Investigating the Effects of a Context-Based Laboratory Exercise for Meaningful Learning

Abstract

We used the context of boot-legging of alcohol to support the concept of matter and separation in the laboratory components of a first-year general chemistry course. The boot-legging laboratory exercise was deployed over two years, Year 1 being online and Year 2 being in a traditional laboratory. Findings over both years indicated that students did significantly better in the context-based lab exercise compared to most traditional laboratory exercises. The use of the Meaningful Learning in the Laboratory Inventory (MLLI) revealed that students came in with high expectations and that cognitive and affective laboratory expectations were met or fell just short in both years. Blended questionnaire items, including both the cognitive and affective in one, showed that the students’ expectations were met in Year 1. In Year 2, most students had good cognitive/affective experiences compared to a wide range of incoming expectations. The majority of students enjoyed the laboratory exercise; reasons for this changed from cognitive in Year 1 to affective in Year 2, coinciding with the change to face to face laboratories, where students could enjoy the excitement of performing the experiments for themselves. The applicability of the context-based experiment resonated with many of the students and prompted a small portion of students to think metacognitively about their laboratory experience and the consequences of chemistry in health, society, and industry. Overall, the introduction of a context-based laboratory exercise provided a more meaningful laboratory experience for students, that is, a deeper learning experience relevant to their everyday lives.