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In a recent commentary entitled “Chemistry Is Not a Laboratory Science” (1), Stephen J. Hawkes contends that laboratory courses are not needed in the chemistry curriculum. I have to take issue with this article in many respects. I
cannot accept the argument that non-majors do not benefit from lab courses,
and that computer simulations can replace traditional laboratories. Are not
these pre-med, pre-dental, and pre-pharmacy students going to be asked to work
with their hands in their respective fields? Indeed they are, yet all too often
some of the best of these students from my lecture course are unable to follow
simple directions or accomplish some of the more menial hands-on tasks in lab.
This is part of the reason why professional schools require chemistry lab courses.
The fact that students learn valuable manipulative and visual–motor skills in the chemistry lab was actually pointed out by Hawkes, yet he goes on to disregard this because, as he puts it, labs can be irrelevant and they do not teach the scientific method or how chemical principles affect the universe. If a traditional lab experiment does not address appropriate objectives, how is a computer simulation of the same lab going to? It seems to me that it is better to advocate the development of problem-oriented labs that engage our students, as discussed recently by Jerry Mohrig (2), rather than eliminating the practice of chemistry because of time or budget restraints. And regarding irrelevancy, I must ask how the teaching of one’s discipline, even through the reproduction of standard procedures, can be considered irrelevant? On the contrary, I would argue that there is no better place to make chemistry come alive for our students than in the laboratory. And as student interest in chemistry continues to decline, we need to look for innovative ways to reverse this trend. I can still remember the feeling of accomplishment I had as an undergraduate following my successful completion of a three-step laboratory synthesis. Such a practical experience was part of the reason why this former pre-med student became a chemistry major. Today I often see the same excitement and interest generated within some of my own students, a majority of them being non-majors. On several occasions, some of the non-majors from my lab course have actually inquired about doing independent research with me. I highly doubt that a computer simulation will spark such interest. Literature Cited- Hawkes, S. J. J. Chem. Educ. 2004, 81, 1257.
- Mohrig, J. R. J. Chem. Educ. 2004, 81, 1083 .
See the author's reply.
See also two other letters (1, 2).
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