Do students know what they do lab work for? An investigation of the objectives of practical work in biology.

Abstract

In this article we will are going to deal with the objectives of practical works and the goals that can be reached through the analysis of data from an investigation carried out with 4th year students of the secondary school. By means off an oral/ a verbal open questionnaire and a selection card task, we inquire what students think about three aspects connected to the laboratory practical works objectives. First, the goals that teachers set when they prepare practical works. Secondly, the objectives reached with these works. Finally what objectives should be reached with the laboratory experience.

The results show that laboratory practical works, carried out by the interviewed students, are useful to "interact with the natural material", "help understanding", "check knowledge", "work with the experience inherent procedures", "motivate and Integrate the student socially", However, students think that they should reach objectives connected to the research, such as, "the formulation research questions and hypothesis", " materials manipulation", "analysis" and "work evaluation ".