Improving the life science (biology) laboratory education experience: From an instructor-centered to a learner-centered educational environment

The component parts of the educational experience in a freshman biology laboratory course could be improved if the knowledge, skills, and personality of the students could be integrated with the instructor's. Lack of integration of instruction with learning often results in students unwilling or unable to learn content and to transfer it to future courses. This research examined the component parts of instruction and learning for a freshman biology laboratory class and provided an alternative approach to the traditional experience in this lab. Outcome assessment revealed that students experiencing a learner-centered lab responded differently to instruction than students in the traditional lab did and expressed more of a learning orientation and awareness. Not all methods used were successful but course evaluations demonstrated an increased awareness of the learning process among students in the learner-centered lab. The alternative group indicated differences specifically directed toward learning, more often than the traditional group did.