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Main issues related to classroom laboratories
The term laboratory is very broad and fits an umbrella over multiple practices. Educators consider laboratory instruction a setting where students can interact with materials to better understand the world around them. The laboratory exercises are built around the chemistry concepts that students are taught, and the hands-on experiments help to construct and foster knowledge. Because laboratory instruction is so open-ended, there is no clear-cut method in effectively teaching each and every student. This creates a wide range of problems for the students' learning.

Various laboratory instruction methods
There are many ways in going about laboratory instruction, such as administering a laboratory manual, having the students undergo faculty-led research, and having the students work together in inquiry-based learning. Each one has its benefits and drawbacks.

Laboratory manual
The laboratory manual is widely used by most institutions to instruct students on how to perform specific experiments step-by-step to ensure safety, accuracy, and efficiency. The manuals include pre-lab and post-lab questions to help students to solidify and comprehend chemistry concepts that they learned in class. The manuals function similarly to a catalyst in helping to aide the student through the experiment when there is limited time in the lab. The manuals tend to have preset instructions and expected conclusions, leading to instructors calling this method, "cookbook chemistry". Institutions favor laboratory manuals since the materials for the experiment are already known and all problems within the experiment can be taken care of. This way, chemical waste and safety can be managed well, and fewer teaching assistants are needed for a large number of students. However, these manuals have been found to be ineffective in challenging the students on a cognitive level. . When comparing the questions in the laboratory manual to Bloom's Taxonomy, most questions only challenge students to repeat definitions, but never to ask students what can be done better. This results in more focus on the skills and techniques of the lab, instead of the concepts and ideas that it is supposed to enforce.

Undergraduate research
Unlike laboratory manual experiments, undergraduate research is open-ended with no guaranteed conclusion. Students are given a main project for an idea that has not yet been published, placing them in a situation more closely related to what scientists go through where there is no finite conclusion, and there is always room for improvement. Students are trained in basic laboratory skills such as rotary evaporation, nuclear magnetic resonance, and column chromatography; all of which are very useful for future graduate research or industrial research and development, but are barely touched on in classroom laboratories. After the basic skills are acquired, students can begin thinking about the next steps in the experiment.

In addition to gaining laboratory skills, the student also gains motivation from being in a research group doing work alongside other scientists, usually graduate students. The student is typically paired with a graduate student in an apprenticeship model for a more individualistic learning experience. This personal connection allows the student to feel heard even if the research group is large, and there is a specific figurehead to go to for questions. Since the graduate students are also still learning, the undergraduate understands and sees other scientists' limitations in knowledge. By working together, the student is encouraged to find solutions and is treated as a peer scientist in the group rather than just another intern. The motivating drive within the student is to see advancement in research where their work matters.

Undergraduate research requires significant expenditure in materials and staff. Each faculty-led research group only has a certain amount of monetary resources to help fund the research. There is a limit put on how much material the student can work with and how much research the student can do. Since each student is paired with a graduate student, there is also a limit on the number of mentors available to teach the students. Finally, there is a limit placed on whether or not there is undergraduate research present at the university to begin with, since only a certain number of them are research institutions.

Inquiry-based laboratory instruction
Inquiry-based learning within laboratory instruction has become more prevalent in classrooms today. Students are given a project question and must work together to form their own hypotheses and conclusions. This open-ended instruction is like undergraduate research where there is no clear-cut procedure, and students must work through problems that arise using the resources around them such as the professor, the teaching assistant, or online academic journals. Students gain motivation by working in groups, reflecting on their data and observing the multiple conclusions that other group members formulate, bringing about debate and collaboration to construct their own knowledge. By utilizing their sources, solid scientific evidence can be formed, data can be developed and explained, and the students can leave the project with the ability to communicate and defend their conclusions.

Because inquiry-based laboratory instruction can result in experiments going many different ways, numerous materials must be used, putting a resource strain on the institutions. The instructor should be flexible and patient in trying to work through problems alongside the students without revealing answers. Too much time cannot go towards one project, when a wide array of topics need to be covered in lecture and in lab. Finally, a large knowledge base of the content is needed before proceeding with any inquiry-based project, giving institutions more of a reason to go with the cheap and efficient laboratory manual.

Microscale versus macroscale
The transformation of laboratory experiments conducted in classroom laboratories has changed in volume size. Since the 1970s, the large macroscale experiments are much less emphasized in the classroom, and microscale experiments are used more commonly due to its attractive low cost in materials, waste management, time, and safety. More recent textbooks have the option to choose from a macroscale or microscale experiment, as long as the necessary topics are covered. However, these microscale techniques do not cover what is performed in industrial labs, where macroscale techniques are used more often.