What Materials Should Be Recorded In Science Education Notebooks?

For those instructors who haven’t before encouraged students to keep specific scientific notebooks as a part of your mandated school science materials, the concept of doing so can be a little overwhelming. But, as part of the updated science education requirements, science instructors are facing the implementation of the science notebook.

If you are trying to figure out how to talk your students through keeping a proper experiments notebook as part of your regular school science materials, you don’t need to worry. Lab-Aids is committed to helping instructors across the country deal with the science notebook implementation for the coming semester.

As a part of these science education initiatives, introducing your students to the science notebook doesn’t have to be difficult. Begin the school year by explaining that the students need a notebook especially for their science classes this year.

When this is a part of standard school science materials shopping lists, students will get what they need promptly. Composition notebooks make for the best styles, as their tough bindings and lay flat design without spirals allows students to write more easily on both sides of the paper.

As for what goes in those notebooks, your students should be told from the very beginning that they need to label each new section clearly at the top of the page they are working on. If they are taking notes on a lecture, they should specify lecture notes, and the chapter being covered. This will help them when it comes time to study.

The experiments section of their science notebook should be clearly labeled with the name of the school science materials kit used for the experiment, as well as the date that it took place. As the experiment begins, your students must understand the need to take careful notes of what they are doing.

Begin by having your students write down all of the beginning materials that the experiment will use. If you are using one of Lab-Aids specially designed experiment kits or modules, your students should write down the problem they are faced with in the story line as well, so they can keep themselves on track mentally during the experiment.

As the experiment progresses, have your students write down everything that they do. This is the scientific process, as described by recent science education initiatives. Your students should write down every step that they are going to do, before they do it. Before any chemicals are combined, and tests are run, or any choices are implemented, your students should record the fact that they are going to do so.

Once they have acted out these plans, your students should observe the results and record them as well. Each step, as they work through the experiment, should be combined with plenty of writing. By encouraging this, not only will your students produce a proper notebook by school science materials standards, but they will have a written record of everything they did as well.