LaboratorySafetyandManagement

YingDai
PartI
Spendalittletimewithyourcooperatingteacherdiscussingsafety.Usethe
followingitemstoguideyourdiscussion.Alsolookatthesupplycloset,chemicalsupply
closet,cabinetsintheclassroom,etc.toseehowthesuppliesareorganizedandstored.
Afteryourdiscussion,writeaonepagesummaryofwhatyoudiscussedandobservedas
wellasareflectionofhowthisdiscussionwillimpactyourapproachtosafetyinthe
classroom.Includeanychangestoyourcooperatingteacherssafetyrulesthatyoumight
implementasafirstyearscienceteacher.
Itemsfordiscussion:
Thingstoask:
1. Doyouhaveasetofsafetyrulesforyourstudents?Ifso,wouldyoumind
sharingthemwithme?
Unfortunately,theteacherdidnotshareanysafetyrulewithme.
2. Howdoyouenforcethesesafetyrules?Arethereconsequencesforstudentsthat
donotfollowtheserules?Ifso,whataretheconsequences?
Clarifytherules.
Makerulesspecific.
Useonlyfourorfiverules.
Consequences:
Awarning.
Afterclasstalk.
Conferencewithcounselors
3. Arethereanyrulesthatyouconstantlyhavetoremindthestudentstofollow?

Respecteachother.
Listentowhatotherssaying.
Followanygiveninstructionswhentheyaregiven.
4. Howoftendoyouthinkstudentsshoulddoalabinvestigation?(onceamonth,
onceaweek,etc.)
Itwasaccordingtodifferentcontents,iftheylearnedaboutthechemistryor
physics,theymightdoalabonceaweek;whentheylearnedaboutthebiology,it
wasonceamonth.
5. Howlongdoesittypicallytakeyoutoprepareforandsetuplabs?
Itmaytakeaweektoprepareit.
6. Whatadvisecanyougiveaboutusingmytimeeffectivelyandefficientlywhen
dealingwithlabpreparation?
Planningwellbeforedoingthelab.Youshouldconsiderthebigpictureandalso
thedetailsaboutthelab.Onceyouknowwhereyouwantyourlabtobe,youcan
planexperimentsmuchmoreefficiently.
Youalsocandoaprelabassignment;ithelpstomakethelabmoreefficientand
effective.
7. Whatadvisecanyougiveaboutcleaningupafterdoingthelab?
Teachersmayshowthestepsandexpectationsabouthowtocleanupthestuff.
Beforefinishingdoingthelab,theteachershouldremindstudentstodoitbefore
theyleaveandprovidethemhelpifneeded.
Atwhatlevelarethefollowinggenericlabchecklistitemsusedduringyourlaboratory
time:Always,frequently,orseldom?

Personalprotectiveequipmentmustbeoftheacceptedtypefortheactivity,
andmustbeworncorrectlyatalltimesbystudentsandinstructors.
Always

Allchemicalsandotherhazardousmaterialsmustbekeptinaproperly
securedarea,clearlyandproperlylabeled,andaccountedformeticulouslyat
alltimes.Studentsmustneverbeallowedtoremovehazardousmaterials
fromthelab.
Always

Laboratoryworkingconditionsmustbesafe.Safetyequipmentmustbe
sufficienttodealwiththemostextremehazardormishapthatcould
potentiallyoccur.
Always
Properequipmentandsuppliesmustbeprovidedforstudentstouse.They
mustbegiveninstructionsinlaboratorytechniqueandinhandlingmaterials
beforebeingallowedtoconductexperiments.
Always
Teachersmustsuperviselaboratoryactivitiesatalltimes.Studentsmustnot
performanyunauthorizedexperiments.Duringinquirybasedactivities,the
teachermustapprovestudentdesignedexperimentsbeforetheyare
performed.
Always
Studentsmustdressappropriatelyforthelaboratory.Thisincludeswearing
therequiredpersonalprotectiveequipment,andNOTwearingcertaintypesof
personapparel,includingopentoedshoes,shirtswithfloppysleeves,and
shortsorshortskirts.Longhairshouldbetiedbacktokeepitawayfrom
flamesandchemicals.
Always
Studentsmustnotbringfood,drink,orpersonalitemsintotheworkarea.
Aftercompletingthedaysactivityandcleaningup,theyshouldwashtheir
handsthoroughlytopreventcontaminationofthemselvesandtheirpersonal
effects.
Always
Emergencytelephonenumbers,includingthoseoftheschooloffice,the
poisoncontrolcenter,andahazardousmaterialsservice,shouldbepostedin
thelaboratory.Includeemergencyresponseandevacuationproceduresonthe
posting.Studentsshouldbefamiliarizedwiththeinformationbeforethefirst
laboratorysession
Always

ItemsforsafetychecklistdiscussionwerefoundatthefollowingURL:
http://www.labsafety.org/freedocs/start_the_school_year_safely.htm

Part2:
Observealabduringyourvisit.Makenoteofthefollowing:
Howarethegroupsorganized?
Howistheclassroomarranged?Didtheteacherchangeanythingfromthe
normalarrangementforthislab?
Howarethematerials/suppliesorganizedanddistributed?
Dothestudentsknowtheexpectationsforthelab?
Whatrolesdothegroupmembersplay?
Howiscleanuphandled?
Howdothestudentsbehaveduringthelab?

Whatdoestheteacherdoduringthelab?
Werethesafetyrulesenforced?How?
Makenoteofanyotherpertinentinformationyouobserve.

Writeaonetotwopagesummaryofyourobservations.Alsoincludeareflectionofhow
youwillapproachandhandlelabtimeinyourclassroom.Wouldyouchangeany
methodsorstrategies?Whatwouldworkforyou?

ReflectionaboutLabManagementandSafety
YingDai
Scienceistheprocessofexploringthenaturalworldthatoccursinthelaboratoryorin
thefield.Safetyinthelabisthefirstpriorityforstudentsandteachers.Toensureasafe
labexperience,studentsmustfollowtheScienceRulesfortheprotection.Andtheserules
andexpectationsshouldbegiventoeverystudenttohelpthemunderstandtheirrolesin
ensuringasafetyandeffectivescienceexperience.
Duringmyobservation,Ionlygotthechancetolistenthebiologypart.Theydidnotdo
manylabsaboutChemistryandPhysicsandtheydidnotuseanychemicalinthelab
becausetheydidnotneedthem.ThelabIobservedwasabouttheevolutionofembryos
ofdifferentanimals.Theteacherdistributedthematerialstoeachgroupbeforestudents
camein.Itwasaneasylabthatstudentsarrangedthepartsofembryosintherightorder;
theteacherdidnotchangeanythinginthelab.Fourorfivestudentsmadeuponegroup.
Atfirst,theteacheremphasizedtherulesandexpectationsofthislab.Theystartedtodo
thelabaftertheteacherensuredeverystudentwasawareoftherules.Duringthelab,
moststudentswereexcitedandsoengagedtodoit.Almosteverystudentparticipatedin
thelab.Theydecidedtherolesofmembersbythemselves.Theteacherjustwalked
aroundandprovidedguidanceandhelptostudents.Beforetheyfinishedthelab,the
teachermentionedthattheyshouldcleanuptheirdeskandresumethematerialsasthe
same.WhenIrethinkthislab,theteacherplayedtheroleofaguider;shegavestudents
opportunitiesandenoughtimetoexplorethelabbythemselves.Also,shehadagood
managementofherclassandensuredasafetyandeffectivelabexperienceforstudents.

Iwilllearnfromtheteachertoimplementthelabmoreeffectively.Itisreallyimportant
tolaunchasafetylabforstudents.Ialsolearnedalotdetailstodoalab.Thereisalittle
differentfromthelabinChina,theclassroomandlabwasseparateatourschool;the
seatswerearrangedandcannotbemoved.WhenIhandlethelab,Iwilllearntodistribute
thematerialstoeachgroupfirstinsteadofduringtheclasstimethatwillsavethetimefor
students.Inmyclass,maybetwostudentsmakeagroupnotfourorfivebecauseofthe
arrangements.Studentsmayhavebetterparticipationinthelab.Themostimportantthing
istomakesurethestudentsrealizetherulesandexpectationsofthelab,especiallyatthe
beginningofthesemesterorthefirsttimetodoalab.Iwillusethefirstclassofthe
schoolyeartomentionedlabrulesandemphasizetheimportanceofthesafetyinlab.
Doingsafetyactivitiesandmakingpostersoflabrulesmayalsohelpstudentstorealize
theimportancetofollowtherules.
Inaword,teachermayclarifytherules,enforcetherulesfrequentlyorusedifferent
strategies.Thesamegoalistomakesurestudentsexperienceasafetyandeffectivelab
time,havebetterunderstandingthescienceandexplorethenaturalworld.