Reinventing laboratory teaching in Microbiology & Pathology

Description

The School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Bristol recognised the need to revitalise and reinvent its laboratory practical teaching. This project set out to explore whether students could work in collaboration with academic staff and and e-learning technologists, to generate high-quality learning materials (including pre-laboratory questions, post-laboratory assignments and associated feedback) suitable for on-line delivery,marking and feedback. The project enabled the introduction of an eBiolabs Dynamic Laboratory Manual to support first year practical classes in Microbiology and Pathology.

The novel approach taken was to engage students as developers of eLearning materials for 8 weeks during the summer vacation. They were responsible for scoping the project, reviewing each first year practical with an emphasis on remembering what they had found difficult or confusing when they had attended the practicals. They then prepared experiment information, pre-practical quizzes and post lab assignments consistent with the eBiolabs format developed by Dr Gus Cameron (Director of eBiolabs, School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol) in collaboration with Learning Science Ltd. The Student Developers also produced detailed story boards for Flash animations that were subsequently brought to life by Learning Science.

The project went well and ahead of schedule, video clips, shot and edited by the Student Developers, were introduced to support the Introduction to Microbiology unit. The first year students engaged with these resources and found them helpful, even though this was not mandatory for the course.

Student feedback indicated that since the introduction of eBiolabs the students felt well prepared for the session when they entered the laboratory (70% agreed or strongly agreed, compared to 34%). The staff also reported that the students were better prepared when they entered the lab and that they showed better understanding of the practical.

In units where there was no eBiolabs provision, the students felt that they learnt more doing the write-up than they did in the lab, whereas when the students had engaged with eBiolabs experiment information and pre-practical quizzes they reported that they learnt more preparing for the practical than in the lab.

The staff felt that the Student Developers really helped drive the project forward. The Student Developers recognised that they had "A thorough knowledge of the course and insight into the areas students had difficulty with". When asked "What were the benefits of employing you?" one of the Developers responded "Experience was the key benefit. It helped us to develop the materials with the student in mind…"

Staff in the department are already benefiting from a decreased marking burden due to the introduction of post-lab assignments and, importantly, the students are enjoying consistent and timely feedback as soon as the submission deadline has passed.

Links

• Project report
• Ann and one of the student developer's gave a presentation on this project at our Engaging Bioscience Students in Practical Work event at the University of Bristol (7/04/11).
• An article entitled 'Students as Developers' was published in the summer 2011 edition of Bioscience Bulletin (issue 33, p 9)

You may also be interested in:

• The ELE-Biolabs project at the University of Exeter
• Our pages on practical work and fieldwork in the biosciences
• Open Educational Resources (OER) project - an Interactive Laboratory and Fieldwork Manual for the Biosciences
• Student Research Projects: Guidance on Practice in the Biosciences