Labs that require specialized equipment and/or supplies

General Tips

• Layer simpler experiments with more complex tasks if necessary. You might consider combining a more basic at-home experiment with an analysis of more complex data or work in a simulation so that students can make connections between their experiments and more formal and complex experiments.

• Record a generic demo when relevant. Students can follow along with you as you complete the lab, learning from your contextualization of the activity and your expert thinking as you narrate the process. Aim to isolate these from your lecture content on the material. This will help students clearly identify where they can find guidance. Keep the demo videos fairly generic by not mentioning the name of the kit provider, in case the program moves to a different vendor in the future.

• Provide students with opportunities to analyze models of lab work. Have students walk through a case study of a lab, viewing real images and data sets, and suggest what they would do next if they were in charge of the lab at various points. Consider showing video or data from a lab that did not go as planned, and have students analyze what might have gone wrong and how they would troubleshoot the issue. You can also do these critiques in Live Session using your own demo videos, or ones that students filmed of their own practice.

• Provide options for students who don’t have access to materials. If a lab requires students to source their own materials, you should provide students with multiple options or offer guidance around what they should do if they do not have access to the materials they need. Empower students to propose their own substitute assignments or provide an alternative option that they can do instead.

• Continue compliance with safety measures and research procedures. Have students walk through each step of a process in their at-home lab like they would do in a formal laboratory. Review safety procedures and ask students to come up with contingency plans in case something unexpected happens. Always discuss liability concerns and policies with your department leadership before incorporating tactile lab experiments using at-home or mail-order supplies.

Course Template

Jump-start your design process using the tailored course template below.