Lessons learned from implementing blended and online undergraduate chemistry laboratory teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic

Cramman, Helen; Connor, Mia A.B.; Hau, Chapman; Robson, Jacquie

Abstract

In March 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic led to unprecedented circumstances which impacted significantly on Higher Education. Since that time, requirements for social distancing and reduced access to in-lab teaching facilities have meant a dramatic redesign of many Chemistry undergraduate laboratory courses. This chapter presents the lessons learned from the redevelopment of the 2020-2021 first-year chemistry undergraduate laboratory course at Durham University. The two pre-existing laboratory modules were converted from their traditional in-lab delivery (supported by online pre- and post-lab activities) to a blended delivery module and a fully online module. The blended module focused on the key manipulative skills students need to gain competence in to progress successfully to second year laboratory work. The fully online module focused on scientific enquiry skills. This chapter presents practical and theoretical considerations for the development of blended or online laboratory courses before discussing lessons learned from the evaluation of the process of implementing the course and the impact for students.

Citation

Cramman, H., Connor, M. A., Hau, C., & Robson, J. (2021). Lessons learned from implementing blended and online undergraduate chemistry laboratory teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic. In E. Pearsall, K. Mock, M. Morgan, & B. A. Tucker (Eds.), Advances in Online Chemistry Education (177-193). American Chemical Society. https://doi.org/10.1021/bk-2021-1389.ch012

• Online Publication Date: Aug 25, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021
• Deposit Date: Jun 16, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 16, 2021
• Publisher: American Chemical Society
• Pages: 177-193
• Series Title: ACS Symposium Series
• Series Number: 1389
• Book Title: Advances in Online Chemistry Education
• ISBN: 9780841298231
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/bk-2021-1389.ch012
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1625043
• Publisher URL: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/bk-2021-1389.ch012
• Contract Date: May 20, 2021