Classroom Experiments
--Bergstrom and Miller, 1999.
What are Classroom Experiments?
Classroom experiments are activities where any number of students work in groups on carefully designed guided inquiry questions. Materials provide students with the means of collecting data through interaction with typical laboratory materials, data simulation tools or a decision making environment, as well a series of questions that lead to discovery-based learning.
During the experiment itself, collect data or observations. The instructor's role is to act as facilitator, asking leading questions and drawing attention to interesting results. A well-designed experiment targets common student misconceptions, focusing on major ideas that students will need to understand correctly in order to support deep learning.
Classroom experiments differ from classroom demonstrations because the students are involved in collecting data or observations. However, just as in an interactive classroom demonstration, students involved in classroom experiments can be asked to make predictions and to reflect upon their observations.
All experiments involve collecting observations or observing actions to try to answer a question or solve a problem. Classroom experiments do this as part of a class to help students learn more about the material they are studying. In this case the hypothesis to be tested will generally be derived from material contained in a textbook or other course materials. Research experiments generally involve both control and treatment groups in order to facilitate comparison. In the classroom, an observational experiment where students "see what happens" can also be useful.
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Why Teach with Classroom Experiments?
Experiments can be used either to introduce new ideas or to clarify puzzling aspects of topics with which students typically struggle. If the result of an experiment is surprising yet convincing, students are in the position to build ownership of the new idea and use it to scaffold learning. In addition to checking that the conceptual focus of the experiment has been understood correctly, assessments can push students to describe a follow-up experiment or to extend the concept to another application. Note that some classroom experiments, such as those that involve observing chemical behavior, require safety precautions and may need to take place in a laboratory.Classroom Experiments help instructors achieve a variety of classroom goals related to:
- Student Learning Outcomes
- Instructor Satisfaction With Teaching
- Grades
- Attendance
- Student Retention in Course and Major
- Teaching Evaluation Scores
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How to Teach with Classroom Experiments
Conducting a classroom experiment is easy to do. The first time you try one, it is probably a good idea to use an experiment that someone else has prepared. In a published experiment, there will typically be "instructor's notes" containing detailed instructions for conducting the experiment. find more information about how to teach with Classroom Experiments
Examples of Teaching with Classroom Experiments
Find Classroom Experiments and related in-class activities, as well as teaching notes on how to best use classroom experiments in your own class. Get ideas on how to create your own classroom experiments or use those already in the library of examples.find examples of Classroom Experiments
References
Interested readers can find more details on topics related to classroom experiments including
- General references on learning theory and how classroom experiments promote successful learning.
- Research by discipline on the advantages of conducting classroom experiments.
- Textbooks and instructor resources by discipline on classroom experiments.
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