Introduction

While the first section of this volume introduced the reader to the importance of the design of the laboratory and physical context for effective science learning, the second section of this volume centers on the current status of research on the impact of the laboratory on student learning. Overall, the authors in this section describe impact on student learning utilizing nontraditional pedagogy, primarily from a constructivist perspective. The section begins in chapter 4 with a description by Billie Eilam of the impact of long-term laboratory inquiry on student understanding of ecology. Eilam advocates the use of longterm laboratory inquiry to address barriers to student learning resulting from the typical fractionated nature of short-term, individual laboratory experiences. In chapter 5, Sule Ozkan, Jale Cakiroglu, and Ceren Tekkaya describe the impact of students' perceptions of the laboratorylearning environment on student learning. In chapter 6, Andrea Gay reports on the impact of a constructivist write-to-learn technique using student construction of meaning in organic chemistry. The final chapter in this section written by Tarek Daoud and Saouma BouJaoude examine the effect of using the Vee Heuristic, a visual graphic organizing learning tool, on students' meaningful learning in physics laboratories.