lab assistant operation manual

Welcome lab assistants!

Lab assistants play a critical role at our high school. They help maintain the classroom, help students, create and maintain experiments, and can even co-teach on occasion. They can also complete safe research projects of their own design. For each lab assistant your teacher will meet with you and we can create a plan tailored to your needs.

Lab assistants have things they do each day, as well as short term and long term projects.

Safety is paramount! Wear gloves and goggles and an apron when working with chemicals. Inform me of any spills or concerns. Don’t work with chemicals in the stockroom during the first quarter- your independence will grow with time.

Instructions:

Each day:

• -help with attendance

• -clear off and wipe down benches (keep in place anything being used for that class).

• -spray and wipe down white boards

• - same for the stockroom- keep it neat and tidy. You may organize it as you like, though chemicals require a fixed system. Always work with the door open for safety.

• have a look at the classroom grid- any notes for you for the day can be found there, and you can see what will be going on in that class for the week

• -any dirty glassware goes on a cart and then gets washed in B217

• -extra chemicals go in the stockroom then get transported to B217 for restocking

• assist the students to the extent that you are comfortable.

• keep a list of supplies we need for next year

• -log what you did each day- this is how your grade is determined.

• Important notes- work as independently as you can. If I am teaching, I may not be able to answer questions right away. Any time you have some free time is a good opportunity to work on homework for other classes. You can also go visit the other science teachers and see if they need any assistance- they love that.

• Note also that you may be given some access to editing the website, use of the photocopier, and some classroom applications that do not involve grading- keep any passwords in a safe place and don’t share them with anyone.

• Once class has begun:

• -assist the students to the extent that you are comfortable

• help keep everyone safe- an extra pair of eyes helps.

Short term projects:

• Help entering grades and grading things like multiple choice tests, under teacher supervision.

• Help creating and setting up each lab

• Help take down labs when complete

• Keep experimental chemicals refilled

long term projects :

• -print out 2 copies of SDS forms for all labs. One will go in a tabbed notebook organized by lab, the other directly in the lab box if it exists.

• - serious organization and labeling of the stockroom and classroom

• -all dirty glassware needs to be removed from the shelves and washed.

• - all kits need to be re-done: nicely labeled, safe, with the lab and all sds sheets inside.

• - a binder needs to be created for each class that is organized by unit and includes copies of each experiment. Make an extra copy for the kit.

• -the class website needs lots of work and maintenance, for which you will receive credit- this can show up on your resume. See me for details.

Your course will evolve as it becomes clear how much responsibility you can take on and what your interests are. It is going to be a great year.

Welcome aboard! -Dr B