Investitionen auf Undergraduate-Ebene in Chemie an der Universität von Bristol, sehr effectiv und erfolgreich. Eine dynamische Laboratory Manual (DLM) wurde entwickelt, um Studenten zu problem Praktika mit virtuellen Experimenten, Video-Clips und eine Reihe von Bewertung zum unterstützen. Die DLM hat sichgezeigt sehr erfolgreich in ihrer Ziele. In diesem Beitrag beschreiben wir die Entwicklung und Umsetzungeiner DLM, nach eine Studie in dem 16 Schüler einer Schule oder Hochschule angewendet haben. . Erste Ergebnisse der Bewertung zeigen eine Verbesserung der praktischen Fähigkeiten und Wahrnehmungen. Keywords: Dynamic Laboratory Manual, practical rehearsal, e-learning, multimedia 1. Introduction Software, called a Dynamic Laboratory Manual (DLM), has been developed to support practical chemistry teaching for undergraduate chemists at the School of Chemistry at the University of Bristol. [1] . It has been shown that the DLM methodology has significantly enhanced both practical skills and chemistry cognition. Best practice derived from the undergraduate DLM has been adapted to support school students taking pre-university courses and is playing a major role in the teaching of practical skills for the UK’s trainee graduate chemistry teachers. The distribution of software to all Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) student teachers within the UK has been sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and the pharmaceutical company Pfizer in a collaborative project called Discover Chemistry [2,3] . The project, which is to last for two cohorts of trainee chemistry teachers will impact around 1300 new chemistry teachers. 2. Developmental History Bristol’s School of Chemistry is home to the UK’s Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in practical chemistry. Funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) [4], the project, named Bristol ChemLabS [5], developed groundbreaking best practice in undergraduate practical work. The software package, called the Dynamic Laboratory Manual (DLM) [6] is an Received 11 February 2009, accepted 16 February 2009, published 30 March 2009. interactive, web-based laboratory manual, which replaces the more traditional paper lab manuals for the first three years of their chemistry degree. The DLM has been developed by university academic and technical staff in association with the university ‘spin out’ company Learning Science Ltd [7] . The premise of the investment of half million pounds in the Bristol ChemLabS project was that students will gain much more from the laboratory experience if they know what they are doing and why they are doing it. The students own pre-laboratory preparation is naturally the key to achieving this [8] . When left to their own ends few students carry out their own unstructured preparation for lab classes. In their defense, it is hard to rehearse practicals apart from reading through laboratory scripts. Moving the majority of practical-related work

FAQs

What problem does the Dynamic Laboratory Manual (DLM) aim to solve?

It supports practical chemistry teaching by providing a pre-laboratory way for students to rehearse practicals, rather than relying mainly on reading lab scripts.

How does the DLM help students rehearse practicals?

Students rehearse using virtual experiments, video clips, and assessment support provided within the interactive, web-based manual.

What outcomes are reported from evaluating the DLM?

First evaluation results show improvements in practical skill and cognition.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Putri