To assess student attitudes toward the inquiry and traditional lab courses, one co-author,
conducted separate one-hour end-of-semester focus groups. Student volunteers for focus
group were solicited from each laboratory section. Four focus groups were interviewed, two
groups per lab type, each containing at least 5 students (inquiry N=10; traditional N=11).
Students responded to questions designed to gauge their epistemological beliefs on the role
of students and instructors in the learning process in general, as well as specific questions
about their experience in the laboratory.