Flipping Virtual Labs into Team-Based Learning Tools

 

Andrew R. Whiteley, Ellie Steinberg, & Eli Meir

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2016, Volume 37

Abstract

Support is growing for ‘flipped classrooms’, wherein the majority of instruction occurs via inquiry-based team activities with very little lecture content, as an effective way to promote student learning. We demonstrate how interactive simulations in virtual labs can be incorporated into the Team-Based Learning (TBL) flipped classroom framework. We adapted three SimBio Virtual Labs for use in a 300-level TBL course. Students complete structured portions of the labs on their own and an open-ended inquiry in class as part of a team activity. Our approach could be implemented across undergraduate course levels.

Keywords:  evolution, Conservation, virtual lab, team-based learning, flipped classroom

Boston University (2015)