Bio 100L: My experience teaching a fully online lab science class at NAU

Larry MacPheeAssociate Director of e-LearningNorthern Arizona University

Origins?

In Spring 2012, Dr. Patrick Deegan, Assoc. Dean of Extended Campuses, asked if I was interested in developing an online lab science class…

Labs are Active Learning

practical hands-on constructivist participatory

Online Learning?

But how do you build active learning into an online class? Ideas?

Active Learning

I tried to design the class around “active learning” principles.

Comprehension: Students better comprehend new information when they (or their instructors) can link it to prior knowledge.

Recall: Students have better recall when they understand rather than memorize key concepts.

Application: Students develop better understanding when they attempt to apply what they know to solve novel problems.

Group Work: Students learn more effectively when working as part of a group or when helping each other out.

Presentations: Students develop the best grasp of concepts when they are required to present to others.

http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/five-key-principles-of-active-learning

Let’s take a look…

Principles of Science

Critical Thinking• DHMO

Scientific Method• Water Drops

Biochemistry Molecule Builder Calorie Lab Diet Analysis Chromatography

Cell Biology Microscopy• Pond Organisms

Osmosis Lab

Genetics DNA Extraction The Double Helix DNA Models Baby Lab

Physiology Human Senses Lab

Evolution Natural Selection• Darwin’s Voyage• Bird Beak Lab

Geologic Timeline

Ecology/Biodiversity Bottle Biology Recycling Classification Disease Lab

A good online class should be… Challenging Interesting (Fun?) Attractive Intuitive Interactive Hands-on Scalable Unfinished!

Resources

http://www2.nau.edu/lrm22/lessons