Get the most out of pracs and labs
In your degree, you may spend time performing ‘hands-on’ learning activities in ‘pracs’ and ‘labs’: practical environments such as laboratories, site visits or field work.
Activities in practical environments are designed to help you to:
- explore your theoretical knowledge
- apply your theoretical understanding to practical problems
- use techniques and equipment safely and correctly
- develop skills to manage resources and time
Learning in practical environments often has three phases:
- Preliminary work or ‘pre-practical’, which involves preparing for the exercise.
- During the practical where you will perform the activity under guidance.
- A post-practical exercise where you write up the work in the form of a report or presentation. The purpose of this is to clarify and fully understand what you have done and what the practical has demonstrated.
Note: Sometimes a practical can unfold over multiple sessions and the three phases may apply over an extended period.