Analysis of Student Learning Gains in a Biochemistry CURE course during the mandatory COVID‐19 shift to online learning

Abstract

Due to the ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic, institutions across the world have had to adjust their teaching methods. This shift to emergency remote instruction has resulted in modifications to existing curricula, especially in the experimental science lab. There is a need to better understand student learning in this environment. Using the Participant Perception Indicator (PPI) survey, we measure the students’ knowledge, experience, and confidence (KEC) growth over the course of a fully online biochemistry course. Using a combination of video explanations, experimental procedure documents and sample data students completed the Biochemistry Authentic Scientific Inquiry Lab (BASIL) Course‐based Undergraduate Experience (CURE) in summer 2020. The results and analysis of the survey data gave light to three main findings. We found students learned more about bioinformatic experiments and concepts than about their wet‐lab counterparts. Students were not able to perform the wet lab techniques in person, relying on the virtual experience to learn these skills. Students did report greater gains in learning outcome KEC than in wet lab and computational techniques. Use of learning outcomes can be used to partially fill the gap that loss of a physical interaction with experiments creates. Finally, students report experience and confidence gains lagged behind their knowledge of the techniques. Students are not as confident in their understanding of techniques when unable to perform them in the physical laboratory. Thus even though they had great knowledge and understanding of the structure, protocols, and purpose of the experiments and techniques, their responses indicated that their experience and confidence was not on par with their knowledge.