Solving the Laboratory Dilemma in Distance Learning General Chemistry

Reeves, Jimmy; Kimbrough, Doris R.

doi:10.24059/olj.v8i3.1820

Cited by 14 publications

(22 citation statements)

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“…The development of an online learning community that allows for peer collaboration has also been demonstrated as a best practice (Garman, 2012;Lowe, Berry, Murray, & Euan, 2009;Palloff & Pratt, 2013). Student surveys from online laboratory courses have highlighted the importance of a well-organized calendar for the course that includes hyperlinks to the laboratory activities, assessments, and deliverables (Reeves & Kimbrough, 2004). For remote laboratory exercises, following industry standards regarding technology platforms ensures students develop skills that are easily transferable and not outdated (Esquembre, 2015).…”

Section: Non-traditional Lab Course Design Suggestionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review to Weigh the Pros and Cons of Online, Remote, and Distance Science Laboratory Experiences

Faulconer

Gruss

2018

IRRODL

121

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The effectiveness of traditional face to face labs versus non-traditional online, remote, or distance labs is difficult to assess due to the lack of continuity in the literature between terminology, standard evaluation metrics, and the use of a wide variety non-traditional laboratory experience for online courses. This narrative review presents a representative view of the existing literature in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of non-traditional laboratories and to highlight the areas of opportunity for research.Non-traditional labs are increasingly utilized in higher education. The research indicates that these non-traditional approaches to a science laboratory experience are as effective at achieving the learning outcomes as traditional labs. While this is an important parameter, this review outlines further important considerations such as operating and maintenance cost, growth potential, and safety. This comparison identifies several weaknesses in the existing literature. While it is clear that traditional labs aid in the development of practical and procedural skills, there is a lack of research exploring if non-traditional laboratory experiments hinder student success in subsequent traditional labs. Additionally, remote lab kits blur the lines between modality by bringing experiences that are more tactile to students outside of the traditional laboratory environment. Though novel work on non-traditional labs continues to be published, investigations are still needed regarding cost differences, acquisition of procedural skills, preparation for advanced work, and instructor contact time between traditional and non-traditional laboratories.

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Section: Non-traditional Lab Course Design Suggestionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review to Weigh the Pros and Cons of Online, Remote, and Distance Science Laboratory Experiences

Faulconer

Gruss

2018

IRRODL

121

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“… virtual laboratories calling for student set up and work with virtual equipment  hands-on laboratories requiring students to set up and complete laboratories at home  simulation laboratories using virtual activities without student setup  remote laboratories allowing students to use laboratory equipment at another location Studies have compared online and face-to-face laboratories (Brinson, 2015;Gilman, 2006;Johnson, 2002;Klahr, Triona, & Williams, 2007;Lin, Liang, & Tsai, 2012;Nickerson, Corter, Esche, & Chassapis, 2007;Pyatt & Sims, 2011;Reeves & Kimbrough, 2004;Shegog, Lazarus, Murray, Diamond, Sessions, & Zsifmond, 2012;Stucky-Mickell & Stuckey-Danner, 2007;Swan & O'Donnell, 2009) and found many positive aspects of such activities. Adding videos is one recommendation that exists for improving online laboratories (Clary & Wandersee, 2010).…”

Section: Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research by Reeves and Kimbrough (2004) compared at-home with traditional laboratories. They designed an introductory chemistry course with at-home laboratory activities and determined if students learned by using course grades and laboratory practical results in the areas of procedure, data presentation, data analysis, and overall.…”

Section: Online Laboratory Effectivenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their results showed that home laboratories can allow students to experience learning results similar to traditional laboratories (Reeves & Kimbrough, 2004).…”

Section: Online Laboratory Effectivenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, factors of importance to students in at-home laboratories emerged from the work of Reeves and Kimbrough (2004). These include course organization, relevance by using home materials, quizzes and homework, and laboratory report writing to make ideas more clear and understandable.…”

Section: Supportmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Online Laboratory Introductions to Promote Student Interactions with Two Science and Engineering Practices of the Next Generation Science Standards

Howlett¹

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Graduate College. iv DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my two children, Anna and Joseph Howlett, who remind me daily how important problem solving and life-long learning are. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge all those who helped me to achieve my educational goals; including my family, professors, colleagues, and friends. vi ABSTRACT Online science courses are becoming increasingly available to K-12 students in the United States. With the utilization of these courses, it is important to facilitate student completion of laboratories as well as student interest in and use of the science and engineering practices (SEPs) of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). This exploratory research provided online laboratory introductions to help students interact with the content and the instructor. The research studied if the laboratory introductions led students to ask questions about laboratories, complete laboratories, and think about and use two NGSS SEPs, specifically analyzing and interpreting data and constructing explanations and designing solutions. Archived data provided information for the background of the study. The intervention class experienced introductions to the content, procedures, and focus NGSS SEPs for online laboratories. The researcher studied qualitative and quantitative data and determined there was an increase in student completion of the laboratories in general as well as identifiable impacts on student questions and thoughts about and use of the NGSS SEPs of focus. Data included pre-and post-course surveys, student laboratory questions, laboratory completion rates, laboratory scores, and laboratory answer analyses.

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Converting an Environmental Sampling Methods Lecture/Laboratory Course into an Inquiry-Based Laboratory Experience during the Transition to Distance Learning

Mirowsky

2020

J. Chem. Educ.

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In mid-March 2020, due to the novel coronavirus, my 300-level Environmental Sampling Methods lecture/laboratory course transitioned to distance learning. After this move, the primary focus of the course became the laboratory. To do this, I revised my three remaining laboratory exercises (i.e., water quality, soil quality, environmental microbes) and created two new ones (i.e., toxicology, ultraviolet radiation). For the students to complete the experiments, I shipped low-cost equipment and supplies to them; this shipment included Petri plates and sampling swabs, sterile water, a pH meter and associated calibration powders, a total dissolved solids meter, clay and sand samples, conical tubes, sampling baggies, cyanotype printing paper, and lettuce seeds. I justified this shift toward being primarily laboratory-focused by requiring all the experiments to become inquiry-based, increasing the rigor of the experiments but also keeping the students engaged by allowing them to design their own projects. To keep a sense of community within the class, discussion boards were utilized. To ensure a safe environment at home, each project required preapproval. The discussion below focuses on the details of how the course was modified, how the course was managed, some of the pitfalls I encountered, and how the students exceeded my expectations with the projects they created.

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Solving the Laboratory Dilemma in Distance Learning General Chemistry

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

A Review to Weigh the Pros and Cons of Online, Remote, and Distance Science Laboratory Experiences

A Review to Weigh the Pros and Cons of Online, Remote, and Distance Science Laboratory Experiences

Online Laboratory Introductions to Promote Student Interactions with Two Science and Engineering Practices of the Next Generation Science Standards

Converting an Environmental Sampling Methods Lecture/Laboratory Course into an Inquiry-Based Laboratory Experience during the Transition to Distance Learning

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