MODULE 01: Management of Science Laboratories and Resources

SCE 3112 MANAGEMENT OF SCIENCE LABORATORIES

AND RESOURCES

MODULE
Management of Science Laboratory
01

SYNOPSIS

The purpose of this module is to enhance knowledge and understanding about

Management of Science Laboratories and Teaching-Learning Resources. This unit will
discuss the organization structure of science laboratory management committee, the
role and responsibilities of the science laboratory staff, the process of budgeting,
ordering and purchasing, stock keeping, the procedure for disposal, and planning and
designing of science laboratory.

LEARNING OUTCOME:

Upon completion of this unit, you will be able to:

1. Construct the organisation chart of science commitee.

2. Study and identify the duties of each member of science commitee and science
laboratory staff.

3. Explain the allocation of funds for acquiring science equipment, apparatus and
materials.

4. Plan and estimate the budget for your school science laboratory referring to
official circulars, price quotation forms, order and payment forms.

5. Describe the procedures in acquiring science equipment and materials.

6. Practise skills relating to checking, recording, controlling movement, planning of

the ordering of stock and updating records of broken, damaged and lost
apparatus/equipments.

7. Identify the correct procedures of disposal and write-off of assets.

8. Design and describe an ideal school science laboratory/science room.

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Introduction

Science laboratory is always synonymous to science teaching and learning. Science

teaching and learning in schools will be incomplete without practical activities.
Science concepts and theories are rather abstract as such the students need to carry
out investigative activities to help them understand those abstract concept and theories.
Besides these practical activities are conducive in developing students’ science process
skills as well as inculcate scientific thinking and learn how and what do a scientist work.
Science practical activities need to be conducted in a specially prepared science room or
a science laboratory.

Organisational Structure of Staff

Basic knowledge and an adequate understanding of management of science laboratory

will provide you with a great experience in preparing effective learning of basic science
process scientifically.

Good management of a science laboratory will help you to ensure that the laboratory
achieves its intended purposes – to enhance and consolidate the theoretical science
teaching in classrooms. On the other hand, if a science laboratory is poorly managed, it
not only will fail to achieve its intended purposes but will probably affect the students
interest and enthusiasm in learning science.

Systematic science laboratory management includes the following aspects:

a. Organization of science committee

b. Budgeting

c. Ordering and purchasing

d. Stock keeping – general maintenance

e. Specific maintenance, storage and procedures for write off and

disposal

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Organization of Science Committee for Science Teachers

Who are responsible in the management of science laboratory/room in your school?

The flow chart below shows a common organization of science committee in school.

HEADMASTER

SENIOR SCIENCE
TEACHER

SENIOR SUBJECT SCIENCE

TEACHERS TEACHERS

LAB ASSISTANTS &

ATTENDANTS

Science committee for science teachers is responsible in managing of teaching and

learning in science room/lab and to all science co-curriculum activities.
Management of expenses and budgeting is usually handled by the headmaster
and assisted by their senior science teacher based on the planning and
requirement of the school.

Senior science teacher or head of science committee (panitia) will handle and prepare
all science equipments and materials according to the procedures and
requirements.

As a science teacher, you have to familiarize yourself with the activity to be performed
so that you know how the lab needs to be set up and what materials to have on
hand. You’ll also need to be prepared to enforce all safety rules and allow
sufficient cleanup time.

Responsibilities and Duties of the science staff

Cooperation and accountability of the committee members will help science teaching
and learning to occur smoothly and effectively for student benefits.

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The table below shows you the responsibilities of each member of the science
committee in school.

Committee member Responsibility

Headmaster/principal • overall supervision of laboratory management

• to see that the laboratory is properly managed
• to make decisions on all matters concerned with the
laboratories including budgeting and expenses
• frequent consultation with the senior science teacher

Senior Science • People who work in the science laboratories

Teacher • Give advise to the headmaster about any decision made
• Must be expert on all matters related to the science laboratory
• See that all instructions and rules are strictly adhered to by all
staff of the laboratories

Senior subject teacher • Appointed to see to each category of laboratory (not

applicable in primary school)
• To help the senior science teacher
• To look after the administration of his science laboratory

Science Teachers • To supply information to the senior science teachers on any

need in the laboratories
• Immediately responsible to the senior science teacher

Laboratory assistants • In charge of general cleanliness of the laboratory

and attendants • Supplying and setting up apparatus for any practical lesson
• Responsible to the senior subject teachers

For more details on the science committee member responsibility

you are suggested to make a reference to PPK (1999),
Pengurusan Dan Keselamatan Makmal Sains Sekolah, PPK: KL

State some of the duties of a laboratory

assistant. (there is no lab assistant in primary
school)

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Acquiring and Purchasing Science Equipment and Materials

Budgeting - Plan and estimate Expenses

Planning of annual budget is important in order to ensure all science equipments and
materials needed are available for a proper science teaching and learning. Budgeting
for the year is usually done in the year before. In preparing the annual budget, you have
to consider the following points:

• Check all stock of science equipment and materials

• Equipment / non consumable materials costs.
• Running costs to maintain levels of stocks and other expandable materials.
• List of equipments and materials need to purchase based on their priority
• Information about number of student enrolment for expected of allocation to be
given
• Prepare price quotation for all equipments and materials to be purchased

For primary school, all science equipments and materials are acquired through

i. Central contract purchase – which is handled by Bahagian Pembangunan dan

Bekalan, Kementerian Pendidikan. Please refer to Surat Pekeliling Bahagian
Pembangunan dan Bekalan, Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia, Bil 1/Tahun
1980, dated 27 October 1980, for further detail.

ii. Direct purchase – Please refer to Pekeliling Kewangan 3/95 – KP

1573/17/Jld.10/(39 ) and Buku Garis Panduan Perakaunan dan Kewangan
Sekolah, Kementerian Pendidikan, 1994

iii. Other resources – schools are encouraged to add and supplement the
equipments, science materials and teaching and learning resources from other
sources such as PTA/PIBG.

Plan and estimate the expenses for your school science

laboratory. Try to work out how the allocation of funds for
science laboratory are distributed to school.

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Ordering and Purchasing Science Equipments and Materials

When the item you want to purchase is identified, you have to follow the standards
procedure in acquiring equipment and science materials as required by the
Government.

The flowchart below shows the procedures to be followed when making ordering and
purchasing of science equipment and materials for your school science room.

Estimates of annual
allocation and >RM50,000-100,000
budgeting
Direct
purcha < RM10000 mana-mana
No
se pembekal Obtaining quotation
Contra RM 10000-50000 pembekal
List of material and ct List berdaftar B
equipment Yes

Ordering Meeting to select the

supplier
Identify the quantity
required

Receiving
Prepare a list of
Approval from the material/equipment
headmaster/ based on the
principal chosen suppliers
Recording into
the stock book

Check Prepare a priority list

whether Confirmation of
equipment is No invoice for
in the payment
Central
Contract List

Yes

Describe the procedures you follow in acquiring equipment and

science materials which cost less than RM 500 for your school
science laboratory.
Explain the steps to be taken before you sign the delivery order
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 MODULE 01: Management of Science Laboratories and Resources

Stock management

Stock Keeping

In some schools, there are no proper record for stock keeping of science equipments
and materials as required. This situation will invite various problems in verifying the
availability of the equipment and materials when needed. Therefore, stock keeping is
important in order to check, to identify, to up date , to manage the science laboratory
effectively and to plan the annual budget.

As science teacher you should know that, all science equipments and materials received
or removed have to be recorded as instructed in Pekeliling Perbendaharaan Bil. 2 Tahun
1991- Penggunaan Borang Baru Bagi Pengurusan Harta Modal, Inventori dan Bekalan
Pejabat, S(K&B)(2.00)735/3/1-68 Jld.6(SEM)/(3) dated 9 February 1999 by using the
respective form indicated in bracket below.

Do you know how many stock book should the lab have in your school?

Usually there are four Stock Books used for keeping of stock records:

• Register of property – to record all non-perishable items worth RM500.00 and

more (KEW 312 and 312A). Can you give few examples of these items found in
the lab?

• Inventory – to record all non-perishable items worth less than RM500.00

(KEW 313). Name several examples of the items which commonly have in the
science classroom/laboratory.

• Register of office supplies – to record all perishable items (equipments and

chemical materials) which are cheap and not economic to detect their used in
detail. (KEW 314). List some examples of the items in your science classroom.

• Register of mobile properties and inventories – to record the movement of all the
properties and inventory (KEW 315)

Beside these four stock record books, science labs are also required to have two more
books which are useful to help you in updating and checking stock. These books are

• Book of breakages – to record all broken, damaged and lost equipments or

apparatus;

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• Disposal Records of Science Equipment – to keep track that all the disposal
procedures have been followed accordingly. (Please refer to Buku Panduan
Penerimaan Peralatan Sains Sekolah Rendah dan Tindakan Kuatkuasaan Bagi
Kontrak Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia, 1994)

(Please refer to appendix for the example of forms used for keeping stocks)

To get more detail information on this section and on how to

use all the forms, you can read Chapter 5 of PPK (1999),
Pengurusan dan Keselamatan Makmal Sains Sekolah, PPK,
K.Lumpur.

Write off and disposal

Sometimes it does happen that you cannot get or cannot use certain equipment or
apparatus in the lab while there is a record of its availability in the stock or they are not in
a good condition as expected. These equipments may be lost or removed without trace
of damaged, rotten, spoilt, broken and old.

What are you going to do in these cases? You may consider to write off or dispose it!

Procedure for writing off:

You might suggest to write off if the property which is no longer available in stock due to
lost because of theft, cheating or carelessness of the staff. The school head needs to
follow the write off procedure as listed in the Arahan Perbendaharaan 314 and 315: The
procedures are

• Make a police report immediately and get a copy of the report

• Prepare a lost report using treasury’s form (Form J) Arahan Perbendaharaan
316 and sent this form together with the police report to :
- Ketua Setiausaha,
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia
(u.p.: Bahagian Kewangan)

- Ketua Setiausaha,
Kementerian Kewangan Malaysia
(u.p.: Bahagian Pentadbiran)

• Send a copy of the report to :

- Akauntan Negara
- Ketua Audit Negara and Wakil Tempatan Ketua Audit Negara
- Pejabat Audit Sekolah
- Pegawai Pendidikan Daerah/ Pegawai Pendidikan Bahagian

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- Jabatan Pendidikan Negeri

- Bahagian Sekolah/ Jabatan Pendidikan Teknikal.

• Carry out full investigation and prepare a final report using treasury’s form (Form
K). Arahan Perbendaharaan 317.
• Send the report to all the authority stated above.
• Get the approval to write off from Ketua Setiausaha, Kementerian Pendidikan
Malaysia for property less than RM20,000 per unit or a total value of RM200,000.
For property exceeding RM20,000 per unit or a total value of RM200,000
approval must come from Ketua Setiausaha Perbendaharaan Malaysia.

If you notice there are a number of apparatus or science materials that are old,
condemned, broken or spoilt., what will you do with these items?

Of course you have to carry out a disposal procedure to eliminate the record of such
materials from the stock. There are two ways to carry out disposal i.e. through
“Lembaga Pemeriksa” or without going through the “Lembaga Pemeriksa”.

Procedure for disposal

Disposal of apparatus or materials valued more than RM10,000 per unit must go through
“Lembaga Pemeriksa” which consists of at least two senior officers who are not directly
in the science stock management.

Disposal of apparatus or materials valued more than RM100 per unit or a total value of
RM5000 is done by the senior science teacher filling in the form (Kew 300V) and send
to “Bahagian Kewangan, Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia” through the state education
department. For value less than RM100 per unit or total value of RM5000 the form has
to be sent to Pengarah Pendidikan Negeri/ Pengarah Bahagian Sekolah/ Pengarah
Pendidikan Teknikal.

To get a more detail information on this section , you can read

in Chapter 6 of PPK (1999), Pengurusan dan Keselamatan
Makmal Sains Sekolah, PPK, K.L.

Build a flow chart to show the write-off process of

equipment in the science laboratory.

Why is it that we need to record breakages even though we

have stock registration book?

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Planning and Designing of Science Laboratory

Concept of Science Laboratory

Primary school science room is a classroom where the teaching and learning of science
can be conducted. This room should have the basic facilities necessary for carrying out
science activities such as science experiments, demonstration and project works. The
basic facilities required for a science room include the suitable stools and tables,
cabinets, water and electricity supply as well as essential science apparatus and
equipments.

Primary school science laboratory is a specially designed room for students to carry out
their practical activities individually or in pairs. Besides the practical works, this
laboratory is designed to cater for other activities such as lectures, demonstrations,
group discussions, report writing etc. As such, the main features of a laboratory should
consist of stools and benches for activities, supply of water, gas and electricity to the
benches, designated room for preparation of experiment materials, place for non-
movable equipments, display facilities for exhibiting models and charts, cupboards for
storing materials and apparatus.

Look around your school science room, draw a layout plan

of your school science room.
List the facilities, science apparatus and equipments that
are available for students to carry out their practical
activities.

Given below is a sample layout of a secondary school science laboratory

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( Adopted from: W.F. Archenhold,

E.W. Jenkins, C. Wood-
Robinson(1977), School Science
Laboratories, John Murray:
London)

Look around your school science room, compare the

science room layout with the laboratory layout given
above.

List the similarities and differences between your school

science room and the laboratory given.

In addition to all the above considerations, there are other factors such as the size of
science room or laboratory, its lighting, ventilation, noise level which must be pleasant
and suitable for proper practical activities to be carried out.

What are the features and functions of a primary school

science laboratory that need to be changed to meet the
needs of present and future generations of students in
your school?

Nowadays almost every type of services has a mobile unit for example the mobile hand
phone, mobile library, mobile toilet etc. It is natural that science laboratory also follow the
trend. What type of mobile laboratory do you think would be useful for our primary school
students?

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Based on the concept of science laboratory you have learnt in

this unit, suggest what are the features you would include in
the designing of a mobile laboratory for the teaching of
primary school science?

Briefly explain what is the function(s) of each feature.

Smart School Science Laboratory

Smart school was first introduced in Malaysia in 1980. What is the significance to the
teaching and learning of science? Do you think school science labs should be upgraded
so that it could provide smart learning?

So how does a smart science laboratory looks like? It could be characterized by their:

• Accessibility and flexibility in design, facilities and functions

• Technology-based - Integrating of Information Communication Technology such
as using microcomputer-based in which students will be able to visualize various
scientific concepts and also promote active learning.
• User friendly – in terms of space, situation, environment, availability of materials,
and services.
• Safety measures – highly guarded with standard safety rules in all aspects.

Based on your school science laboratory, list down any

signs of smart characteristics that can be enhanced as
smart science laboratory.

Smart Science Classroom Designs

A Smart Classroom is an interactive learning environment where computers and other

electronic devices are the primary information delivery systems. Teachers serve as

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facilitators who personalize and individualize the learning opportunities of students.

Electronic portfolios hold student products. Computer-assisted instruction provides
immediate assessment and feedback. Students can access a wide range of information
sources via internet. Internet access is available in every classroom in the school.

Technology is thoroughly integrated with the core curriculum and state frameworks.
Students are exposed to a variety of technology applications including multi-media
productions, use of data bases, video production, satellite television, instructional
software, distance learning, and teacher-authored software. Smart Science Classrooms,
could provide our students with extraordinary opportunities for learning.

Let us explore an example in USA.

Blackstock's Smart Science Classroom, and Technology Lab 2000 are examples of an
eighth grade science programs, incorporating computer activity and multi-media
instructional techniques in all aspects of their operation. The science classrooms are all
unique in design, but they function on a multi-media platform that includes: computer
networks, VCRs, laser disk players and CD-ROMs. Technology plays a vital role in the
science curriculum. The teacher assumes the role of a facilitator and technology is the
tool that delivers the curriculum. The science student can be observed working on a
Mineral Unit utilizing a variety of approaches: laser disk - visual examples of mineral
terms; software -"Murphy's Minerals" - students are miners searching for valuable
minerals; hands-on activity -students identify minerals using scales, streakplates and
hardness kits. As students study space, they journey into the solar system via teacher-
directed laser disk programs. Working in groups, they search for a lost space probe that
has landed on one of the planets. Students may journey with the Apollo 11 astronauts,
observing, discussing, describing, and analyzing objects and events they encounter
along the way.

Blackstock's science program heartily reflects the National Goal of USA to have their
students rank first in the world in scientific and technological achievement. The science
department embraces scientific literacy, the ability to develop critical thinking and
problem-solving skills, to use scientific methods and to make aesthetic judgments. We
integrate science topics across all curricular areas, including language arts and
mathematics. The Smart Science Classrooms are alive with the sounds of students
using word processors to record their observations and to write their laboratory reports.
Printers are busy with science newsletters, banners, and signs. Students study the
metric system, read and draw graphs and charts, and measure and calibrate distance
both on and off their computer systems

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Adapted from : http://blackstock.huensd.k12.ca.us/html/rm_sci.htm

Do you think we could adopt and adapt the above example in our science classroom or
science laboratory?

Look at the following example of a sitting layout of how a smart science classroom could
look like. Which do you think you could use in your own classroom?

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.
Adapted from : Spencer Kagan : Cooperative Learning

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Adapted from : Poh Swee Hiang : Pedagogi 4: Pengurusan Makmal dan Sumber Sains

http://blackstock.huensd.k12.ca.us/html/rm_sci.htm

The above illustration shows an example of how students can access and carry out
investigation in a virtual chemistry laboratory.

Can you suggest the advantages and disadvantages of carrying

out experiment or science investigation in virtual laboratory?

Well done, take a break now!

Time for a cup of coffee

Oops!! That’s the end.

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Appendix

• Register of Property (KEW 312 & KEW 312A)

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• Register of Inventory (KEW 313)

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• Register of Office Supplies (KEW 314)

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• Register of Mobile Properties and Inventories (KEW 315)

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• Books of breakages

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