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BIO 7: Introduction to the Science of Biology (Laboratory)

Reflection on Instructional Change:

The biggest and most challenging aspect of my remote learning redesign was migrating in-person lab activities to a virtual format. One of the strengths of the BIO 7 lab is to give future elementary school teachers tangible hands-on experiences with activities that they could easily bring into their own classrooms when they become teachers. For most of the students, science is not where their passions lie, so the activities I needed to create for the online experience had to be engaging as well.

I reviewed approximately 12 Labster activities, the virtual lab product discussed in one of my Side Car discussions, but they all felt "clunky". Additionally, for any given topic, Labster went too in depth on some of the material, and was too superficial in others. Instead, for as many lab exercises as possible, I tried to have the students conduct a hands-on activity/experiment with readily available materials they would likely have at home or could buy at the supermarket. All these assignments were modified Canvas quizzes or assignments. Often times, students were required to post a photo and explanation of their results on a discussion board. This was something I did to try to foster a sense of community, something I learned from a Side Car discussion. When an at-home lab activity wasn't practical for the topic, students would watch a demos of experiments and ask to make predictions and analyze the data. If a lab demo also wasn't practical for the topic, I created scenario-based case studies.

A large part of my decision to make the lab class asynchronous was due to equity concerns I became aware of through one of our Side Car meetings. After realizing that many students would likely have issues meeting at a specific time because of lack of consistent internet service, tumultuous work schedules, child care issues, and/or COVID-related health issues, I decided to have my entire lab course be done asynchronously. The trade-off of this is that is doesn't build a sense of community like a synchronous class would do, but I tried to mitigate this by having the students make use of the discussion board. An unexpected equity issue that came up soon into the semester was that not all my students had access to the "readily available" materials needed for the at-home activities. For example, some students were in the dorms and didn't have access to a pot and a stove. Some didn't have a yeast packet and couldn't find any at the supermarket. My remedy for this was to create alternative assignments for every at-home activity. One last equity issue I discovered was due dates. Normally, I would require students to turn in an assignments after a week it became available. This semester, the aforementioned internet, work, child care, and COVID issues made it difficult for many students to complete assignments on time. As a consequence, I had soft deadlines to try to keep students from falling behind, but all assignments remain available to complete up until Finals Week, to allow students the opportunity to complete assignments they might have otherwise missed.

Photo of student engagement activities through at-home lab activities

Photos submitted by students for various at-home lab assignments using readily available materials.

The above is a screenshot of a virtual lab activity for which the students observe the results of an experiment with sowbugs and then have to analyze the results and draw conclusions.

A screenshot of an alternate assignment to the DNA Extraction Activity showing a YouTube video with a beaker of strawberry pulp and alcohol.

The above is a screenshot of an alternative assignment to an at-home DNA Extraction Experiment, in case students couldn't get strawberries and rubbing alcohol. Some students were unable to leave their house/dorm to go to the grocery store and buy the needed materials.

Post Side Car - Syllabus and Schedule

Pre Side Car - Syllabus and Schedule

Faculty Biography

Headshot of Dr. Adam Rechs

Dr. Adam Rechs

(pronounced "Rex", like the dinosaur)

Background: I have been teaching biology classes at Sac State going on twenty years. After graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Biology, I went on and earned a doctorate in Physiology, with an emphasis in how the nervous system works.

If you want to know a little more about me, check out the video below:

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation NSF Hispanic Serving Institution Award 1832335. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.