Lab or Classroom or Both?

This article is a good read for the teacher who does science laboratory activities in a classroom design for general education. After following fifth grade teachers for three years, I saw t... See More

This article is a good read for the teacher who does science laboratory activities in a classroom design for general education. After following fifth grade teachers for three years, I saw this occur more often than it should have. I believe that this is more common than not. For this reason this article should be presented to all teachers in all schools and to their administrators who often require activities without a proper lab facilities or who place general education teachers in a room designed specifically for a science laboratory without any knowledge or training of the dangers that this situation might present for the student, the teacher and the science teacher.

When a classroom becomes a laboratory

Teachers are often faced with turning a classroom into a laboratory in order to provide students with an opportunity to do science. However, when your classroom becomes a laboratory safety m... See More

Teachers are often faced with turning a classroom into a laboratory in order to provide students with an opportunity to do science. However, when your classroom becomes a laboratory safety must be addressed. This article provided an accepted definition of a laboratory and address the safety requirements. It would be an excellent resource for teachers faced with the necessity of converting a classroom into a laboratory and to support the procurement of the required safety resources.

Reflection

From this article I learned that what is the laboratory like, the safety standards of science lab as well as the safety needs of the science activity with the facility. The laboratory shoul... See More

From this article I learned that what is the laboratory like, the safety standards of science lab as well as the safety needs of the science activity with the facility. The laboratory should be well equipped and provided with a chemical safety plan for science instruction that involves the use of hazardous chemicals. A chemical hygiene plan is also imperative to ensure the safety of the lab and students. In addition, it is incumbent to employ safety equipment and materials such as safety glasses/goggles, gloves, aprons, eyewash units, fire extinguishers,ventilation, spill kits. Meanwhile the safety equipment/materials must fit the activity or work being done (Ken, 2007). The science teacher also need to be trained to identify potential hazards, evaluate potential hazards, and prevent or respond to hazards, which plays an indispensable role in students science learning and the safety of the lab and students. There is bottom line behind learning science: students must be able to do science in order to learn science, but with the safety condition (Ken, 2007).