Association for Biology Laboratory Education

Exploring the Benefits of Online Labs for On-Campus Teaching
 

Jennifer Van Dommelen, Martin Hicks, Kathleen Nolan, Donna Pattison, and Ethell Vereen

Advances in Biology Laboratory Education, 2022, Volume 42

https://doi.org/10.37590/able.v42.art51

Abstract

With the move to online teaching and learning in response to COVID-19, online biology labs are no longer a niche endeavor and more of us than ever now have some experience teaching in this mode. As we look forward to a return to campus, how might our online teaching experiences inform our face-to-face teaching? Researchers have investigated the changes in attitudes and strategies of instructors in a variety of disciplines who have returned to face-to-face teaching after having taught online. For example, Kearns (2016) found that instructors became more aware of the potential applications of online technologies, saw less of a distinction between in-class and out-of-class learning activities, and demonstrated an increased focus on how students learn, while Andrews Graham (2019) documented changes in instructors? communication strategies, instructional practices, and perceived roles in the classroom. This panel discussion explored the theme of ?transferable benefits of online teaching? in the context of laboratory teaching; panelists shared insights and specific examples of how experience with online labs can make our face-to-face labs better.

Keywords:  online, virtual lab, biology, transferable benefits

Virtual ABLE (ViABLE) (2021)