The Computer as Lab Partner: Classroom Experience Gleaned from One Year of Microcomputer-Based Laboratory Use

Abstract

Microcomputer-based labware (MBL) is an emergent class of technology which allows students to use the computer as a tool for collecting, displaying, analyzing, and storing data. The Computer as Lab Partner Project was designed to evaluate the use of MBL in junior high science. A model computer-equipped science lab was set up in a suburban middle school and a semester-length MBL curriculum was developed and evaluated with four eighth-grade physical science classes per semester. The classroom experience of using MBL is discussed: the features of the MBL system used and of the curriculum designed; classroom procedures, processes, and interactions observed; gains and benefits derived from MBL use; and areas of potential difficulty in MBL implementation.