Virtual Labs for GE BiologyRobert Desharnais & Paul Narguizian

California State University, Los Angeles

Abstract

GE students using FlyLab to conduct genetic experiments.

For more information, visit the Course Redesign ePortfolio for this project at: http://tinyurl.com/vlab-ePort

“I liked the opportunity to put into practice what we were discussing in class and see the

results for myself.”

“I liked the fact that the virtual labs can be taken at home. It gave me a sense of

independence. It made it possible for a lot of people to take this much needed course to

graduate.”

“Fun, interesting, and relevant to what we were learning in class.”

“I liked the ease at which the experiments were manipulated, as well as the simple yet

deep control of the experiment.”

“Really simple to use, and you can go at your own pace.”

Student CommentsCourse Redesign Models

More Information

Contact InformationRobert Desharnais & Paul NarguizianRDeshar@CalstateLA.eduPNargui@CalstateLA.edu

Addressing the Bottleneck

Model 1 – All Labs Online

All labs were offered online Fall 2013 & Winter 2014

Drop-in help center staffed 30 hours/week

Nine virtual labs were employed, one for each week of the academic quarter excluding one.

Handout guided students though experiments designed around course concepts.

Students answered multiple choice questions to assess their learning

For 3 labs, students addressed a scientific problem byo formulating a hypothesis;o designing and carrying out

experiments;o analyzing the results;o writing a brief scientific report.

1. Use of on-line labs reduced costs:

2. More students were served:

3. There was a positive impact on time to graduation:

AcknowledgementsThis project was supported by the CSU Enrollment Bottleneck Solution Course Redesign with Technology program.

Biological Sciences

Motivation

General education (GE) laboratory courses are a bottleneck for progress to graduation. At CSULA, a life science course with lab is required of every student. Enrollments in labs are limited to 24 students and each lab must be staffed by an instructor. Labs are taught in specialized facilities which are limited in availability. Many students are unable to register for these courses until their senior year.

GE biology courses are a challenge for non-science majors. Labs are intended to involve students in doing science, but most wet labs are “cook-book” activities. The labs lack engagement and an opportunity for creativity

Virtual labs provide an environment for students to explore scientific concepts by designing and carrying out their own experiments. They provide a hands-on opportunity for GE students to “achieve an understanding and appreciation of scientific principles and the scientific method” as specified in the CSU General Education Breadth Requirements. They are also less costly and can allow increased number of course offerings to relieve graduation bottlenecks.

BIOL 155 Enrollment by Class Level

Freshmen

Sophmores

Juniors

Seniors

Model 2 – Hybrid Flipped Lab

Flipped lab model: guided assignments at home and higher-level group activities aided by instructors in lab.

Student met in-person every other week during Spring 2014 in the physical lab facility whereo instructor introduced lab topic and

software;o students discussed in groups their

answers to the individual virtual lab assignments;

o students worked in groups to formulate hypotheses, design and carry out experiments, analyze results, and produce a brief scientific report.

Off weeks, students worked on individual virtual lab assignments similar to Model 1.

Class was divided into two tracks, A and B, which met asynchronously throughout the quarter:

Week Track A Track B

1Intro to virtual

labNo lab

2 Online exercisesIntro to virtual

lab

3Group report in

labOnline exercises

4 Online exercisesGroup report in

lab

5Group report in

labOnline exercises

6 Online exercisesGroup report in

lab

7Group report in

labOnline exercises

8 Online exercisesGroup report in

lab

9Group report in

labOnline exercises

10 No labGroup report in

lab

Online Labs That Were Used

$127.39

$36.84

$80.57

$0

$20

$40

$60

$80

$100

$120

$140

Wet Labs Online Labs Flipped Labs

Cost

per

Stu

dent

Costs of Different Lab Models

N = 455

N = 1139

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

AY 12/13 AY 13/14

Num

er o

f St

uden

ts

Number of GE Biology Students Enrolled

Spring 2013 Spring 2014

Freshmen

Sophmores

Juniors

Seniors

We redesigned a GE biology course by using existing web-based software to replace traditional wet labs. Two new modes of lab instruction were compared to the traditional offering: (1) all labs online with a “drop-by” help center and (2) a hybrid “flipped lab” model with two tracks of online and in-person labs alternating every week. Both modes included a face-to-face lecture. Engaging inquiry-based exercises were developed around each online activity. Assessment involved the tracking of students’ attitudes and performance using grades and pre-post-class surveys.

CardioLabcardiac physiology

EvolutionLabnatural selection

PopEcoLabpopulation ecology

DemographyLabhuman demography

TranslationLabthe genetic code

FlyLabgenetics of inheritance

Enzymesenzymes & pH

Animal Behaviorisopod behavior

Frog Dissectionanimal anatomy