Students’ Intellectual Activities During Standard Labwork at Undergraduate Level

Abstract

The purpose of this case study is to shed light on the links between doing-thinking-learning during standard labwork. In this context, the only phases, which have been observed, are the phases of action. Observations have been carried out for novices (students) in real class situations. They have been carried out for experts (teachers) as individual interviews. Be they novices or experts, experimenters’ cognitive activities are described with concepts borrowed from cognitive psychology. The description highlights the difference between what is expected by teachers and what students actually do. It also puts forth that knowledge of procedures is lacking in students. Recommendations underline that labwork is irreplaceable in learning procedural knowledge. Thus recommendations point not to the suppression of this type of labwork, but to its improvement by a renewed definition and selection of objectives.