Creative Laboratory Teaching. Learning and Solving Problems

1. Creative Laboratory Teaching. Learning and Solving Problems Claudio Cameselle, Susana GouveiaDepartamento de Enxeñería Química. Universidade de Vigoclaudio@uvigo.es, gouveia@uvigo.es

2. The classical model of laboratory practices is based on a script that sets out clearly the materials and methods to be used, and describes clearly the steps to follow to get the final result, with indications of the intermediate results. Practices are conducted with a fixed experimental setup. It is usually prepared before the practice session. The availability of material and equipment really fits the necessities of the students. The material is described in the script and the professor supplies that material to the students. If additional information is necessary, that information is usually attached to the script or the professor provides the students with the required reference books or articles. Thus, it is not necessary a preparation or study of the practice before going to the lab. The practice sessions are usually short (2 h) and that time is enough to achieve the desired result. Student work is limited to the steps in the script, and supervision of the teacher is also pre-defined. In this model it is possible that the teacher attends to large groups of students. Laboratory practice . Classical model.

3. The model of creative practices presented in this paper has characteristics completely different from traditional practices. The first difference is that there is no fixed script to define what the experimental procedure is. Yes; this model gives the student the starting point, the goal to be achieved, and a few ideas about the direction to take to solve the problem. There is not a pre-defined experimental setup. Student can design their own method, and their own experimental set-up. Therefore, it is necessary to have plenty of material and laboratory equipment and analytical methods. Students must study the problem proposed in each practice before going to the lab. Students must plan their proposals and design their own solution to the problem in every practice and planning their work before going to the lab. Students require access to several information sources (books, databases, Internet, etc..) in the preparation of the practice. Each student may require different information depending on their proposal. Considering what have been commented before, lab sessions should be long enough (at least 3 hours per session) to be able to design the practice, organize the experimental setup, and obtain the results. However, the resolution of the problem cannot be assured in a single laboratory session. This model of creative lab practices, results in more work for students, and closer supervision and control by the teacher. This is only feasible is the practical sessions are organized for small groups of students. Creative practices.

4. The model of creative lab practices help the students develop their skill in laboratory work focused on solving practical problems. Students can combine their knowledge and skills to seek for specific information in the literature to provide a solution to a specific problem. So, students develop their critical thinking, reasoning abilities, and skills for working in groups. Conclusions