Authors: Bridget Smyser
Source:  (article, 2024-02-06)
Field: Chemistry — Physical and Theoretical Chemistry

Comparing labs before, during, and after COVID in a Measurements and Analysis Course Abstract Traditional lab courses were a source of stress for instructors during the COVID pandemic. Switching over to online or hybrid models of instruction, while not a huge difficulty for lecture classes, proves to be an enormous challenge for lab classes. In the Mechanical Engineering department at Northeastern University, the required junior level lab course in Measurements and Analysis was extensively reworked to maintain a highly hands on and open-ended lab experience. Starting in Fall 2020, the lab experiments were modified to use Arduino based sensors that allowed for experimentation either on campus or at home. The Arduino kits were the same for on- and off-campus students, and all lab groups contained students from both cohorts. Students shared data from on-campus and off-campus experiments to complete the lab reports. These hybrid labs were in place for Fall 2020 and Spring 2021. In Fall 2021 students returned to campus full time. Rather than reverting to the previous on campus labs, the Arduino based experiments were modified slightly for students working completely in the lab. Student reactions to the labs before, during, and after the COVID interruption were assessed using student surveys. These surveys probed whether students found the labs engaging, whether the labs helped them learn course materials, whether the labs were frustrating or confusing, and whether the lectures/lab handouts were clear and helpful. Data from previous studies was combined with data from the three most recent terms to gauge the effectiveness of the new lab experiments. Experiments during the initial hybrid lab term were rated as more confusing than previous terms. This was resolved and improved upon in subsequent terms. Despite the initial frustration with the hybrid labs, they were generally rated more interesting and engaging than the pre-COVID labs. Students also found that the new labs, both on and off campus, helped them learn the course concepts better than the pre-COVID labs. No correlations were found between any of the survey items and lab report grades. Only Fall 2020 showed any significant correlations between any of the survey items and whether the students were on or off campus when they performed the lab. However, there was a significant difference (P=0.0004) between the initial hybrid lab term and the subsequent terms when it came to equally engaging all students in the lab group. This can perhaps be attributed to the combination of improved lab handouts and, paradoxically, having less equipment set up for the students prior to lab. Overall, the new labs which built on skills learned earlier in the curriculum proved to be more successful at helping the students feel engaged while mastering the material. Additionally, lessons learned during the introduction of the new labs will be discussed. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ; Course (navigation) ; Computer science ; Engineering ; Medicine ; Aerospace engineering Various Chemistry Research Topics ; Experimental Learning in Engineering