The difference between hands-on and laboratory work.

In the learning process, the student can perform practical and laboratory work. What is their specificity? What is the difference between practical work and laboratory work?

What are the features of practical work?

Practical work is a task for a student, which must be completed on a topic determined by the teacher. It is also supposed to use the literature recommended by him in preparation for practical work and a plan for studying the material. The task in question in some cases includes an additional check of the student's knowledge - through testing or, for example, writing a test.

The main goal of practical work is to develop a student's practical skills related to the generalization and interpretation of certain scientific materials. In addition, it is expected that the results of the practical exercises will subsequently be used by students to master new topics.

The task of the teacher who facilitates the preparation of students for the events in question is to draw up a sequential algorithm for the development of the necessary knowledge by students, as well as to select methods for objectively assessing the relevant knowledge. In this case, an individual approach is possible, when the student's skills are tested in the way that is most comfortable for the student in terms of presenting information for the teacher. So, some students are more comfortable with the written form of knowledge testing, others - oral. The teacher can take into account the preferences of both.

The results of the practical lesson most often do not affect the student's subsequent assessment on the exam. In the course of this event, the teacher's task is to understand the current level of students' knowledge, to identify errors that characterize their understanding of the topic, and to help correct shortcomings in the development of knowledge so that the student will present the understanding of the topic more correctly on the exam.

What are the features of laboratory work?

Under laboratory work is most often understood as an educational lesson, within the framework of which one or another scientific experiment is carried out, aimed at obtaining results that are significant from the point of view of successful mastering by students of the curriculum.

In the process of laboratory work a student:

  • studies the practical course of certain processes, explores phenomena within a given topic - using the methods mastered at lectures;
  • compares the results of the obtained work with theoretical concepts;
  • interprets the results of laboratory work, evaluates the applicability of the obtained data in practice, as a source of scientific knowledge.

In some cases, students are required to defend their laboratory work, in which a certain audience of listeners are presented with the details of the research, as well as evidence of the legitimacy of the conclusions reached by the student... Often the defense of laboratory work is carried out in the order of the individual interaction of the student with the teacher. In this case, based on the results of the study, the student generates a report (according to the established or independently developed form), which is sent for verification by the teacher.

It should be noted that the successful completion of laboratory work, as a rule, is an important criterion for the successful passing of exams by a student. The teacher considers the possibility of giving high marks to students only if they are able to present, before passing the exam, the practical results of applying the knowledge gained in the lectures.

Comparison

The main difference between practical work and laboratory work is the purpose of their implementation. So, typical practical work is initiated by the teacher mainly to check the amount of knowledge, laboratory work - to assess the ability of students to apply the knowledge gained in practice, during the experiment.

Another criterion is the limited influence of the results of practical work on the final grade of the student. In turn, typical laboratory work, as we noted above, can be a critical factor in a student's success on an exam.

Typical laboratory work is typical mainly for natural science disciplines - physics, chemistry, biology. Practical - are carried out within the framework of training in various scientific areas, including humanitarian.

Differences between the works in question can also be traced at the level of methods of testing students' knowledge. In the case of practical work, this is an oral or written survey, testing. In laboratory activities, the procedure for protecting the research results can be a tool for testing student knowledge.

It should be noted that laboratory and practical work have a number of common features. Such as, for example:

  1. implementation in accordance with the plan recommended by the teacher, as well as using a given list of literary sources;
  2. focus on identifying the current level of knowledge of the student.

Having determined what is the difference between practical and laboratory work, we fix the conclusions in the table.

Table

Practical work Laboratory work
What do they have in common?
Practical and laboratory work are similar in many ways (both involve execution according to plan, focus on assessing student knowledge)
What is the difference between them?
Aims at assessing the level of the student's current knowledgeThe goal is to get specific results from the application of students' knowledge
Can be carried out within the framework of teaching a wide range of disciplinesConducted, as a rule, within the framework of teaching natural sciences
Usually does not affect the student's prospects of passing the examIs an important factor for students to get high marks on the exam
Knowledge is tested by means of oral or written questioning, testingsee
.