Hands-on Laboratory Research Articles

Enhancing Satellite Oceanography-Driven Research in West Africa: a Case Study of Capacity Development in an Underserved Region.

Marine business and resources play a major role in the economics and way of life in coastal West African countries. Such countries see great profitability from their marine resources while also facing challenges that come with a bordering sea. Despite this fact, there has been limited research into the optimal way for West African Coastal States to coexist with, and sustainably use their marine resources, a research deficit that is mainly due to a lack of infrastructure for in-situ work, lack of capacity development, and comprehensive datasets to undertake oceanographic research. The Coastal Ocean Environment Summer School in Ghana (COESSING; www.coessing.org) was developed to help meet some of these challenges. Each summer since 2015, ocean scientists (e.g., biologists, chemists, physicists, hydrologists) from the USA and Europe have collaborated with West African colleagues to lead a week-long intensive summer school in Accra, Ghana, alternating in location between the Regional Maritime University and the University of Ghana. The school receives in excess of 100 participants drawn from universities, government agencies, and the private sector organizations, mainly from Ghana and neighboring Liberia, Nigeria, Togo, and Benin, among others. The format of the school includes morning lectures, afternoon field trips, and hands-on laboratory exercises and one-on-one coaching of students. Important to the COESSING program is the satellite oceanography component which introduces participants to the extensive and often free, remotely sensed oceanographic datasets. Participants develop skills that allow them to access, process, and analyze these datasets in order to better understand regional oceanographic phenomena, such as upwelling, pollution, habitat characterization, sea level rise, and coastal erosion. Following the school, facilitators keep in touch with program participants, helping them acquire and analyze data for their studies, dissertations, and often graduate school applications, etc. In summary, schools such as COESSING are critical not only for science in the region but for the global ocean community as such training develops eager, bright minds while leading to improved regional observing and modeling strategies in severely under-sampled seas. Here, we describe a unique case in which satellite oceanography has led to such outcomes for countries bordering the Gulf of Guinea, West Africa.

A build-at-home student laboratory experiment in mechanical vibrations.

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused many university educators to redesign their teaching to online delivery. This can be an effective approach for theoretical and conceptual teaching, but it is challenging to provide practical laboratory experiences. The objective here is to design a hands-on laboratory experience that can safely be undertaken by students remotely and that has substantial educational content. A new experiment was designed featuring a bifilar pendulum that students build themselves from readily available low-cost materials. This simple vibrating system has a surprisingly rich set of interesting physical characteristics that provide several important learning points. Initial trials indicate good student experience with the new experiment, notably an appreciation for the “do-it-yourself” aspect of the apparatus construction. The self-directed features and multiple learning features of the new student experiment make it attractive for use during Covid-19 times and beyond.

EXPERIENCES WITH REMOTE TEACHING OF MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING LABORATORY AND PROJECT COURSES

COVID-19 has profoundly affected many, if not all, Canadian engineering courses during the2020/2021 academic year, many of which transitioned to online teaching. Delivering hands-on, highly interactive laboratory and design project courses is particularly challenging to do remotely. We present and reflect on experiences with remote teaching of three hands-on laboratory courses in a new Manufacturing Engineering program at the University ofBritish Columbia (UBC). These courses include MANU 230: Manufacturing Laboratory, MANU 330: Manufacturing Engineering Project I, and MANU 386: Industrial Automation. All three courses are taught in the same laboratory/classroom by one of the authors. In general, it appears that the students appreciated the remote lab experiences provided. However, it wasapparent from both survey data and informal feedback that students preferred in-person laboratory sessions. While, perhaps not an ideal method of delivering these types of courses there appears to be some place for remote laboratory classes in the future.

HANDS-ON ENGINEERING LABORATORIES AT HOME IN AN ONLINE LEARNING COURSE

Providing hands-on laboratory experience, can be an important part of engineering programs. However, hands-on learning opportunities can be very difficult to implement in online learning environments. This work discusses the implementation of a solid mechanics laboratory investigation challenge that was developed for students to conduct in their own homes. To ensure that the laboratory was feasible, the materials and measurement equipment utilized had to be readily available and affordable. For this reason, the investigation involved the analysis and structural optimization of a foam board part. Students cut the partgeometry out of foam board, applied a load to the part using a water filled weight and optimized the design to reduce the total volume of the part while still supporting the required load. Students utilized digital imagecorrelation software to experimentally investigate the full field strain when the load was applied to the foam board part. Students optimized the part geometry using analytical calculations and finite element simulations. This approach resulted in a very positive response from the students and an excellent quality of learning was demonstrated by the students through their reports. This approach could be beneficial in other online courses. Furthermore, this experience has demonstrated the benefits of giving students greater responsibility for their own laboratory experiences.

Endoscopy Training in Small Animal Internal Medicine: A Survey of Residency Training Programs in North America.

Competency in multiple endoscopic techniques is a major goal of small animal internal medicine (SAIM) residency programs. Training relies predominantly on mentored supervision of procedures performed on patients. Supplementation of this apprenticeship model with classroom sessions and hands-on laboratories can be advantageous to trainees and patients. Few veterinary resources describe supplemental training options, and no single source exists for mentors to consult for program development. The purpose of this study was to describe the supplemental training opportunities currently available to SAIM residents at academic hospitals in the US and Canada and to compare their timing during the residency, resident and faculty time commitment, and perceived helpfulness. Data were collected by an electronic survey distributed to one faculty member per institution. The response rate was 80% (24/30). Most programs (22/24; 92%) offered some form of supplemental training, including classroom sessions (9/24) and hands-on laboratories using physical models (7/24), virtual reality simulators (2/24), and cadaver (2/24) and anesthetized (2/24) dogs. Fifteen programs provided residents with the opportunity to attend external endoscopy workshops. Only three programs required any training prior to residents performing procedures on patients. There was considerable variability in training between programs, precluding statistical comparisons. The survey identified topics for classroom sessions and several inexpensive physical models, rated very or extremely helpful, that would be suitable for programs with limited budgets. A human-based virtual reality simulator was also rated highly by two programs. Comprehensive, external workshops evoked numerous positive comments with perceived value ranging from somewhat to extremely helpful.

Continuing Education of Animal Health Professionals in Uganda: A Training Needs Assessment.

In Uganda, delivery of veterinary services is vital to animal health and productivity, and is heavily dependent on well-trained and skilled animal health professionals. The purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize areas for refresher training and continuous professional development of animal health professionals (veterinarians and veterinary paraprofessionals), with the overarching aim of improving veterinary service delivery in Uganda. A survey was administered electronically to 311 animal health professionals during the period November 14-30, 2019. Data were collected on relevant parameters including demographics, knowledge on preventive medicine, diagnostics, disease control and treatment, epidemiology, and One Health, as well as participants' opinions on training priorities, challenges faced, and constraints to veterinary service delivery. Most respondents were veterinarians 26-35 years old, were male, and worked in clinical practice. Lowest perceived knowledge was reported on subjects relating to laboratory diagnostics, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and nutrition. Training topics considered to be of most benefit to respondents included laboratory diagnostics, treatment of common livestock diseases, AMR, and practical clinical skills in reproductive and preventive medicine. Participants preferred to receive training in the form of practical workshops, in-practice training, and external training. This study highlights the need to prioritize training in practical clinical skills, laboratory diagnostics, and AMR. Wet labs and hands-on practical clinical and laboratory skills should be incorporated to enhance training. Provision of targeted and successful trainings will be dependent on the allocation of adequate resources and support by relevant public and private stakeholders across the veterinary sector.

Exploring STEM integration: assessing the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary informal program in fostering students’ performance and inspiration

ABSTRACT Background: Although sound is an everyday phenomenon that we hear about constantly, numerous studies have reported that students often exhibit learning difficulties in understanding this subject. Only a few studies have proposed programs involving practical learning experiments to provide students with solid conceptual knowledge. Moreover, little research to date has dealt with the topic of sound from the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) perspective. Purpose: The need for this research is rooted in the general lack of learning materials developed according to integrative STEM and in the shortage of interdisciplinary contents that specifically address the subject of sound. The Sound, Waves and Communication Systems (SWCS) program was developed in Sakhnin in Israel to integrate the learning of science and technology through the extensive use of Information and Computer Technologies (ICT). The study aimed at exploring middle school students’ achievements and motivation in learning the program and discovering the factors that might affect these elements. Sample: The participants in the study are 120 middle school students (7th-graders), divided into six separate groups: two groups (40 students) participated in the pilot study, whereas four groups (80 students) took part in the main study. Methods: The study adopted a mixed method research design, and combined quantitative and qualitative methods that included observations in class, administering a students’ motivation questionnaire before and after studying the course, giving achievement exams, and analyzing the students’ projects. Results: The findings showed that despite difficulties in learning the subject, the students eventually managed to gain a conceptual understanding and their self-efficacy significantly increased. Conclusions: The flexible integration of the teachers’ instruction, the hands-on lab work, the use of ICT, and project-based learning all contributed to the participants’ success and motivation in learning the current course.

Teaching Ichthyology Online with a Virtual Specimen Collection

For generations, organismal biologists have learned their craft in hands-on laboratories that teach anatomy, evolution, natural history, systematics, and functional morphology through specimen collection, observation, comparison, and manipulation. Though these activities teach the comparative method that lies at the heart of our discipline, students without access to specimen collections have been excluded from this foundational experience. To fill that gap, we developed a virtual collection of photographs and 3D specimen models and designed entirely online versions of courses in ichthyology and systematics of fishes. The virtualization allows students to illustrate and compare specimens in online labs, identify species from different habitats using dichotomous keys, contextualize the relationships of species, recognize synapomorphies using a phylogeny, take online specimen-based practical exams, and help each other recognize adaptations and diagnostic features on threaded discussion boards. The classes built around the collection educate and provide university credit to students lacking access to similar courses, and their infrastructure allowed face-to-face instruction to shift online rapidly after 2020's novel coronavirus shut down our brick-and-mortar campus. While we may never be able to replicate the aroma of oil-laden alcohol online, specimen virtualization opens access to experiential learning to an underserved and widespread audience; allows new generations of students to develop crucial skills in observation, comparison, and inference; and affords substantial instructional resiliency when unexpected challenges arise.

Make microalgal cultures axenic again – a fast and simple workflow utilizing fluorescence-activated cell sorting

Since the removal of contaminations in microalgal cultures is extremely laborious and time-consuming, we developed a rapid workflow to obtain axenicity by a combination of fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and plate spreading. During method development, several cyanobacteria and green algae strains were successfully made axenic. At the end, method transferability to another FACS device was demonstrated. Our workflow offers great time-savings with less hands-on laboratory work compared to conventional isolation techniques.

Comparative Study of Traditional, Simulated and Real Online Remote Laboratory: Student's Perceptions in Technical Training of Electronics

The developments in technology and communication networks have enabled the possibility of establishing virtual and remote labs, providing new opportunities for students on campus and at a distance overcoming some of the limitations of hands-on labs. The impact of innovations on students' performance can be analyzed statistically by looking at specific skills or indicators, respectively. This paper addresses the lack of empirical evidence supporting electronics education innovations in three practical teaching methods, namely, hands-on, simulation, and online remote real labs. The paper reports on the application of a methodology that takes into account the interaction between students and teachers at different levels of abstraction to evaluate a DC motor laboratory practice, on 150 students at the Polydisciplinary Faculty of Beni Mellal in Morocco. In this work the students' attitudes towards a specific practical method depend on its usefulness, usability, motivation and quality of understanding; these parameters were measured using a questionnaire that considers the relationship between the student, the teacher and the practical work environment. The data collected in each type of experiment environment were was tabulated and analyzed by statistical methods. The results validate the students' satisfaction towards the environments of practical works and identify some aspects that need to be improved in future works.

Hands-On Exploration of Ocean Acidification with a Living Calcifier

This hands-on lab allows students to explore concepts and quantify effects of ocean acidification. Many laboratory activities simplify ocean acidification through computer simulations or dripping acid on nonliving materials (e.g., sea shells) but do not provide adequate opportunities for students to measure, inquire, or see real consequences for living organisms. Thus, we developed this low-cost, easily accessible experiment to imitate ocean acidification on living, calcifying organisms.

Microbiology Lab Simulations, A Pandora's Box, During an Epic Pandemic

Universities and colleges were shaken to their core when an unprecedented 21st Century Pandemic hit the World. SARS-CoV2 quickly changed the educational environment. Faculty scrambled to convert in-person lectures into online format. While this transition appeared chaotic, perhaps the more daunting task was converting laboratory and clinical courses to online labs without compromising the integrity of student learning. In this study, we examined if virtual simulations could be comparable experience to in-person lab courses. The two groups included students taking microbiology lab courses that was either (1) in-person or (2) online. Students taking in-person, hands-on lab were assigned virtual simulations as homework. Students in an online lab course only had virtual simulations. The simulations, which were selected based on curriculum mapping to the learning outcomes, included theoretical concepts, performing virtual experiments, and answering questions. In both groups, students were instructed to complete seven to nine virtual lab simulations. We examined student learning with pre/post-tests, containing 3 to 4 questions per learning outcome. Students were given the same set of 24 questions on the first day of the course and during the final exam. We found that although treatment was a significant factor, time had an effect size an order of magnitude larger using repeated measures ANOVA analyses. There was statically significant increase in student learning over time (Fig. 1). Students from the in-person courses (n=31) showed significant improvement in three of the seven learning outcomes using Bonferroni correction, paired t-tests on pre/post-tests. Students from the online courses (n=88) showed significant improvement in six of the seven learning outcomes. The only learning outcome that had no significant change over time in both groups was on lab safety. This was not surprising because students normally take other lab courses prior to entering microbiology lab. In addition, students voluntarily responded to an end-of-course anonymous survey that had statements about anxiety, career/value, confidence, motivation, and self-pace on a scale of 1-5 (1: strongly disagree to 5: strongly agree). Overall, students in both groups showed significant improvement in anxiety, confidence, and motivation by the end as compared to the beginning of the course. However, when asked if a student can see themselves becoming a scientist, both groups mean responses was neutral (2.89, n=31 for in-person; 3.16, n=52 for online). This study showed that virtual lab simulations, although they could be viewed as a Pandora's Box, have the potential to be a valuable tool for students in microbiology lab. For students, the cost of virtual simulations is less than a hands-on microbiology home kit, not to mention the safer route biologically. However, practicality of simulations could be hampered by limitations in computer and Internet access. In addition, this study only tested lab concepts and did not test lab skills. Universities and colleges will continue to evaluate virtual labs and assess their strengths and weakness well beyond this Pandemic.

Designing Laboratories for Online Instruction Using the iOLab Device

Scientific laboratories are among the most challenging course components to integrate into online instruction. Available technology restricts the design and nature of experiments, and it can be hard to replicate the collaborative lab environment where frequent and immediate instructor feedback is the norm. Here we report on technological and pedagogical aspects of newly developed labs for online courses using the Interactive Online Lab (iOLab) device. We argue that this technology, coupled with an online course design emphasizing teamwork, targeted feedbacks, and self-regulation skills, provides a robust framework for students to do reliable, engaging, inquiry-based and hands-on labs outside the classroom. After describing the implementation and technology, we explain our lab objectives and how the labs were integrated into two introductory physics courses. We conclude with an example lab on kinematics.

Interdisciplinary Collaborative Learning as an Alternate to In‐person Laboratory Experiences for Exercise Science and Biology Undergraduate Students

The COVID-19 pandemic caused major challenges to in-person undergraduate laboratory experiences, forcing instructors to find new methods for content delivery and skills development. A spring 2020 collaborative project examining maximal oxygen consumption, lactate threshold, and effects of caffeine consumption on maximal exercise performance paired Exercise Physiology students with Human Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) students to meet learning goals for both courses and to facilitate remote research skill development. The project replaced a hands-on A&P investigation that fulfills conceptual knowledge, data analysis, and communication learning goals and Exercise Science course-based undergraduate research experiences that meet conceptual knowledge and inquiry and analysis learning goals. 24 upper-level undergraduate Exercise Physiology students with VO2max and lactate threshold testing experience served as Consultants to upper-level undergraduate A&P students. A&P students (138 students; 9 laboratory sections) were divided into 31 groups of 4-5 students, with 1-3 groups assigned to each Consultant. Groups were intentionally structured to include a diversity of majors and GPAs. Students were provided with data collected in previous years. Consultants met with each group at least 3 times, serving as expert advisors to help A&P students: 1) understand VO2max and lactate threshold physiology, 2) understand VO2max and lactate threshold testing procedures, 3) develop a research question with appropriately-designed data comparisons and statistical tests, 4) analyze data from two conditions (caffeine and no caffeine), and 5) create appropriate figures, analyze results, and form conclusions based on data. The project successfully replaced a hands-on lab experience due to the Consultants’ prior experience conducting and analyzing data from maximal exercise tests, as well as developing research questions based on maximal exercise testing. Consultants provided A&P students with an additional resource for success and helped instructors manage their workload during the transition to emergency online instruction. A&P students indicated the project was generally successful, although they would have preferred in-person data collection experience and more direct supervision from instructors. Consultants indicated their previous experience with protocols and content was helpful, and teaching peers reinforced their understanding. Challenges included relative timing of instruction on fundamentals of exercise testing vs. data availability, scheduling conflicts, and the sudden move to remote learning. Interdepartmental collaborative projects that pair students with prior in-person data collection experience as Consultants for peers may provide a useful alternative to in-person labs because they reinforce Consultant understanding of procedures and data analysis, build peer understanding of procedures and data analysis, and manage instructor workload.

Redesigning Human Physiology Labs as Integrated Instructional Units with Comparative Parallel Mechanistic Analyses for Post‐COVID Online College Teaching

One of the biggest challenges in remote online college teaching of human physiology is the lab component. To overcome this challenge, we redesigned our pre-COVID face-to-face physiology labs with the objective of preserving most of their learning outcomes. Towards this end, we applied the concept of treating labs as integrated instructional units (America's Lab Report, https://www.nap.edu/read/11311/chapter/5). Our approach was to replace student hands-on lab protocol focus with an integrative lab approach that allows the students to not only record data from real-time, video-recorded experiments, but also to map them out on the corresponding anatomical architecture and mechanisms under investigation. The video recordings were performed by the instructor synchronously during the class session then posted for the students online as part of an expanded lab package that includes instrumentation and protocol details, experimental parameters and variables, relevant anatomical and physiological mechanistic footnotes, as well as expected lab report format and rubric. Using this approach, physiology labs originally designed separately to investigate principles and mechanisms of diffusion, neuronal reflexes, EMG, ECG, and hemodynamics were replaced with integrated labs designed to allow side-by-side comparisons and provide stimulating visual demonstrations of empirical work and relevant mechanistic and anatomical architecture. Two such lab examples are: (1) comparing speedsof: (a) food dye diffusion in solution based on real-time measurements in a glass plate aligned with measuring scales, (b) action potential conduction based on mapped-out neuronal pathway lengths and online measurement of relevant reaction time (https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/java/redgreen.html), and (c) blood flow between the cardiac left ventricle and the site of pulse measurement in the finger based on vasculature anatomy and the time delay between the ECG's QRS electrical wave peak and onset of finger mechanical pulse wave, and (2) comparing time, amplitude, distribution, and discreteness of grip strength-forearm EMG recording with that of the QRS and P-wave of the ECG with emphasis on skeletal versus cardiac muscle electrophysiological mechanisms of action potential initiation and propagation as well as corresponding muscle mass as well as physiological mechanisms. Having successfully applied this new lab design in Fall 2020, more data is expected in Spring 2021 to be presented at the APS annual meeting in late April 2021.

Summer Research Internship for High School Students Pivots to Remote Model Emphasizing Science Reading, Writing, and Interpretation Skills in the Wake of COVID‐19‐Related Disruption

To increase opportunities for participation in authentic research experiences for high school students, we previously developed a collaborative Summer Research Internship Program between California State University, Sacramento (Sac State) and Sacramento Country Day School (SCDS). Outbreak of the COVID‐19 pandemic disrupted our original plans for the Internship Program in summer 2020; thus, we redesigned the Program as a remote internship focusing on science reading, writing, and interpretation skills in order to continue providing an authentic research experience for our high school interns. During the first three years of the Program, we focused on hands‐on participation in physiology research to expose students to an academic research environment and to explore mechanisms for mentoring students in early phases of the STEM pipeline. As we planned for our fourth summer, we originally aimed to expand the Program by increasing the number of high school students placed in research labs at Sac State. With on‐campus research severely limited due to COVID‐19, we instead worked with the mentoring professors at Sac State to pivot the Program's emphases and create a remote internship experience. Feedback gathered from previous student interns indicated their desire to be more involved in the entire scientific process and learn how to read, write, analyze, and communicate data for a scientific audience. We embraced the unexpected turn of events due to the COVID‐19 pandemic as an opportunity to focus on these skills and continue providing authentic research experiences, even if we were not able to conduct traditional, hands‐on laboratory research with the student interns. Three Sac State mentors and five student interns participated in the remote version of the Internship Program in summer of 2020. Student interns participated in a wide range of training activities, including the following: quantitative data analysis, statistics and computer coding tutorials, strategies for reading scientific manuscripts, journal club presentations, protocol development, writing funding proposals, literature search techniques to develop new lines of inquiry, and oral communication of science. At the conclusion of the Program, informal feedback from the student interns indicated general satisfaction with the remote internship model; they valued the opportunity to learn and practice science reading, writing, and interpretation skills and felt they were truly members of their research teams. However, they also commented their research experiences were not as impactful as they could have been, since they could not conduct hands‐on experiments in the laboratory. For future iterations of our Internship Program, either in‐person or remote, including a component that emphasizes science reading, writing, and interpretation skills merits consideration based on positive feedback from the initial pilot of this component during our pivot to a remote internship model due to COVID‐19.

Catalytic Removal of Bromates from Water: A Hands-On Laboratory Experiment to Solve a Water Pollution Problem through Catalysis

Catalysis is not only one of the most crucial principles of Green Chemistry but also one of the most used industrial strategies to improve yields and to shift to more environmental-friendly processes. Due to the great importance of catalysis, we propose a laboratory activity related to heterogeneous catalysis courses (upper and undergraduate students). It involves the preparation of a catalyst, the study of its activity in a three-phase reaction, and the analysis of the results. The selected reaction is the catalytic removal of bromates in water that can be easily monitored by a simple titration method. Students will analyze the reaction products, and with the obtained data, they will work in different concepts related to catalysis. In brief, this hands-on activity enables students to apply catalysis by themselves as an effective tool to solve a water pollution problem.

Guideline to Safety and Security in Federated Remote Labs

The interest of the educational community in the laboratory- (lab) based education has grown steadily. As remote labs have started to be a reliable alternative to traditional hands-on labs, security and safety issues are becoming increasingly important, as their interconnected nature raises new and challenging issues. The complexity increases when multiple institutions are involved in a federated lab infrastructure. This paper provides a guideline for assessing safety and security in federated labs following the VDI/VDE 2182 guideline and verifies the concept based on remote labs in three different academic institutions.

Bacterial Unknown Project in the COVID19 Era: Transition from in-Person Lab Experience to Online Environment

The eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic forced many universities to quickly transition traditional in-person laboratory courses to an online format for remote learning. Consequently, learning objectives focused on hands-on laboratory skills shifted to ones that assess skills that could be recapitulated in the online format. We have transitioned a staple experiment in most undergraduate microbiology labs, the Bacterial Unknown Project, for online delivery using the university Learning Management System. We maintained the learning objectives suited for online delivery, such as creating an experimental design for identifying an unknown bacterium and communicating scientific results, while replacing or modifying those which could not be replicated, such as demonstration of sterile techniques, with learning objectives that highlighted skills of collaboration, peer evaluation, and scientific communication. Assessment of these new and modified learning objectives demonstrated positive student learning. Additionally, an anonymous postproject survey asked students whether they perceived the online Bacterial Unknown Project had increased their skill level in the areas highlighted by the revised learning objectives. Results reflected that 80% of the students reported the Unknown Project had increased their skills in all areas evaluated.

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.