LABS: HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE BUILT RIGHT INTO YOUR DEGREE
What is lab, anyway?
At Waterloo, a lab is the experiential component of a course. It's your opportunity to apply the knowledge you're learning in the classroom to the real world.
For example, the best way to learn anatomy is through hands-on examination of the human body, using real human cadavers. Starting in first year, you'll have the unique opportunity to investigate the musculoskeletal system in our human anatomy lab.
Our lab class size is typically 15 to 20 students.
Our labs are taught by full-time lab instructors and may also include teaching assistance from upper-year undergraduate students and graduate students.
The room is often divided into workstations, with smaller groups of four or five students at each station.
You'll learn how to use state-of-the art equipment and graduate with experience administering the physical tests that are used in clinical settings.
Some of the labs you'll take include:
HUMAN ANATOMY LAB
At some schools, anatomy class mostly involves memorizing anatomical sketches from a textbook or examining plastic models. Not at Waterloo. You'll get to learn and review human anatomy using real, pre-dissected human cadavers – right from your first year.
FUNDAMENTALS OF KINESIOLOGY LAB
Gain experience with administering physical analysis and assessment techniques in the components of human movement, flexibility, muscular strength and endurance and the cardiovascular system.
FUNDAMENTALS OF NEUROSCIENCE LAB
Learn the basic structure and function of the nervous system as it relates to the control of movement and behaviour. Assessments include balance control, reaction times, motor learning, and electromyography (EMG) – the measurement of electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles.
BIOMECHANICS OF HUMAN MOVEMENT LAB
Understand human movement from a biomechanical perspective. Analyses include rigid link segment models, centre of mass measurement, and the effects of forces on human motion.
EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY AND METABOLISM LAB
Use physical assessment and measurement to understand the physiological and metabolic responses of the body to exercise and how the body adapts to exercise training. Gain experience in the administration of common assessment techniques such as VO2 max and Wingate testing.
