Impact of isle-based labs in courses with traditional lecture

Abstract

ISLE-based labs have been demonstrated to be an effective alternative to traditional lab activities, helping students develop scientific abilities when used in an ideal environment where lectures and recitations also reflect ISLE philosophy. In this study we used ISLE-based labs in a second-year physics course for engineering students in which the lectures and recitations remained traditional. We investigated the effect that ISLE-based labs had on student development under these conditions. We found that while students did not show as much growth as they had in previous studies under more ideal conditions, the students did show improvements in their scientific abilities over the course of one semester of instruction. We also investigated how the accuracy of feedback given to the students by the TAs related to student learning.