Striving for Success in Student Lab Reports in the Sciences

1
Striving for Success in Student Lab Reports in
the Sciences
Second Annual WID/AC Writing Exchange Conference

• Crystal Yau, Ph.D.
• Chemistry
• CCBC-Catonsville
• cyau_at_ccbcmd.edu

2
Striving for Success in Student Lab Reports in
the Sciences

• Success?
• Success for whom?
• Student success in writing an acceptable lab
  report
• Faculty success in showing students how to write
  one

3
WID/AC Student Handbook Project

• In the summer of 2008, a group of CCBC faculty
  from various disciplines gathered to put together
  a student writers guide.
• All incoming students would be required to
  purchase this handbook.
• Two members of the chemistry faculty worked on
  the Writing in Chemistry section of the
  handbook.

4
WID/AC Student Handbook Project
Purpose (of writing assignments in chem) Types of
Writing Assignments

• Essay-type Answer
• Research Project
• PowerPoint Presentation
• Internet Assignment
• Laboratory Record
• Post-Lab Assignment
• Lab Portfolio
• Formal Lab Report

5
WID/AC Student Handbook Project

• Effective Writing
• Advice on Writing
• Criteria for Grading
• Additional Resources
• Sample Formal Lab Report
• Todays presentation focuses on the formal lab
  report at the Catonsville campus.

6
Why should students learn to write lab reports?

• It is a skill needed if they embark on a career
  in science.
• In writing a report the student is forced to
  reflect on what they had done, and provides
  practice in critical thinking.
• Other reasons?

7
Ability to write lab reports is a necessary skill
in science.

• It is a skill needed no matter whether students
  end up in a graduate school, research institution
  or industry
• They need to learn to report results obtained in
  an experiment.
• Results to be published must be in the format
  required by the publisher.

8
What have we required in the past in our
chemistry lab courses?

• 70s and 80s, and currently in some large
  universities Fill out a sheet of data, do some
  calculations and report a final result.
• e.g. Unknown A contains 48.2 KCl.
• The last 10-15 years, the trend has been to push
  students to do more critical thinking and learn
  to express themselves better.

9
What have we required in the past in our
chemistry courses?

• On the Catonsville campus (and at Towson
  University) weekly lab reports were required.
• In the chemistry lecture courses, homework
  assignments often were not collected, but lab
  reports were. Students generally concentrate on
  only what they have to hand in.
• Result Students spend much of their time
  writing reports and not on studying lecture
  material.

10
What does our current chemistry curriculum
require?

• Fundamentals of Chem Lab (Chem 108) - only
  3 formal lab reports per semester.
• General Chem Lab (Chem 122)
• - 5 formal lab reports per semester.
• Gen Chem II Lab (Chem 124)
• - 5 reports, lengthy calculations and
  discussions.
• Organic Chem I and II (Chem 201, 203)
• - one report for every experiment (about 10 per
  semester)

11
Our Lab Report Format

• Format is based on the requirements set forth for
  American Chemical Society journals.
• Reference The ACS Style Guide Effective
  Communication of Scientific Information, Coghill
  Garson Eds. 3rd Edition, 2006, Oxford
  University Press
• Some deviations from the format are necessary in
  order to check on accuracy of students results
  and calculations.

12
Our Lab Report Format

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Data Observations (typed from lab notebook)
• Calculations (if any)
• Summary of Results
• Discussion (including error analysis)
• Conclusion
• Reference
• Deviation from the ACS journal format is
  necessary for some parts of the report in order
  for instructors to check on students' laboratory
  skills and calculations.

13
Why 3 lab reports for the entry level of lab
(Chem 108)?

• Lab manual includes a chapter with a detailed
  description of what goes into a lab report.
• It also includes a sample of what one might look
  like.
• Originally only one lab report was required,
  thinking students would do a reasonable job just
  by reading the instructions.
• This was not so. Students hate reading
  instructions of any sort.
• Many tend to wait until the morning the report is
  due to write it.

14
Why did we pick 3 lab reports for the entry level
of lab (Chem 108)?

• Lab report 1 Graded leniently on format, gives
  students a chance to learn from their mistakes.
  (Detailed comments from instructor are made on
  the first report.)
• Lab report 2 Students are to learn from the
  comments made on their first report.
• Lab report 3 Provide students with further
  practice. This report should be in good condition.

15
Did this work in teaching students to write good
lab reports?

• For some students there was a marked improvement.
• For others, it became apparent that they needed
  more help.
• We do keep in mind that learning to write well is
  an important part of the students learning
  experience, but it is still secondary to learning
  the concepts and lab skills in chemistry.

16
Our Solution 1 Providing Writing Exercises

• Our Prep Chem Gen Chem lab manuals have an
  appendix titled "Writing Exercises"
• Part I Writing in Passive Voice
• This provides examples and an exercise for
  converting a simple sentence into passive voice.
• Some students do not know/remember what is meant
  by "passive voice."

17
Our Solution 1 Providing Writing Exercises

• Why are we asking for passive voice?
• Passive voice is used when describing a procedure
  in a report because generally who is doing the
  work, or who is making the observations is not
  important. Presumably, anyone with lab skills
  should be able to get the same results.

18
Our Solution 1 Providing Writing Exercises

• Exercise 6.1 Rewrite the following sentences in
  passive voice.
• 1. I transferred the contents of the beaker to
  the graduated cylinder.
• 2. I found the slope of my graph to be 0.04
  g/min.
• 3. I added 3 drops of bromophenol indicator to
  the Erlenmeyer flask.

19
Our Solution 1 Providing Writing Exercises

• I transferred the contents of the beaker to the
  graduated cylinder.
• Example of student response
• Transferred the contents of the beaker to the
  graduated cylinder.
• An acceptable response
• The contents of the beaker were transferred to
  the graduated cylinder.

20
Our Solution 1 Providing Writing Exercises

• Part II. When is passive voice not necessary?
• As a rule of thumb, it is not necessary for
  passages other than the procedure.
• The active voice is preferred to keep the passage
  less wordy, more direct and less awkward.
• HOWEVERgenerally we do not use the first person
  singular pronoun.

21
Our Solution 1 Providing Writing Exercises

• In Part II, examples are given showing when "we"
  or "one" is used instead of "I"
• From the color of the endpoint we can conclude
  that the equivalent point has been reached.
• From the color of the endpoint one can conclude
  that the equivalent point has been reached

22
Our Solution 1 Providing Writing Exercises

• Part III Writing Experimental Procedures or
  Methods
• An explanation and examples are given to explain
  why the procedure should be in past tense and
  passive voice.
• Experimental procedures/methods in a report are
  not instructions telling others what to do.
• The experiment has already been performed.
• You are telling others what you have already done
  to obtain the results you are reporting.

23
Our Solution 1 Providing Writing Exercises

• Exercise 6.2 Rewrite the following sentences
  from the procedure in the preferred tense and
  voice
• Examine the popped corn and record the number of
  duds.
• Example of an acceptable response
• The popped corn was examined and the number of
  duds was recorded.

24
Our Solution 1 Providing Writing Exercises

• Part IV Writing the experimental method in an
  abstract
• This is the probably the hardest part of writing
  a lab report.
• The experimental method in an abstract must be
  kept short and therefore cannot include too many
  details.
• Students do not have the experience to tell what
  is "too much" and what constitutes "not enough."

25
Our Solution 1 Providing Writing Exercises

• The last exercise (procedure in an abstract) is a
  culmination of the writing skills learned in the
  previous parts
• How to convert procedure to past tense, passive
  voice
• In addition, how to pull out only the essential
  part of the procedure to put in the abstract

26
Our Solution 1 Providing Writing Exercises

• We begin with providing an example of a procedure
  as it might appear in a lab manual
• Record the unknown number. Place the unknown
  metal on the balance pan and record the mass to 3
  decimal places. Next place exactly 5.00 mL of
  water in a 10-mL graduated cylinder, taking care
  not to let any water splash out.... etc.

27

• Example provided in lab manual of how the
  procedure in the previous slide could be written
  as an experimental method as it might appear in
  an abstract
• The volume of the unknown metal was determined by
  its displacement of water, and the mass was
  determined on a balance. From the volume and
  mass thus obtained, the density of the metal was
  calculated.

28

• Exercise 6.3 Effect of Eye-Level on Accuracy of
  Reading Volumes
• Write the experimental method for an abstract
  from the procedure described below
• 1. Place exactly 7.00 mL of deionized water into
  a 10-mL grad cylinder. Use a disposable pipet to
  help you add or remove excess water so that the
  bottom of the meniscus is at exactly the 7-mL
  mark when held at eye-level.
• 2. Hold the cylinder so that the meniscus is well
  above your eye-level. Record the volume.
  (Remember to record to the correct sig. fig.)
• 3. Repeat with the cylinder at eye-level and
  below eye-level.
• 4. Complete the calculations specified on the
  Calculations Results page (p.48).

29
Our Solution 1 Providing Writing Exercises

• Example of an acceptable response
• A specified volume of water was placed in a
  graduated cylinder and readings were taken with
  the meniscus at eye-level, above eye-level and
  below eye-level. Using the reading when the
  meniscus was at eye-level as the correct volume,
  error and percent error were calculated for the
  other two readings.

30
Our Solution 2 Post-Lab Questions that Prepare
Students for Lab Reports

• Every experiment has post-lab questions,
  regardless of whether a formal report is
  required.
• These questions help them analyze the data
  without telling them step by step (cookbook
  style) what to do.
• Questions help them think about what the effects
  are on their results if they make a particular
  experimental error (preparing them to do an error
  analysis).

31
Purpose of Post-Lab Questions

• These are questions for an experiment for which a
  report is not required. They may...
• help students decide what goes into the
  discussion section of a report.
• be questions that make students think beyond
  blindly plugging in numbers and grinding out an
  answer.
• that force them into doing some critical
  thinking.
• require students to use the Internet to search
  out answers.
• Generally much of this would have gone into the
  discussion section had a formal lab report been
  required.

32
Examples of Post-Lab Questions

• In an experiment where students found the mass
  percent of water in popcorn by weighing the
  kernels of corn before and after they were
  popped, post-lab questions included the
  following
• 1. If you miscounted and worked with only 9
  kernels, would it affect your calculated percent
  of water? Be specific. Do not merely say it is
  inaccurate. Would the be too high or too low?
  Explain.
• 2. If you weighed the popped kernels while they
  were still warm, how would that affect your
  calculated mass of water, and your water? Be
  specific (would they be too high or too low) and
  explain your line of reasoning in a
  well-organized paragraph.

33
Our Solution 3 Specifying what belongs in each
section of report.

• Example using the popcorn experiment (1st formal
  lab report in the semester)
• Special instructions for the Formal Lab Report
• Summary of Results Considering the purpose of
  the expt, it would be logical to prepare a table
  to compare the percent water and percent duds in
  the two brands.

34
Our Solution 3 Specifying what belongs in each
section of report.

• Discussion Examine the water and the duds
  and discuss whether there appears to be a
  correlation between the two. Explain in theory
  what you would have predicted, and whether you
  results are consistent with your prediction.
• Conclusion Summarize the conclusions drawn in
  your discussion. Remember not to bring in any
  new information that you have not already
  mentioned.

35
Please read the procedure provided in the
handout Determination of the Composition of
Pennies from their Densities (You can download
the pdf file for this handout at my homepage. It
is the link just below the link where you
accessed this PowerPoint.)
36
Possible Post-Lab Questions for a Given Expt.

• For the experiment described in the handout,
  write post-lab questions that do one or more of
  the following (indicate which of the following
  each question accomplishes)
• Help students decide what to put in the
  discussion if they were to write a report.
• Help students think beyond the basic
  calculations.
• Help students apply something they have learned
  from a previous experiment (calc of error
  error).
• Help students apply the scientific method if
  applicable.
• Prepare students to do an error analysis (what
  likely error are they to make in this particular
  experiment and how that error would affect the
  final results.
• Other types of questions not listed above.

37
Possible Post-Lab Questions

• If you were given more pennies of the same type,
  would your density change significantly?
  Explain.
• If you did not dislodge all of the air bubbles
  during the measurement of the volume of water and
  pennies, how would that affect your reported
  density? Explain.
• If the original volume of water used were 40 mL
  instead of 30 mL, could that affect the outcome
  of the experiment? Explain.
• Explain why this method of determining density
  would not work for a cork.