PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

In Germany, more than 300 student labs have been founded at universities, science centres or companies. In these out-of-school learning environments, students can conduct scientific inquiry with authentic equipment, thereby fostering students’ interest in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Out-of-school student labs are noted for their positive effects on students’ motivational variables. Nevertheless, there has been no research that directly compares a regular class and an out-of-school student lab with respect to motivational variables. Therefore, we asked one sample of students about their situational interest and a second sample of students about their intrinsic motivation, comparing a regular biology class and a workshop in an out-of-school student lab. Our first sample comprised 197 students (58.2% female, Mage = 16.80 years, SDage = 0.80 years). Our second sample comprised 187 students (64.7% female, Mage = 16.94 years, SDage = 0.88 years). Students in basic-level biology courses as well as students in advanced-level biology courses reported higher situational interest and higher intrinsic motivation in the student lab, with medium to high effect sizes. Consequently, both the less and more educated students benefit from visiting the student laboratory. As one task of school education is to foster students’ interest, our results underline that out-of-school labs provide valuable support for the school system.