The laboratory based skills of incoming first-year undergraduates in the sciences in the UK is highly variable. Some have extensive pre-university practice while others have none at all.
The use of virtual environments allowing students to rehearse practical techniques before entering the laboratories (pre-laboratory work) has been shown to have a marked impact on confidence in the laboratory and in practical skill development.
This project conducted by Bristol ChemLabS the Higher Education Funding Council in England (HEFCE) Centre for Teaching and Learning in Practical Chemistry sought to create a Dynamic Laboratory Techniques Manual (DLTM).
Drawing on a panel of experts from institutions across the UK the DLTM incorporates a list of core practical techniques needed in each discipline in year one of degree Physical and Biological Science courses plus examples of use.
This project was led by University of Bristol.
Partner institutions were:
- University of Southampton
- University of Warwick
- University of Manchester
- Rhodes University
- Wollongong University
- Higher Education Academy Physical Sciences Subject Centre