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On line lab practical: effective option for station based
lab examAnn C. Smith
Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics
The Course
• General Microbiology (BSCI 223)– Survey course – 250 students per lecture section– 1- 2 lecture sections per semester– Lab component
• Lab Curriculum– American Society for Microbiology guidelines– Preparation for advance Microbiology labs
The Laboratory
Fundamental/minimal requirements:
• Attain competency in techniques
• Learn vocabulary
• Understand the nature of working with organisms that are potential pathogens
Challenges
• Survey course with are large enrollment of students and 10 – 15 teaching assistants
• Some lab techniques are repeated to allow students options for review, but some are only experience one time in one lab
• During lab students see the results to their own work or their groups work but are not exposed to a wider variety of alternate scenarios
• Students do not have an option to repeat work or come back to lab to review
Goals
1. Design a mechanism for students to review lab results and extend learning of lab material.
2. Design a comprehensive lab exam that provides
• a challenge and re-enforcement of learning for the students and
• an assessment tool for the instructor
Initial Approach
1. Review • Set up stations in “Demo” lab, open at set times
• Use of bulletin board displays
• Short in-lab quizzes with Practical-style questions
2. Exam• Traditional lab practical
• Stations, timed
Problems
• Lab Prep takes significant time (with three labs taking the exam simultaneously, there is a requirement for three “set ups”.
• During the time that all 300 – 440 students pass through the lab exam displays are altered or destroyed.
• Lab practical set up (timed, stations) stressful for students
• Lab practical set up is stressful for instructors.
• Lab practical set up does not allow for variation in exam questions from section to section.
Solutions ~ technology
• Course Learning Center in WebCT– Organization– Communication– New learning opportunities that complement
lab and lecture• Use of quiz toolOn line Lab review quizzesOn line Lab exams
Lab Review Quizzes
• Impressions -> Goal 1(option for students to review/extend lab learning) is realized
• Positive– Options for students to review lab data/concepts– Options to extend learning through the automated feedback option– Students receive immediate feed back– Easy access for students through the online course environment– * increases student competency with technology
• Negative– Time to set up (but once the data base is established it
is easy to modify and use!)
Goal 2- the comprehensive lab exam
• On line lab practical– Offered for the first time in Fall 2001
– Two online exams per semester:
• Midterm
• Comprehensive Final
– Lab meets in computer lab for the exam days. TA’s proctor exam.
– Grading is automated in the same manner as the quizzes.
Grading
• A breeze!• The system grades the exams automatically.
Grades are held until all students have completed the exam.
• Once grades are released, students can see questions, their answers, and the automated feedback.
• In WebCT grades are automatically listed in a spreadsheet which can be downloaded to a spreadsheet program.
Impressions
+ Learning goals– Comprehensive exam in same style as review– Allow good assessment of learning
+ Versatility+ Easy to maintain and update+ Cataloging feature+ No grading+ Scores on Exams have increased• Initial set up investment is significant.
Students love the system!
• “Very helpful”
• “Keep them online”
• “Great way to study”
• “Very useful and easy to access”
• “I like the quizzes and the lab exams because of the pictures and different types of questions.”
Acknowledgements
• Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics
• College of Life Sciences
• Undergraduate Technology Apprentice Program
• Office of Information Technology
On line exams- Set up
• See the set up in WebCT
• www.courses.umd.edu
• See me for guest password