Background
The Grow Lab is a science laboratory, used exclusively by students from three master’s courses and PhD programmes. These students come from diverse professional backgrounds, usually with little or no experience scientific methods and laboratory work. The primary challenge is to support these students in conducting independent laboratory work safely and confidently.
Evaluation
We try to follow a problem-based style of instruction (Domin, 1999) where students apply their knowledge to design experiments and procedures. This means that, to work in the lab they must propose an idea, research literature, suggest a method or feasible in the space, execute, draw conclusions and refine it for the final project.
Our main strategy to address these challenges is the “scientific consultation” – a bookable 20-minutes one-to-one session between students and technicians to discuss their needs, questions and elaborate plans and protocols.
We provide a series of online resources (equipment, material, organisms lists, guides protocols) to support their planning and lab sessions. Additionally, we created a step-by-step form covering essential elements of a lab experiment, organized by sessions.
When students come to a lab session, we will teach and demonstrate procedures, supervise their work and discuss situations that arise. My personal approach is to always ground scientific explanations in something familiar such as their senses, personal interest or professional background, a form of tacit knowledge (Polanyi 1966).
Student’s feedback consistently praises and highlights the consultation model. However, we have limited weekly slots. Student’s most common complaint/request is for more consultations available per week.
Moving forwards
Reflecting on our practice, there are three basic strategies I would like to implement:
- Foundational laboratory sessions
- New mandatory inductions for all first-years covering basic laboratory
- Practical introduction of the physical space and rules
- Dependant on alignment with courses, very demanding of technicians
- Has been agreed but not implemented yet
- Consultation days arranged with courses
- We don’t have the capacity to do more consultations (12/week).
- Close the lab for a couple days in the beginning of the term, an create days fully dedicated to consultations – no lab work, 20 consultations in a day
- We would support more students in the beginning of a project or brief, avoiding bottlenecks and delays of activities awaiting for an available bookable slot
- Weekly slots still available for follow ups and new ideas.
- First test with one course was very successful, being praised and receiving positive feedback by students
- Intend to expand to other courses
- AI Integration in science consultation
- Students increasingly use AI for research and protocol development, leading to inaccurate and sometimes dangerous information and proposals
- Rather than discourage, would like to incorporate AI prompting during consultations
- Critically evaluate suggestions together
- Create/ reffer a guide for good AI use for laboratory practices with good vs bad prompting examples
- Enforce UAL guidelines for AI (UAL, nd)
- Link best AIs to be used, and other resources
This reflection clarifies the importance of extending my role beyond answering questions to developing scientific independence. As elaborated by Cleary (2024), the regular conversations between student and technician have a fundamental role in development of critical reflection and thinking. Future practice will emphasize structured support focused in autonomy in the science for the creative exploration.
References
Domin, D.S. (1999) ‘A review of laboratory instruction styles’, Journal of Chemical Education, 76(4), pp. 543–547.
Cleary, V. (2026). Thinking through making: What kinds of learning take place when HE students engage with creative arts technicians? Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education, 25(1), pp. 7–26. https://doi.org/10.1386/adch_00087_1
Polanyi, M. (1966) The Tacit Dimension. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul (cited in Cleary, V., 2026).
University of the Arts London (no date) AI and Arts Education. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/about-ual/learning-and-teaching/digital-learning/ai-and-education (Accessed: 22 March 2026).