When students work in laboratory settings, they can learn and practice the scientific method -- collecting data, creating experiments, observing nature, making interpretations and testing their hypotheses. Science equipment, such as microscopes, create greater opportunities for hands-on science activities. Using real lab equipment, students gain greater appreciation for the field of science, its findings, and the natural world.
Listening to lectures, taking notes and reading textbooks can all add to a student's science knowledge, but interactive experience in classroom laboratories takes learning beyond memorization and identification. According to AP Central's teacher's guide for Advanced Placement Environmental Science, creating experiments, drawing conclusions, and evaluating arguments through interactive science experiences, students are getting practice using their critical thinking skills.
According to the New Science Teachers' Support Network (NSTSN) of George Mason University, one of the ways to prevent science teachers from leaving the field is by providing them with adequate support. Part of that support is adequate supplies, including science equipment. When access to supplies and labs is limited, newer science teachers struggle to plan their lessons and experiments. If equipment is not readily available or is in short supply, teachers feel frustrated because they cannot teach science as they might choose. For example, they may have to do a demonstration instead of letting students conduct experiments or may not be able to use lab space when appropriate during a lesson because another teacher is using it.
Since the No Child Left Behind Act went into effect in 2001, school districts have placed great significance on standardized test scores. According to the New York Times, The National Assessment of Educational Progress found only 18 percent of high school seniors were proficient at science in 2005, a drop of 3 percent from 1996 levels, and only 29 percent of fourth graders were proficient in science. Using experiments and science equipment offers more opportunities for problem solving and analysis which may be why students who had completed Advanced Placement (AP) science courses, stressing experiments and field work, were the only students in the United States who could complete with foreign students.