APU Careers & Learning Online Learning

Online Science Labs: A Closer Look

online-science-labsBy Dr. Gianluca Corsi
Associate Professor of Science at American Public University

Science programs are constantly re-designed to fit the dynamics of online education, but the effectiveness of online labs is a common concern. One particular misconception is that the online platform is less than ideal for the development and execution of labs and that these labs do not compare with traditional ones. As a result, online labs are commonly referred to as virtual labs.

I believe that this is a false perception, and I’d like to provide evidence from my personal experience with online labs to demonstrate that these labs have a greater potential for learning authentic science than most traditional labs do.

A Brief History of Labs in Science Education

Anyone who has taken a science class has been required to do labs at some point. The purpose of a lab is to help students learn about the natural world by doing science just as a scientist would. One advantage of doing labs is that we can simulate conditions otherwise too difficult, risky, or expensive to face in the real world. However, not every lab activity is conducive to scientific learning.

Although a well-designed lab activity has certain characteristics in all of its components (background, experimental design, and assessment), in my experience–three markers are critically important in order to promote authentic scientific thinking and learning:

  • Encourage the elaboration of individual ideas rather than simple processing of materials
  • Engage the learner in real and open-ended exploration, rather than merely exposing him or her to step-by-step directions
  • Provide instructional scaffolding, mainly guidance and support (technical and theoretical)

Virtual Labs and Online Labs

It is important to understand that virtual labs and online labs, although often used synonymously, are actually not the same. Virtual labs are computer-generated simulations that use special algorithms reflecting numerical relationships among variables, usually resulting from actual experiments, which are fed to a database. The learner simulates a laboratory experience on the computer screen, but the results are always the same for everyone who performs it.

Online labs are actual activities designed to be conducted in the real world, on the other side of the screen (not on the screen), and involve open-ended exploration of natural phenomena.

Why Online Labs Are Better for Learning

Most labs in a traditional classroom are designed to be instructor-centered and not necessarily conducive to the elaboration of new ideas; they are often expository in nature (step-by-step) and lead to already known results. This is done because with large classes in a limited amount of time, classroom management is easier when the outcome is known, and everyone follows a systematic approach (i.e. a worksheet). These labs often lack strong instructional scaffolding as the guidance is primarily or exclusively related to the instructor’s competence.

However, online labs are designed with the idea of letting students explore the natural environment and learn through trial and error–finding their own paths of discovery in open-ended scenarios. Failure is expected as it is an important part of the authentic learning because it develops new ideas.

Since online labs are usually offered asynchronously and on an individual basis, time is not a limiting factor, which eliminates the need to accommodate large groups with time constraints –resulting in more opportunities for true exploration.

Finally, the instructor serves as a facilitator who offers feedback and directions for the learners to develop their own library of relevant material, making instructional scaffolding highly effective.

Labs are an effective and fun way to discover the marvels of science and, when properly designed, the online environment provides an ideal platform for authentic explorations.

About the Author

Gianluca Corsi, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Science with the American Public University. He is actively involved in STEM educational research and has extensive experience as a professional science educator, instructional coach, and lab designer. He has taught and conducted research in Europe, Brazil, and the United States, and he has authored effective instructional methodologies for STEM education.

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