International Journal of Pharmacy Teaching & Practices 2010, Vol.1, Issue 2, 24-26 24 Improve students’ effectiveness in lab sessions using instant lab report Pathirage Kamal Perera, Yunman Li*, Department of Physiology, China Pharmaceutical University, Research Article Please cite this paper as: Pathirage Kamal Perera, Yunman Li. Improve students’ effectiveness in lab sessions using instant lab report. IJPTP, 2010, 1 (2), 24-26. Abstract Objective: The objective of this study was to improve students’ effectiveness in lab sessions using instant lab report. Methods: First we introduced the instant lab report method for our students. After introducing this method we did the formative assessment end of lab sessions and analyzed the average marks with previous assessment average marks. Results: When we analyzed the formative assessment of student after apply our learning agreement on instant lab report we found average mark of the students was higher than the earlier assessment. We observed 21% increased above 50 mark ranges in their marks and average student marks above 60 mark ranges was significantly increased after introducing instant lab report. Conclusion: Therefore we can conclude that instant lab report method is suitable for up-regulate the students’ effectiveness in lab sessions. Key words: instant lab report, formative assessment, lab sessions, learning agreement Introduction Student learning is one of the primary goals of universities. Suitable student-oriented teaching methods can help motivate students and help them realize their potential (1) . Assessing process also enables both the teacher and student to monitor the quality of learning and to take action as necessary, thus helping students develop more effective approaches to learning (2) . In our lab sessions we have noticed that students were passive to link between theory and practice in their lab sessions. Most of time students were passive in briefing without thinking practical implications. We thought that this could be happened due to lack of student centered teaching methods. According to Kember, that knowledge is constructed by students and that the lecturer is a facilitator of learning rather than a presenter of information (3) .Then we have introduced following strategies to improve our lab sessions. First strategy was to make the student more active in acquiring knowledge and skills in their lab sessions. The second strategy was to make the student more aware of what they are doing and why they are doing it. A third strategy is a focus on interaction, such as the use of lab briefings and other discussion groups. The final strategy is the focus on transferable skills and assessing them as student centered method. For this assessing purpose, we used the method “Instant lab reports” which described in Gibbs et al., 1993 (4) .Then we implemented this method as student centered assessing method. Therefore one of the aims of this study was designed to narrow the gap between theory and practice in their lab sessions. For this purpose we have introduced instant lab report method for evaluate student activities. Methodology First we organized our specific learning outcomes of each lab sessions (Table 1) in undergraduate students of Department of Pharmacology (n=53). Table 1: Defined learning outcomes for each lab sessions Outcomes of Cell culture techniques laboratory work No of lab sessions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1. To apply basic practical skills(Ex: Identify some instruments used in cell culture lab) 2. To apply students knowledge with pharmacological instrumental handling techniques 3. To apply the principles of doing experimental work in the subject (Ex: invivo and invitro experiments) 4. To create student knowledge in observation 5. To analyze experimental data to solve specific problems 6. To manage students in writing reports on experiments 7. To develop skill in problem solving 8. To organize knowledge in research ideas 9. To develop skills in communicating technical concepts and solutions Corresponding Author: Professor Yunman Li, Department of Physiology, China Pharmaceutical University, Mailbox 207 Tongjiaxiang 24, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210009, P. R. China. Tel: 86-25-5890-6892. Fax: 86-25-8532-5383. Email:liyunmancpu@hotmail.com