Poster Presentation

PosterPresentationPosterPresentationThepotentialofvirtuallaboratoriesfordistanceeducationscienceteaching:reflectionsfromthedevelopmentandevaluationofavirtualchemistrylaboratoryBarneyDalgarno,SchoolofInformationStudies,CharlesSturtUniversityAndreaG.BishopandDannyR.BedgoodJr.,SchoolofScienceandTechnologyCharlesSturtUniversitybdalgarno@@@(CSU)oneofthegreatestproblemsthatconfrontsusinprovidingundergraduatechemistrybyDistanceEducation(DE)ishowtoadequatelyaddresstheteachingofalaboratorycomponent.Thisproblemhasalsobeenfrequentlyreportedbyothersinvolvedinteachingchemistryatadistance(HollingworthandMcLoughlin2021).InteachingfirstyearchemistryatCSUthisisfurthercompoundedbythefactthatover90%ofourstudentsundertakechemistryasaservicesubjectfordegreessuchaspharmacy,winescience,agriculture,nutrition,teachingandnursing.AtCSUtherearetwointroductorychemistrysubjects.ChemistryFundamentalsistakenbystudentsincoursesrequiringabaselevelofunderstandingandChemistry1Aistakenbystudentsrequiringamoreindepthchemistrybackground.Combinedenrolmentforthesesubjectsin2021was523,ofwhich240wereDEstudents.Bothofthesesubjectsareavailablewithoutprerequisites,aCSUpolicy.StudentsenrollinginChemistry1Aarerecommendedtohavecompletedabridgingcourseasaminimumstandard.Thebridgingcourseshavenolaboratorycomponent.Thelevelofpreviouslaboratoryexperiencevariesenormouslyacrossthecohorts.Whilesomearealreadyemployedinprofessionallaboratories,othershaverecentlycompletedYear12Chemistry,andsomehaveneverpreviouslyexperiencedalaboratoryenvironment.AsurveyofinternalChemistry1Astudentsin2021identifiedthehighestlevelofChemistrypreviouslycompleted.72%hadcompletedYear12orhigher,5%hadcompletedYear11and23%Year10orlower,andPosterPresentationexperienceinperformingchemistryexperiments.DEstudentsarecurrentlyprovidedwithprintedmaterialsandsupportedthroughanasynchronousonlineforum,plusemail,phoneandfax.Thelaboratorycomponentofchemistrysubjectsiscompletedatintensethreeorfourdayresidentialschools.Providingasatisfactorylaboratoryexperienceforthesestudentswithinthatshortperiod,andwithintheconstraintsofourresources,isthesubjectofongoingreviewatCSU.Theinitialorientationinthelaboratoryisacrucialstep.Recognisingthatlearningisbestachievedinanenvironmentwherestudentsfeelcalmandsecure,initialexercisesareemployedtofamiliarisestudentswiththelaboratoryprotocols,layoutandequipmentlocations.Weendeavourtomakethemcomfortableinthelaboratoryenvironmentasquicklyaspossibletomaximisetheirlearningexperiencesduringthebriefresidentialschoolperiod.Nevertheless,somestudentsexperienceahighlevelofstressandtheir‘survival’strategyistomerelyplodthroughand‘satisfactorily’completealab.Oftenonlysurfacelearningoccurs,asstudentsleavethelabswithouthavingextendedthemselvestotrulyexperimentandlearn.Despitetheinherentlyactiveopportunitiesofferedinthelaboratorylearningexperience,studentsfrequentlyhavepassiveexpectations.Theyareunfamiliarwiththeenvironmentandtheequipmentandwantstep-by-stepdirections.Theyadherestringentlytoanywritteninstruction,oftenwithoutthoughtorunderstanding,andmakeslowprogress.Manyoftheproblemsthatstudentsexperienceinthelaboratorycanbeascribedtoinadequatepreparation.Thatpreparationmaybeconsideredtohaveseveralparts:orientation(knowinglocationsofequipment);appropriatechoiceofequipment(understanding,forexample,whichpieceofglasswaretouse);andgraspofthetheoryunderpinningexperiments.AdequatelypreparingDEstudentsisadifficulttask.Internalstudentshavetheirlaboratoryexperiencespreadovermanyweeks,andsohavetimetolearnthelocationsofmaterialsandevolvetheirpreparativemethods.OpportunitiesforDEstudentstoreflectuponandrefinetheirpreparativestrategiesarelimited.Potentialbenefitsofavirtuallaboratory3Denvironmentshavethepotentialtositua