Tips for Lab-Based Courses

Overview

Labs present unique design considerations when delivered online, particularly those that hinge on students performing specific hands-on tasks in a dedicated residential environment. This document offers some general guidance and best practices for translating your lab course -- which will may involve:

• Virtual labs and simulations that mirror in-person settings

• Recorded demo videos that students observe and critique, or use for data analysis

• Mail-order lab kits and/or other commonly available tools and resources that students can practice with at home

When translating a lab, it’s helpful to first identify the skills that students will ultimately need to demonstrate. These learning objectives should help you decide the right option as you work backwards to identify the content and activities that students must complete to successfully achieve them. For example, inquiry-based objectives can be achieved through virtual labs or simulations -- without any safety risks for students -- while physical or technical skills may require hands-on practice.

Asynchronous Instruction

• Before designing the lab portions of your course, map out synchronous and asynchronous time across both lab and lecture content. Since both lab and lecture time will likely incorporate synchronous and asynchronous coursework, there may be opportunities to combine or shift activities or assessments. For example, you might choose to use live session time originally designated for lab to answer questions that came up during the week's asynchronous lecture coursework rather than holding separate live sessions for both lecture and lab content. Review Understanding the Online Environment for more tips about synchronous and asynchronous work.

• Be open to options that don’t require specialized equipment. While many labs may require specialized materials or the use of formal safety procedures, some concepts can be explored using simple items that most students have at home. Might students be able to see acid base reactions and separations using common kitchen ingredients or investigate chemical reactions through the lens of baking? Many at-home experiment designs are available online, or you might choose to create your own or have students propose ideas.

• Model the process or procedure for online students. When teaching a hands-on skill for the first time, it is common to record a longer, narrated video to give students clear directions for how to set up a specific task or experiment, and expose the expert thinking of the instructor. As a best practice, we also suggest recording a shorter video without narration to provide students with a model they can return to as they practice the skill or review the material.

• Incorporate pre- and post-lab questions and reflection opportunities. Regardless of the type of lab, you’ll want to build in opportunities for formative assessment that allow both you and your students to gauge their progress and understanding. Pre-lab questions can be added before the instruction to encourage students to make an hypothesis, assess prior knowledge, or explore a concept. Other questions can ask students to critique filmed demonstrations or respond to case scenarios to point out missteps, analyze a patient, or indicate what they would do next. Be sure to have a feedback mechanism in place for any open-ended questions or those with multiple correct answers. Rely on auto-validated questions for knowledge check questions so students can self-assess their understanding of the content asynchronously. For open-ended questions, students may get feedback by reading sample responses after answering or watching a video of an instructor talk through their thought process for the question, highlighting common missteps. Live Sessions also offer an opportunity for students to debrief their lab experience, share their results, and discuss their pre- and post-lab questions.

• Consider adding guest voices that highlight the relevance of lab work or reveal expert thinking. In some labs, students can benefit from additional context from experts or practitioners. While this might not be possible residentially, interviews or guest lectures add value in the online space, externalizing an expert’s thought process to help online students understand the appropriate rationale or how to think while approaching a problem. Consider an interview between you and a guest where you discuss your approach to an experiment or a patient care technique. Or add a guest lecture from a practitioner on how the concept manifested in their work. This content can model the level of critical thinking or analysis that is expected of students or jump-start more in-depth conversations in the Live Sessions.

• Promote social learning and collaboration. Consider setting aside time for your students to meet with their lab partners during the week. Even if your course does not use lab partners, discussion boards can still provide opportunities for peer feedback and support, especially for more challenging or nuanced material.

• Allow extra time for students to orient themselves to the tools. If you are introducing something students might not be used to, such as a new virtual simulation technology or at-home experiment, consider leaving extra time for students to practice setting up these new procedures or starting with less complicated labs then moving to ones that require more set-up or technology as your students get comfortable.

Synchronous Instruction

• Consider the role of lab partners and other forms of social learning. If working with a partner to complete experiments provides important collaboration and soft skills, evaluate how students can achieve the same goals without physical proximity. Small group or partner work can easily be incorporated into a live class meeting via Zoom breakout groups.

• Utilize synchronous time for peer editing and support on additional topics like scientific writing. Since students will be doing a lot of the lab activities asynchronously, consider asking students to draft a lab report before the live session, participate in peer review sessions in Zoom breakout groups during the live session, then turn in a final draft of the lab report at the end of the week.

Assessments

• Let students propose their own research questions or practice opportunities. Encourage your students to practice real-world critical thinking skills by proposing, outlining, performing, and analyzing/debriefing their own experiments or practice opportunities, using the resources available to them. Find opportunities for your students to do assignments that mirror the types of proposal-writing and safety precautions that practitioners do in the field.