Improvement of a laboratory course in network analysis: learning to validate knowledge in an experimental way

A laboratory course in network analysis has been thoroughly revised. Passing rates, averaged over for years, rose from 48% to 79%. The major goal of the course was to teach students to experiment and investigate in a systematic way, thus validating knowledge by themselves. This paper reports on the changes introduced and the results obtained. Important features are that difficulties that the students meet in measuring or calculation procedures are distinguished from the basic approach of investigation and practiced in separate assignments, and that the necessary information is complete, concise, general and understandable, but not cookbook-like. Help that students needed from the teaching assistants during the labs diminished considerably, leaving assessment of the logbooks as their main task