What does students’ recognition of procedural mistakes in the chemistry laboratory tell us?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Students’ recognition of the common procedural mistakes in the chemistry laboratory was examined in this study. Data were collected from 49 undergraduates studying Science Teaching. A video in which a student is purposefully making common procedural mistakes was shown to the students, and they were asked to recognize the mistakes. A Written Response Form (WRF), Chemistry Laboratory Anxiety Scale (CLAS), Laboratory Equipments Knowledge Form (LEKF), and Calculation Form (CF) were the data collecting tools. Students’ scores from WRF indicated that they could not recognize many mistakes. Correlation analysis was made between students’ scores from recognizing mistakes (WRF) and their CLAS, LEKF, and CF scores. The study’s findings imply that only the feelings towards laboratory work (anxiety in this case) correlated with WRF. When high anxiety students and low anxiety students were examined, it was found that high anxiety students did not recognize some mistakes at all.