DIFFERENTIAL WORKLOAD CALCULATION AND ITS IMPACT ON LAB SCIENCE INSTRUCTION AT THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE LEVEL

The calculation of workload for science instructors who teach classes with laboratory components at the community college level is inconsistent. Despite the large body of evidence which indicates that activity-based instruction is more effective than passive, lecture-based instruction, many community colleges assign less value to lab instruction than lecture in workload calculations. This discrepancy is inconsistent with both current nation-wide goals of science excellence and the standards set by the American Chemical Society (2009) and the American Association of Physics Teachers (2002).

Prior to this quantitative study, there was no aggregate data regarding the extent of this policy at community colleges nor of its possible impact upon instruction. The input of full-time two-year college members of four different professional science organizations, including GSA and NAGT, was solicited using an electronic survey and their responses indicate that a majority have their hours in lab assigned less credit than their hours in lecture, with multiple perceived impacts upon their ability to teach science labs in a scientifically and pedagogically current manner. The study concludes that differential loading of lab hours is common and widely variable at the community college level and that science lab instruction takes no less time to do well than does lecture. Professional geoscience organizations should consider recommendations for the instruction of geoscience at two-year colleges similar to those of the American Chemical Society and the American Association of Physics Teachers.