Comparison of In-Person and Virtual Labs/Tutorials for Engineering Students Using Blended Learning Principles

Abstract

The paper compares the effectiveness of in-person and virtual engineering laboratory sessions. The in-person and virtual laboratory sessions reported here comprise six experiments combined with short tutorials. The virtual lab combined enquiry-based learning and gamification principles. The integration of the virtual labs with in-person teaching created a blended learning environment. The effectiveness of this approach was assessed based on (i) the student feedback (i.e., a questionnaire with open-ended questions and Likert scale feedback), (ii) the students’ engagement with the virtual lab, and (iii) the impact on the academic performance (i.e., class test results). The students reported greater confidence in the understanding of theory in the virtual lab than the in-person lab. This is interesting given that the instruction for the virtual lab and the in-person lab of one experiment is identical (i.e., same instructor, same enquiry-based learning techniques, and same explanations). The students also appreciated the ability to complete the virtual lab anytime, anywhere, for as long as they needed, and highlighted the benefits of the interactivity. The median class test scores of the students who completed some or all the virtual lab experiments was higher than those who did not (83–89% vs. 67%).

Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Online Bioinformatics and Neuroinformatics Labs

“…It is possible that this finding is related to the applied orientation of "Lab Education". "Lab Education" included several experiments and literature indicates that students have difficulties with performing experiments in virtual environments [8,11]. The majority of the students expressed preference in completing the experiments/exercises in a laboratory with a physical presence.…”

“…Further, virtual labs helped eliminate students' fear of making mistakes offering opportunities to repeat as needed. Finally, virtual labs facilitated independent learning and provided flexibility to students in terms of space and time, particularly for students who had difficulties commuting and attending a traditional lab away from their homes [8].…”

“…The strongest correlation is observed between Lab 1-Lab 2, and Lab 6-Lab 2, while the lowest, is observed between Lab 4-Lab 7 and Lab 4-Lab 10. With the application of the principal component analysis (PCA) [8] and the t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (tSNE) method [9], we tried to mine knowledge regarding the impact of gender and the previous laboratory experience on students' answers. Using two well-established dimensionality reduction algorithms, we reduced the 60-dimensional space (6 questions for 10 Labs) to a 2-dimensional space (see Figures 12 and 13), offering a visualization framework by coloring each student (circle shape) with his/her gender and previous laboratory experience.…”

Challenges and Opportunities in the Study of Cell using Virtual Online Laboratory

“…Giving of assignment on the prescribed time is a mode of discipline and time management, where students should learn these soft skills. It is best to offer both virtual and IPL learning environments to maximize student satisfaction, learning outcomes and class test performance [16].…”

Moving lab‐based in‐person training to online delivery: The case of a continuing engineering education program

“…Jones et al (2021) used free simulations, videos, and breakout sessions for online chemistry labs. Johnson and Barr (2021) recorded videos of teaching assistants conducting data acquisition to replace hands‐on experiments in online labs, while Schnieder et al (2022) had engineering students use physical equipment (e.g., stopwatches) to collect data from recorded videos. Preliminary results from these studies suggest that students often achieve comparable learning outcomes (Johnson & Barr, 2021; Ng, 2022).…”