Unfiltered Story #248223

I am a foreign teacher in an International (English) department in China. We have just started a new semester, and I am introducing students to science class. We have spent two weeks on the Scientific Method, plus I had some extra class time the previous semester, so I also taught an introductory lesson about the Scientific Method at that time.

By now, students know that a formal lab report involves several sections named after the various steps of the Method: Question, Background, Hypothesis, Method, Results, Discussion, and Recommendation for Further Study.

In order to teach the Scientific Method, we have used several different lab experiments, and the students have to submit paperwork about each of them. One of the assignments is to select several simple experiments from a list, and do them at home. Then they have to write what they observe and what they learn about it, and submit their papers to me online.

I have had this conversation at least five times every day, both in person and online, with students from all of my science classes (and often with the same student more than once). I am getting tired of repeating it, hence my closing remarks.

Student: [My Name]
Student: need we use all the process in the lab report
Student: like
Student: question
Student: background information
Student: hypothesis
Student: and so on?
Student: all just write it freely to express all the process in the experiment
Student: ?
Me: Which lab report? We’re looking at three right now.
Student: [choose from the list]
Me: For that one, just write results and discussion.
Student: OK
Student: i wrote 1500 words totally with almost all the process :crying emoji:
Me: Let that be a lesson, that you need to pay more attention in class. I’ve said at least three times from the front, including a message earlier this week to the group chat, that you do not need to do that.
Student: OK
Student: allright
Student: thanks
Me: You’re welcome.