The following is a list of aspects of a pre-laboratory discussion guided, but not overtly directed, by an instructor.

• Discuss beginning questions (as a class)
• Discuss safety and procedural concerns (as a class)
• Assign their own work groups (usually pairs or groups of four, depending on the task)
• Decide what data to gather and how to accomplish it
• Prepare a classroom data grid to be completed by the different collaborating groups
• Determine among themselves which group(s) should be responsible for individual tasks—collecting original data, making replications, etc.