Educational Research

This case study describes an innovative and successful rework of a biochemistry lab assessment process at De Montfort University for a large, diverse student cohort. The new format had inclusivity, authenticity and student co-creation in mind throughout, and used various forms of dialogic and peer feedback in a flipped classroom. LearnSci LabSims were a key part of this approach, helping students learn and develop relevant scientific skills at their own pace ahead of formative and summative case study work.

This collaboration between educators at the Universities of Sydney and Leicester asked a large Year 1 chemistry cohort whether and how students believed LearnSci LabSims impacted their laboratory experience. Through both quantitative (N=419) and free-text (N=373) survey responses, a firm majority of students expressed positive impacts which included motivation from feedback and help visualising the techniques and easing them into the lab.

Neil Williams from Kingston University introduced LabSims and 聪明的工作表 as a way of closing the BAME attainment gap his chemistry module was experiencing, by providing more opportunities to develop skills and confidence in students who had little previous lab experience before university.

Nicholas Harmer and Alison Hill from the University of Exeter successfully used LearnSci resources as part of a drive to effectively teach and assess practical bioscience amidst COVID-19 lockdowns. The laboratory simulations (LabSims) helped consolidate theoretical and practical concepts, and were well-received by students. Smart Worksheet tasks which were originally created to address poor performance in a challenging part of a biochemistry course were shown to effectively support students when using historical datasets for those unable to attend lab sessions.

J. McCartney and colleagues from the University of the Western Cape report on the benefits of rolling out LabSims and 聪明的工作表 on their pharmacy students. They observed higher levels of student comfort in using the scientific equipment, allowing them to focus on the underlying scientific concepts rather than basic kit function when precious lab time was available to them.

Richard Blackburn, Barbara Villa-Marcos & Dylan Williams from the University of Leicester integrated LabSims into a first year chemistry module to help students practice experiments, make mistakes and receive feedback before their lab sessions. Students were highly engaged with the simulations and provided very positive end-of-module feedback.