Lab-Based Teaching - Guide to Teaching Computer Science: An Activity-Based Approach - page 135

8.2 What Is a Computer Lab?

A laboratory (lab) is a common concept in any science. For example, accord-
ing to the Fourth Edition of The American Heritageﾮ Dictionary of the English
Language , 1 a laboratory is

1. a. A room or building equipped for scientific experimentation or research

b. An academic period devoted to work or study in such a place

2. A place for practice, observation, or testing

Another definition for a lab (similar in some senses to the first one) is “A place
equipped for experimental study in a science or for testing and analysis” ( Merriam-
Webster's Medical Dictionary , ﾩ 2002 Merriam-Webster).
As can be seen, these definitions emphasize the experimental aspect of the lab,
when experiment is defined by Fourth Edition of The American Heritageﾮ Diction-
ary of the English Language as
A test under controlled conditions that is made to demonstrate a known truth,
examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy of something previ-
ously untried.
and the corresponding verb—experiment—is defined as follows:

1. To conduct an experiment
2. To try something new, especially in order to gain experience: experiment with
new methods of teaching

The importance attributed to the lab is not limited to scientific research and is ex-
pressed also in the context of science teaching . The educational literature is full
with praises on the advantages and contributions of laboratory work to the learning
process. For example, Nersessian ( 1991 ) claims that “hands-on experience is at
the heart of science learning.” According to Ma and Nickerson ( 2006 ), “there is no
doubt that lab-based courses play an important role in scientific education” (p. 2).
Specifically, in sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, experiments
that learners perform in the lab aim, in many cases, to let the learners be active, rath-
er than passive observers of the scientific world. This pedagogical target is achieved
by the design of experiments that demonstrate and illustrate to the learners what is
taught theoretically in the class (either before or after the lab experience), guide
the learners to check hypothesis, train them how to perform experiments, let them
practice data collection and analysis methods, teach them research skills, and foster
their critical thinking.
In the context of computer science education, the lab concept is captured simi-
larly but with several slight differences. First, the physical structure of the lab in the
two cases—the lab in science teaching, such as biology and chemistry, and the lab
in the case of computer science teaching—is different. Specifically, these two labs