By the third day of the 2020 academic year at the University of Costa Rica, the COVID-19 pandemic had forced the institution to interrupt all on-campus academic activities. Courses moved to emergency remote teaching, ERT. The majors’ first semester chemistry laboratory, Chemical Experimentation 1, was reoriented to focus on students’ development of nontechnical, experimentation skills and scientific practices relevant to the conventional course. New assignments ranged from problem-based projects to prescriptive online simulations, included team and individual work, lasted one or several weeks, and were hands-on or relied on computer-based animations, simulations, and demonstrations. Assignments were completed asynchronously and supported by synchronous weekly discussion sessions, extended office hours, and online forums. Online modules on topics pertinent to the course were available for perusal at students’ convenience. Despite a major challenge for the achievement of typical instructional goals, the pandemic created a unique opportunity to obtain educational data in a situation that for all purposes is irreproducible experimentally. This study intends to take advantage of this scenario to probe the nature and extent of experimentation skills attainable through remote laboratory learning. End-of-course survey data suggest the ERT course effectively supported development of nontechnical experimental skills and scientific practices, e.g., asking scientific questions, planning and executing investigations, collecting, analyzing, and constructing explanations, creating arguments from evidence, and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating scientific information. Initial phenomenological analysis of participant in-depth interviews supports survey data and highlights the shortcomings of the learning environment. In-laboratory experiences are not substitutable; however, course designs may incorporate meaningful activities away from the lab to fulfill some of the objectives of experimental instruction assisting in optimization of instructional resources.

Experimentation skills away from the chemistry laboratory: Emergency remote teaching of multimodal laboratories

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.