Abstract
A great number of universities worldwide are having their education interrupted, partially or fully, by the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Consequently, an increasing number of universities have taken the steps necessary to transform their teaching, including laboratory workshops into an online or blended mode of delivery. Irrespective of the measures taken, universities must continue to maintain their high academic standards and provide a high-quality student experience as required for delivery of learning outcomes associated with each degree programme. This has created a challenge across the higher education landscape, where academics had to switch to remote teaching and different approaches to achieving laboratory delivery. As a result, students have not been receiving face-to-face teaching, and access to laboratory facilities has been limited or nearly impossible. This paper reviews numerous approaches taken by universities to deliver teaching and laboratory practices remotely, in consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic, whilst also considering the potential impacts on the student learning experience. This review is primarily focused on the fields of engineering, science and technology, based on published literature including books, reviewing web-based provision of selected universities, institutional and national policy documents.
Highlights
In study sectors such as chemistry, physics, engineering, biology, computing, psychology, languages, nursing, medicine, and other allied professions, programme outcomes stress the importance of developing theoretical and practical aspects
It is important to review how universities are currently introducing lab-based practical experiments to students, how they were introduced through online delivery in the pre-COVID-19 period, and what approaches must be taken in the post-COVID-19 period, especially to achieve learning outcomes whilst maintaining a high-quality educational experience
We first discuss online teaching and laboratory practices before COVID-19, while summarising examples from published literature. This is followed by presenting the transformation from traditional face-to-face delivery to online delivery, in which we examine technologies used for online delivery, including associated challenges and impacts on assessment practices implemented as a result of COVID-19
Summary
In study sectors such as chemistry, physics, engineering, biology, computing, psychology, languages, nursing, medicine, and other allied professions, programme outcomes stress the importance of developing theoretical (content) and practical (processes) aspects. Sci. 2020, 10, 291 distance education mode [2,3] Even though this approach works well for knowledge building through delivering content and oversight of some processes, it has limitations of developing one’s practical laboratory skills. It is important to review how universities are currently introducing lab-based practical experiments to students, how they were introduced through online delivery in the pre-COVID-19 period, and what approaches must be taken in the post-COVID-19 period, especially to achieve learning outcomes whilst maintaining a high-quality educational experience. We first discuss online teaching and laboratory practices before COVID-19, while summarising examples from published literature. Consideration is made of the policies implemented by educational and other agencies to support universities to uphold quality assurance procedures during online delivery of teaching
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