Hands-on Laboratory Activities Research Articles

A University and Public High School Partnership for Personalized, Accelerated Science Learning

Many public schools serving students who are under-represented in STEM fields lack the resources to provide the science education expected in the twenty-first century economy. Universities can deploy their infrastructure and human capital to better support local public schools, better preparing the next generation of college students for success in higher education and access to STEM-related careers. This article describes a university-public school partnership between the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) and Paul Robeson High School designed to accelerate the science learning of Paul Robeson High School students by having Penn college students teach hands-on lab activities on the college campus. Here, the partnership is described from the perspective of the school principal and school-based teacher leader for science and math at Paul Robeson High School. We discuss results from recent state standardized exams suggesting that these activities improve science knowledge and understanding for the high school students. A key ingredient for the improved science skills may be the broad social aspects of feeling included in the university setting.

A Secure and Scalable Virtual Lab Platform for Computing Education

With the increasing importance of online teaching and learning, conducting hands-on labs online brings a number of challenges, such as difficulties in setting up and maintaining consistent lab environments across different operating systems and compatibility issues with students’ local software and hardware environment. This paper aims to propose a secure and scalable virtual lab platform using container technology and open-source cloud-native technology. Instructors can configure and deploy customized lab environments in the cloud, and students may use web browsers to gain access to a sandboxed lab environment and live coding environment for online and self-paced learning. With the platform, students no longer need to install custom software on their computers and ensures the compatibility of the lab environment in online teaching and learning activities. A pilot study was conducted with 370 undergraduate and postgraduate students from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The platform demonstrated good scalability to support large classes of students to complete hands-on lab activities online. The survey results indicated that students perceived the platform as easy to use, helpful for learning online, and intended to continue using it beyond the course.

Current Chemistry Investigators (CCI): Development and Evaluation of a Scientist in a Classroom Electrochemistry Workshop.

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, school students suffered from a reduction in opportunities to connect with higher education institutions, meet scientific role models in person, discuss scientific career options, and carry out hands-on practical laboratory activities. Current Chemistry Investigators (CCI) is a successful electrochemistry-based STEM career intervention program, developed and evaluated through a co-creation process with teachers and students. The goals of CCI are 2-fold: first, to provide school students with career advice through tangible scientific role models and, second, to provide real-world context for the fundamentals of electrochemistry through hands-on activities. Herein, the development of a novel electro-analytical workshop from concept through to delivery with over a thousand students having taken part to date is reported. Students are tasked with solving why a battery malfunctioned through quantitative and qualitative analyses of an electrolyte using conductivity meters. Student feedback is also gathered anonymously through the use of a classroom response system (also known as "clickers"). Together with feedback from teachers, a robust evaluation is presented to measure the impact of providing tangible scientific role models and the usefulness of the workshop.

Effectiveness and Acceptability of Laboratory Experiment Videos in Blended Chemistry Learning

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed most of the world's norms, from people's lifestyles to the education system. The transition from offline to online teaching, communication barriers inherent in online teaching, preparation, and teaching style were just a few of the difficulties faced by the instructors. On the other hand, problems with the content included creating new materials and using multimedia tools, among other things. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of using laboratory experiment videos instead of hands-on experiments as an alternative to the blended learning modality. Furthermore, this study also investigated the acceptability of the developed videos from the learners' perspective. According to the study's findings, blended learning for chemistry is successful and acceptable when laboratory experiment videos are included. Students' performance improved significantly from their pretest to posttest when exposed to several teaching strategies for chemical reactions, including lectures, hands-on laboratory activities, and the presentation of videos of laboratory experiments. As a result, utilizing laboratory experiment videos in blended chemistry learning can be an effective tool and approach for delivering education and assisting in the teaching and learning process for teachers and students.

An interdisciplinary course on evolution and sustainability increases acceptance of evolutionary theory and increases understanding of interdisciplinary application of evolutionary theory

BackgroundAlthough evolutionary theory is foundational and integrative in modern biology, there remains widespread lack of acceptance among U.S. residents. An interdisciplinary approach to teaching evolutionary theory at the undergraduate level has many advantages, such as giving students a context for learning about evolution and application of evolutionary theory to other academic disciplines and everyday life. While there are foundational examples of interdisciplinary approaches to teaching evolutionary theory, there are few examples of courses with application of evolutionary theory to issues of sustainability, such as conservation or global climate change. We build on the practical and theoretical work of others to create an interdisciplinary course on evolutionary theory for non-science majors, with ties to sustainability. Our course is taught in three modules, with extensive readings and hands-on lab activities. The first module is focused on honey bee biology, with hands-on beekeeping experiences; the second module on native plants and community education on sustainability; and the third module on the evolution of the subjective human experience of free will.ResultsWe found that students in our course experienced an increased acceptance of evolutionary theory. We found that students also met the course leaning objectives, of basic knowledge of evolutionary theory and application of evolutionary theory to other disciplines, assessed through group and individual major assignments. We also found that students had an expanded perspective on interdisciplinary application of evolutionary theory, assessed through closed-ended survey questions and analysis of open-ended writing.ConclusionsStudents in our course experienced an increase of acceptance of evolutionary theory and an expanded perspective on interdisciplinary application of evolutionary theory, despite the fact that many students were not science majors.

Development and Delivery of a Hands-On Short Course in Adeno-Associated Virus Manufacturing to Support Growing Workforce Needs in Gene Therapy.

The manufacturing of gene therapy products is a rapidly growing industry bolstered by the tremendous potential of these therapies to provide lifesaving treatment for rare and complex genetic diseases. The industry's steep rise has resulted in a high demand for skilled staff required to manufacture gene therapy products of the expected high quality. To address this skill shortage, more opportunities for education and training in all aspects of gene therapy manufacturing are needed. The Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center (BTEC) at the North Carolina State University (NC State) has developed and delivered (and continues to deliver) a 4-day, hands-on course titled Hands-on cGMP Biomanufacturing of Vectors for Gene Therapy. The course, which consists of 60% hands-on laboratory activities and 40% lectures, aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the gene therapy production process, from vial thaw through the final formulation step, and analytical testing. This article discusses the design of the course, the backgrounds of the nearly 80 students who have participated in the seven offerings held since March 2019, and feedback from the course participants.

Contemporary Hybrid Laboratory Pedagogy: Construction of a Simple Spectrophotometer with STEM Project-Based Learning to Introduce Systems Thinking Skills

Hands-on laboratory activities are a vital aspect of chemistry education that can help students strengthen their understanding of chemistry’s core concepts and applications. Nevertheless, during the COVID-19 pandemic, students and teachers could not access laboratories. Thus, innovative pedagogical approaches are required to meet these challenges. The current study, therefore, examines the use of contemporary hybrid laboratory pedagogy to construct a simple spectrophotometer by implementing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) project-based learning to introduce systems thinking skills and measure the effectiveness of improving attitude. A quantitative approach, with one group pre-post design, was employed in this study. The subjects were 33 chemistry students from a state university in Bandung, Indonesia. A simple Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) was chosen as the topic of an engineering project given to students. The project was implemented over fourteen meetings designed in a hybrid laboratory activity. The students’ worksheets, questionnaires on students’ attitudes toward systems thinking skills, and a questionnaire on student attitudes toward STEM-project-based learning were used as research instruments. Additionally, interviews with selected students further supported the quantitative data. Following the intervention, a RASCH: racking and stacking analysis revealed that two of the eight systems thinking skills indicators showed noticeable results. Other results uncovered that the student-made simple AAS had an accuracy of 95.3% compared to commercial AAS. This study also demonstrated that students had a negative attitude toward implementing STEM project-based learning. In contrast, students’ attitudes towards systems thinking skills indicated positive results. Challenges and opportunities for further research are also discussed in this paper.

Which is More Effective in Teaching Energy Transformations: Technology-Based or Inquiry-Based Science Teaching?

This research aimed to compare the short and long-term effects of technology-supported and inquiry-based teaching prepared within the scope of energy transformation on students’ academic achievement. It was designed as an exploratory action research case study. The research group consisted of forty-three students studying at the seventh grade (between thirteen-fourteen ages) of a public middle school in Turkey during the fall semester of the 2017 year. One of the classes with a similar academic background in the school where the researcher also worked as a science teacher was assigned as the experimental group and the other as the control group. The activities in the experimental group were carried out in a technology-supported manner using PhET simulations supported by also worksheets, while the control group was taught based on inquiry-based hands-on laboratory activities by worksheets. The data were collected through an achievement test consisting of open-ended questions and scoring with a rubric. The test was implemented twice, after the interventions, and in the following sixth month for both groups. Normally distributed data were compared with interdependent and paired-samples t-tests. The results showed that although the achievement scores for the technology-supported teaching group were significantly higher in the post test, no difference between the scores at the end of the sixth months, and significant information losses were experienced in both groups, with the most technology-supported science teaching.

Virtual Pathology Education in Medical Schools Worldwide during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Advantages, Challenges Faced, and Perspectives.

The COVID-19 pandemic shifted pathology education in medical schools worldwide towards online delivery. To achieve this goal, various innovative platforms were used by pathology educators and medical students, facilitating both synchronous and asynchronous learning. The aim of this study was to review the published evidence regarding remote pathology teaching at the medical school level during this period, present our own experience, and provide some perspectives regarding the best mode of pathology teaching post-pandemic. Among its advantages, virtual pathology education was considered among students and educators as convenient, flexible, and engaging, while learning outcomes were met and students’ academic performance was in general satisfactory. However, several challenges were faced. For instance, suboptimal internet connection compromised the flow of classes and was even associated with a lower academic performance. The lack of hands-on laboratory activities, such as operating the light microscope and tissue grossing, and the reduced student interactions among themselves and their instructors, were also pointed out as significant drawbacks of remote pathology education. Whereas online education has multiple advantages, experiencing the physical university environment, in-person interactions and teamwork, exposure to the “hidden curriculum”, and hands-on activities are vital for medical school education and future student development. In conclusion, the implementation of a blended approach in pathology education—where online and face-to-face sessions are jointly used to promote students’ engagement, interaction with their instructors and peers, and learning—could be the most optimal approach to pathology teaching in medical schools post-pandemic.

Lab-It Is Taking Molecular Genetics to School

The Molecular Genetics Mobile Lab or “Laboratório itinerante de Genética Molecular” (Lab-it) was funded in 2008 by Leonor Cancela to promote the learning of molecular genetics which had been introduced at that time into high school biology programms. The project aimed to introduce hands-on laboratory activities in molecular genetics to complement the theoretical concepts taught in school. These included the development of experimental protocols based on theoretical scenarios focusing on themes of forensics sciences, biomedical applications, diagnostic methods, and ecological research using basic molecular biology techniques, such as DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), electrophoresis, and restriction enzyme application. In these scenarios, the students execute all the procedures with the help of the Lab-it instructor and using the Lab-it equipment, followed by a discussion of the results with all the participants and the school teacher. These approaches help the students to consolidate the concepts of molecular biology and simultaneously promote discussions on new advances in the area and choices for university careers. In addition to practical sessions, Lab-it also promotes seminars on topics of interest to the students and teachers. Since 2008, 18 high schools have participated in the region of Algarve, averaging each year about 400 students participating in practical activities. In 2021, despite the COVID pandemic, 9 schools and 379 students were involved in Lab-it practical sessions and 99% of them considered the activity to contribute to better understanding the molecular biology methods approached in theoretical classes and expressed high interest in those sessions.

Examining the influence that safety training format has on educators’ perceptions of safer practices in makerspaces and integrated STEM labs

Introduction: The rising popularity of makerspaces and integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education labs has increased the safety/health hazards and resulting potential risks that schools, libraries, community centers, and educators must be prepared to address. Previous studies have demonstrated that adequate safety training can enhance educators’ safety perceptions and reduce accident rates. Method: Safety training was conducted in three different U.S. states for 48 educators working in K-12 STEM areas. Differences in the mode of delivery, length of the training, and types of hands-on activities instituted at each training site were examined in relation to the level of influence these factors had on educators’ safety perceptions. A modified version of the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI) was used, which had previously been adapted for similar safety studies and showed strong reliability measures. Results: The pre- and post-survey responses revealed that educators at the fully online and shortest training session did not experience significant changes in their safety perceptions. However, participants at the two face-to-face sites demonstrated significant gains in their safety perceptions. Most notably, the site that offered the longest training and integrated the most hands-on lab activities recorded the greatest gains. Additionally, correlational analyses corroborated that as the amount of hands-on activities and length of the trainings increased, there was a positive significant association with changes in educators’ safety perceptions. Conclusions: This research helps bridge the gap between industry and K-12 STEM education research regarding better safety training practices. The findings from this study can help promote safer teaching and learning environments, while also reducing liability and the chance of a serious accident. Practical Applications: State departments, higher education institutions, teacher education programs, school districts, and others providing STEM safety training to K-12 educators should utilize this research to reexamine their safety training policies and practices.

Hands-on Educational Labs for Cyber Defense Competition Training

Cyber Defense Competitions provide students with challenging, hands-on, fun, and close to real world opportunities to learn, practice, and perform tasks that they will be expected to complete as cybersecurity professionals. The current availability of training resources focused on Cyber Defense Competitions is limited. We introduce CYOTEE: CYbersecurity Oriented Training Environment and Exercises. CYOTEE provides a set of nine fully modifiable and freely available hands-on laboratory activities intended to help students gain skills needed to be successful at Cyber Defense Competitions. This article provides details for two of those hands-on labs: (1) Linux Hardening and (2) Windows Active Directory Hardening. CYOTEE lab descriptions and setup scripts may be found on the GitHub repository (https://github.com/CenterForSecureAndDependableSystems/CYOTEE).

Hands-on Lab Activities at Home

Hands-on Lab Activities at Home

Sustaining Student Engagement - Successes and Challenges of a Virtual STEM Program for High School Students.

Case Western Reserve University's School of Medicine and Comprehensive Cancer Center coordinate in-depth research immersion STEM programs to engage high school students in biomedical research and encourage pursuit of careers in health-related research and clinical care. Due to COVID-19, the 2020 programs were delivered entirely virtually. Student and faculty perceptions of the virtual experience were evaluated using surveys and focus groups. Ninety percent of students felt the virtual program met expectations. Student rankings for programmatic components that could remain virtual in future years showed a preference for highly interactive activities, especially mentorship and dialogue-based activities like discussions of science in the news. Ninety-seven percent of faculty agreed students' scientific knowledge improved. Faculty commented that certain research projects (e.g., data analysis, literature reviews) were highly appropriate for a virtual program, but that the lack of hands-on laboratory activities was challenging. Increased individual attention, flexibility, and independence were hailed as strengths of the virtual program. These findings identify activities that sustain student interest in biomedical, healthcare, and cancer related research using a virtual medium and indicate mentorship and interactive discussion-based activities enhance virtual education. Moreover, the results support incorporation of interactive online pedagogical approaches to enhance student engagement virtually and in-person.

CURE in Antibiotic Discovery Using a Combination of In-Person, Hands-On Laboratory Activities and Remote, Mentor-Type Experiences during COVID-19.

Pedagogy designed to improve student engagement, like the course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE), was given its hardest challenge yet during the COVID-19 pandemic: to find a way to exist and continue productive work in a remote environment. Faculty in STEM disciplines have worked to implement CURE programs into course curriculums, only to have had some of them disrupted during spring 2020. The demonstrated benefits of the CURE in improving student engagement and persistence in the sciences could be at risk if these courses continue to be disrupted. How do faculty make CUREs work when emergency remote learning continues to loom over our institutions? This teaching tip focuses on how one antibiotic discovery CURE used technology and individual meetings to continue the students’ experience and research process. The instructor remained alone in the laboratory with the student samples and acted as the students’ hands, in order to continue testing and characterizing samples collected earlier in the semester, while students watched and directed the process during the online meetings. The change in methodology helped to restore some of the individual and small group mentor-type activity provided in the principal investigator–student researcher relationship present in undergraduate research experiences that was lost with the development of CUREs and the move to remote learning.

Can Video Experiments be as Effective as Hands-on Experiments for Conceptual Learning?

In 2019 and 2020, third-year chemical engineering majors completed a concept inventory at the beginning and end of the semester in their thermodynamics course. Midway through spring semester of 2020, the course switched to emergency remote instruction, replacing hands-on inquiry-based laboratory activities (IBLAs) with short videos. Analysis of learning gains on the concept inventory demonstrated that while both groups made significant gains in their learning, the 2019 cohort showed larger gains than the 2020 cohort.

Integrating Natural Product Chemistry Workflows into Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory Training: Building the PRISM Library and Cultivating Independent Research

Chemical screening libraries often feature natural product extracts (NPEs) due to the intriguing biological activities they possess and the structural diversity found in their individual components. A research project originally designed to create an extract library of every specimen in the University of Rhode Island (URI) Heber W. Youngken Jr. Medicinal Garden soon turned into a laboratory-based teaching project in which upper-division undergraduate students generated and analyzed extracts in an academic minisemester project. Additionally, motivated upper-division undergraduates carried out independent research isolating biologically active molecules. Hands-on laboratory activities enhanced students’ knowledge of methodologies and workflows associated with extract analysis and biological evaluation of botanical extracts. The synergy of the laboratory course with the independent study contributed to workforce preparation and library generation.

Hot- or Cold-Blooded? A Laboratory Activity That Uses Accessible Technology to Investigate Thermoregulation in Animals

Visualizing thermoregulation (endothermy vs. ectothermy) in animals can be challenging for students in undergraduate biology courses. Data-driven, hands-on laboratory activities can enhance student learning while reinforcing application of the scientific method. This article describes a visual-learning, inquiry-based activity that can be applied to introductory high school and college biology laboratories with the use of easily accessible technology (a smartphone and an inexpensive thermal camera attachment). Students generate hypotheses and qualitatively observe real-time thermal images of live endothermic and ectothermic animals. This activity is effective in engaging students by allowing them to visualize thermoregulation and body temperature. We provide suggestions for modifying the activity to further investigate animal behavior related to temperature regulation.

An Assessment of Practical Hands-On Lab Activities in Network Security Management

An Assessment of Practical Hands-On Lab Activities in Network Security Management

Student perceptions of online and in-person microbiology laboratory experiences in undergraduate medical education

ABSTRACT Background: Universities are facing increased budget constraints, often resulting in reduced funds to support microbiology laboratories. Online mock laboratory activities are often instituted as a cost-effective alternative to traditional wet labs for medical students. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine students’ perceptions of online and in-person microbiology lab learning experiences. Design: We investigated undergraduate medical student perception of the in-person and online microbiology lab experience; 164 first-year medical students participated in newly designed online labs, while 83 second-year medical students continued to use in-person labs. An online survey was administered to collect student opinions of the lab experience. Results: In terms of student self-reported learning styles, those students who attended the lab in person were more likely to report a tactile learning style (33% vs 16%) while those students who learned the material online reported a visual learning style preference (77% vs 61%; n = 264). Students felt that the online microbiology lab was more convenient for their schedules when compared to the in-person lab. A greater proportion of online students (12%) felt that they encountered brand-new material on the final quiz than in-person students (1%; n = 245). Even so, 43% of the online educated students and 37% of the in-person educated students perceived their assigned lab experiences to be the optimal lab design, and over 89% of both groups reported a desire for at least some in-person instruction in a wet-laboratory environment. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that, while students are strongly supportive of digital online lab activities, the overwhelming majority of students still report a desire for a blend of online and in-person, hands-on laboratory activities. These findings will further research directed towards student perception of the lab experience and aid in the adaptation of microbiology curriculums to accommodate both student and university needs.