THE LINK BETWEEN THE LABORATORY AND LEARNING

There is a story, perhaps apocryphal, that when a caller expressed int erest in seeing his laboratory, Cavendish ordered his butler to bring it in on a tray. That was two hundred years ago, and science laborator ies have grown far beyond that, encompassing whole institutions. Even in schools they are commonly large, well-equipped rooms, expensive to establish and maintain, served by specialist assistants. Despite the c ost, laboratories are so embedded in the practice of science teaching it is difficult to imagine doing without them. Yet their purpose is no t universally agreed, and evdence of their effect is equivocal.