Lived Experiences of Science Major Students in the Absence of Laboratory Activities

Abstract

The importance of laboratory activities in science education cannot be overstated. Scientific laboratory activities and experiments have helped students absorb science lessons more easily in recent years. Science cannot be more valuable to students if they do not get laboratory experience in school. As a result, the goal of this research is to learn about science major students’ lived experiences in learning science with the lack of laboratory activities while also identifying the obstacles they face. In an in-depth semi-structured online interview, ten science major students were asked to describe their learning experiences in science with and without laboratory activities. The students’ shared experiences described learning situations that did not involve laboratory activities as “finding light in the dark”. To put it another way, the students find the learning materials difficult to understand because of the unfamiliar terms they have encountered. Moreover, the lack of learning resources and home-based experimentation equipment and materials to perform the required laboratory activities made it even more difficult for them to gain new knowledge and formulate specific scientific explanations.