High School Students Learnt Practical Skills at IMU Laboratory

Chemistry and Biology are widely perceived as laboratory based subjects. Laboratory activities are deemed to be a mandatory requirement for these science modules as it helps the students to be engaged with the theoretical knowledge obtained in their classes. Proper execution of laboratory tests is vital in assisting students to understand the curriculum. A missed procedure or error that results from deficient laboratory skills can have a significant negative impact on the students’ existing knowledge. With this in mind, on 8 March 2016, the May 2015 intake of IMU’s Foundation in Science (FiS) students were assigned to organise a session of Chemistry and Biology experiments for 30 high schools students from Dignity for Children Foundation (DFC). The FiS students learnt to prepare the necessary equipment and practical manuals for the DFC students to conduct the experiments on Chemistry and Biology. This was done to provide some helpful insights for the students especially on reinforcing the knowledge they obtained in classes. This project is a task fulfillment of Cross Boundary Studies, one of the modules offered in the final semester of Foundation in Science, IMU. In preparation for this practical session, the Foundation in Science students were assigned different tasks, ranging from designing lab manual, designing guided lab report and fund raising activities. To get it all started, the lab manual and guided lab report group had to prepare lab manuals and guided lab report for a list of experiments obtained from DFC. They were also assigned to facilitate the experiments by becoming lab demonstrators, supervising the DFC students. These experiments were held in one of the IMU laboratories. The fund raising group organised a series of food sale activities in order to fund the project: printing of materials and purchasing of lab materials. Through this project, the FiS students were provided a platform to grow in maturity and innovativeness as they guided the students and provided constructive feedback to the students of DFC. It is also aimed to improve the laboratory learning experience for DFC students, focusing on years ten and eleven levels. To ensure that the DFC students had learnt from the experiments they participated in, the FiS students had designed a guided lab report. At the end of the 3 -hour laboratory session, the DFC students answered the guided lab report to gauge the practical knowledge obtained from the series of experiments conducted. Cross Boundary Studies is a ‘home grown’ module which teaches the Foundation in Science students’ creative problem solving skills. In collaboration with IMU Cares, students are given a project or task to carry out, integrating the 6 steps of creative problem solving skills. From this project, students learnt event organising, implementation of project, team working, communication skills, and honing of their leadership skills. These soft skills are necessary to prepare the Foundation in Science students for their tertiary studies in IMU.