The Profile of Teachers' Performance in Designing Practical Chemistry Laboratory Works

摘要

In chemistry, laboratory works are ideal media for students to understand the connection between the unseen microscopic world and the observable macroscopic world. Laboratory experiences provide opportunities for team building, inquiry-based learning, hands-on activities, and exposure to standard laboratory equipment and technology. Many of the concepts and principles common in high school chemistry courses can actually be demonstrated or discovered through experiments performed with simple apparatus. Currently, investigations on the Indonesian teachers' performance in designing practical chemistry laboratory are still very rare. The investigation is crucial to understand the problems and challenges faced by Chemistry teachers in preparing laboratory works and to improve their performance based on the research findings. This study investigated the teachers' current practice of laboratory activities in various high schools in West Java, Indonesia. This research is a survey research with a qualitative approach. The research subjects were 27 senior high school. The instrument used in this study was a non-test in the form of a Likert scale questionnaire. The questionnaires consisted of 9 items covering the pre-laboratory activity, during laboratory activity and post-laboratory activity. It was found that the number of experiments conducted, teachers' preparation and the reflection session after laboratory works were considered sufficient. However, the teachers' awareness on the safety instruction and green chemistry approach were still low. Additionally, laboratory works that focuses on the problem-based and discovery are not popular among teachers. It is suggested that the later practical work method is introduced to teachers because this approach allows students to practice higher level analytical skills, problem solving, connection to theory and transferable skills.