Laboratory work is an essential part of the curriculum of most, if not all, science courses.
Appropriately designed laboratory exercises and experiments not only teach students technical and operational skills that are central to the manipulation of subject matters of interest in the sciences, they also impart skills such as problem-solving logic and troubleshooting knowhow. Traditionally, however, laboratory training is largely associated with majors in the physical and life sciences. Engineering and medicine courses entail less laboratory work, while arts, humanities and business students often have little or no idea what a laboratory is like. These students may, however, be missing an important, if not critical, aspect of undergraduate education. An exposure to appropriate or relevant science laboratory work, at different depths depending on their discipline, could be beneficial to all students. A science laboratory experience would enable students to cultivate logical and explorative mindsets, and inculcate them with a passion for active independent learning and a problemsolving mentality. It also broadens their horizons and can profoundly influence their career choices and development.

An exposure to laboratory practices for nonscience undergraduates may be useful at several
levels. For instance, students could be introduced to the concept of a testable hypothesis as a key tenet in scientific pursuits as they conduct experiments in the lab. Their experiments could yield results that may support or nullify a particular hypothesis, and the skills needed to
assess the validity of their experimental results and to interpret the data would teach them about critical thinking, based on data generated directly from their experiments. This skill may become useful in their daily lives as they learn to judge more critically any claims they may encounter in advertisements for health products, medications or other kinds of products. Also, the laboratory experience could debunk common misconceptions non-science undergraduates may have about modern science and technology.

Furthermore, one important aspect of laboratory work that is particularly good for training young minds is that it takes students away from the comfort of the classroom environment, where facts and rules have been passively laid down and where situations and events are only simulations at best. In the laboratory, every aspect of education becomes more dynamic, challenging and closer to real life. Science students would attest to the fact that experiments do not work out perfectly most of the time, and finding out what and why things went wrong could, in retrospect, be more illuminating. In the laboratory, the ability to think logically, critically and adventurously becomes more important than simply being able to apply one’s lecture materials. Student soon realise that textbook knowledge is simply not enough and would be encouraged to explore for answers, or even define the questions, on their own.

Among the traditional non-laboratory courses likely to benefit the most from well-designed
science laboratory modules is judicial studies (Arwood, 2004). Students of criminal law would
be intrigued by Crime Scene Investigation (CSI)-styled laboratory sessions, where they are
guided through the investigative identification of crime scene clues using standard reagents and equipment that can be adapted from existing life sciences and chemistry laboratories. Students of patent laws would also benefit greatly from doing a minor in a science subject with a laboratory module, as a well-designed laboratory course will allow them to better understand the process of scientific discovery that leads to patentable ideas or materials. Likewise, business school students on technopreneurship courses would benefit from an experience that captures what happens in the upstream portion of a mock laboratory-to-market situation.

The lighter side of laborator y sessions.
(Cartoon illustration by A/P Yeong Foong May)

Even arts and humanities students could benefit from a stint in a science laboratory. An important question to pose to history majors would be, “How did we come to know the science we know today?” An exposure to classic experiments in the life and physical sciences would impress upon students how important breakthroughs in science were made in the laboratories, either serendipitously or through sheer hard work. Such exposure would also be relevant to those who major in philosophy (particularly studies in epistemology) and social sciences (especially science and technology studies).

For courses which traditionally have a minor laboratory component, we advocate incorporating a structured and lengthy research module that is laboratory-based. A good example would be undergraduate medical education. Universities with undergraduate medical programmes should strive to match the American medical schools’ system which admits college graduates, many of whom already have a basic degree in a life sciences-related discipline and have been exposed to laboratory courses and laboratorybased research. This is especially critical if we are to produce more clinician-scientists to fill the upper-level manpower void in the local biomedical industry (Solomon et al., 2003).

In NUS, students in the arts, humanities and business faculties do take cross-faculty general
education science modules. However, these modules usually do not have a laboratory component. Assuming one is convinced that an exposure to science laboratory work would be beneficial to non-science majors and should be incorporated into their undergraduate curriculum, the logistics may be less daunting that one would imagine. As alluded to earlier, facilities in existing life sciences and chemistry laboratories could be adapted for laboratory courses designed for non-science majors. All that is required is good coordination. Since the key aim is to introduce basic concepts in scientific methodology, the practicals can be
designed to incorporate experiments dealing with first principles and fundamentals without relying on sophisticated and high-end equipment. This would ensure that such modules are conducted in a cost-effective manner and at the same time, avoid giving students the wrong idea that good scientific inquiry is overtly dependent on cuttingedge technology. In universities in the USA, laboratory sessions are in fact incorporated into freshman science courses for non-science majors. Alternatively, such a course may be introduced just before the final year (targeting relatively mature students), perhaps as a Special Term module so it does not affect final-year projects. One could well imagine that the instructors might also benefit from teaching laboratory science to non-science majors, and may enjoy it as much as the students themselves.

Solomon, S.S.; Tom, S.C.; Pichert J.; Wasserman, D. & Powers, A.C. (2003). ‘Impact of Medical Student Research in the Development of Physician Scientists.’ Journal of Investigative Medicine, Vol. 51, pp. 149–156.