The Role of Technology in Undergraduate Bioscience Laboratory Learning

Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practice

Bibliographic Data

ID22047441
AuthorsSarah Rayment (0000-0002-5293-5815, Nottingham Trent University, corresponding author), Jennifer Ruth Evans (Nottingham Trent University), Mike Coffey (Nottingham Trent University), M P Coffey (0000-0003-4890-6218, Nottingham Trent University), Sandra Kirk (Nottingham Trent University), Sandra H Kirk (0000-0003-1899-7059, Nottingham Trent University), Shiva Sivasubramaniam (0000-0001-7014-5000, University of Derby), Karen Moss (0000-0003-1863-3415, Nottingham Trent University)
Year2023
Volume13
Issue8
Pages766
Publication date2023-07-26
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEducation Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2227-7102 • E-ISSN: 2227-7102
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/educsci13080766
OpenAlexW4385356529
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited32

Integration of technology is widespread in laboratory teaching, whose purpose includes building theoretical understanding and practical skills. How second-year bioscience undergraduate students at a UK university use technology to construct their understanding of laboratory-based topics was investigated using a concurrent think-aloud protocol in the laboratory, followed by semi-structured interviews. Analysis of think-aloud data used socially shared metacognitive coding since students may co-construct their understanding in these collaborative spaces. This analysis demonstrated that participants used technology within the laboratory either as a tool to conduct their experiment or, as a source of information to help them understand, apply or perform their experimental task. Semi-structured interviews demonstrated that students integrated technology into all aspects of their laboratory learning. Eight out of the ten participants described using technology to help them make connections between theory and practice as part of post-laboratory activities such as analysing or conducting further research on the topic. A survey of UK bioscience undergraduate modules found that 22% of modules did not use post-laboratory activities, suggesting that more scaffolding of post-laboratory activities could provide bioscience students with greater integration of practical and theoretical understanding and consequently meaningful laboratory learning

Cognition · Human–computer interaction · Mathematics education · Metacognition · Pedagogy · Protocol analysis · Science education · Sociology · Think aloud protocol · Computer Science · Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods · Innovative Teaching Methods · Psychology · Various Chemistry Research Topics

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Open DOIOpen Access