X-DBER 2021 Conference

Problem-based learning (PBL) advocates self-directed learning by students, needing them to generate laboratory procedure by themselves. Students in the learning phase need support, especially when they are transitioning to the inquiry-based labs such as PBL. This talk will be based on the strategies for developing scaffolds to help students carry out a meaningful laboratory investigation. Multiple scaffolding strategy should be used for a more effective outcome, and these scaffolds should be distributed across the entire task, i.e., the pre-lab, lab, and the post-lab work. The talk will include the strategies for use of a combination of soft and hard scaffolds so that the laboratory investigation in a PBL environment is accomplished as intended. Without appropriate support, the cognitively complex of the task may lead students to frustration. I will give examples of the PBL module on indigo dyeing wastewater treatment in undergraduate chemistry laboratory and the scaffolds that were introduced for this task.