On line lab practical: effective option for station based lab exam

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On line lab practical effective option for
station based lab exam

• Ann C. Smith
• Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics

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The Course

• General Microbiology (BSCI 223)
• Survey course
• 250 students per lecture section
• 1- 2 lecture sections per semester
• Lab component
• Lab Curriculum
• American Society for Microbiology guidelines
• Preparation for advance Microbiology labs

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The Laboratory

• Fundamental/minimal requirements
• Attain competency in techniques
• Learn vocabulary
• Understand the nature of working with organisms
  that are potential pathogens

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Challenges

• Survey course with are large enrollment of
  students and 10 15 teaching assistants
• Some lab techniques are repeated to allow
  students options for review, but some are only
  experience one time in one lab
• During lab students see the results to their own
  work or their groups work but are not exposed to
  a wider variety of alternate scenarios
• Students do not have an option to repeat work or
  come back to lab to review

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Goals

• Design a mechanism for students to review lab
  results and extend learning of lab material.
• Design a comprehensive lab exam that provides
• a challenge and re-enforcement of learning for
  the students and
• an assessment tool for the instructor

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Initial Approach

• Review
• Set up stations in Demo lab, open at set times
• Use of bulletin board displays
• Short in-lab quizzes with Practical-style
  questions
• Exam
• Traditional lab practical
• Stations, timed

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Problems

• Lab Prep takes significant time (with three labs
  taking the exam simultaneously, there is a
  requirement for three set ups.
• During the time that all 300 440 students pass
  through the lab exam displays are altered or
  destroyed.
• Lab practical set up (timed, stations) stressful
  for students
• Lab practical set up is stressful for
  instructors.
• Lab practical set up does not allow for variation
  in exam questions from section to section.

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Solutions technology

• Course Learning Center in WebCT
• Organization
• Communication
• New learning opportunities that complement lab
  and lecture
• Use of quiz tool
• On line Lab review quizzes
• On line Lab exams

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On line Lab Review quizzes

• Design
• Data base of questions
• Use of images captured from lab

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Lab Review Quiz Set up
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Lab Review Quizzes

• Impressions -gt Goal 1(option for students to
  review/extend lab learning) is realized
• Positive
• Options for students to review lab data/concepts
• Options to extend learning through the automated
  feedback option
• Students receive immediate feed back
• Easy access for students through the online
  course environment
• increases student competency with technology
• Negative
• Time to set up (but once the data base is
  established it is easy to modify and use!)

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Goal 2- the comprehensive lab exam

• On line lab practical
• Offered for the first time in Fall 2001
• Two online exams per semester
• Midterm
• Comprehensive Final
• Lab meets in computer lab for the exam days. TAs
  proctor exam.
• Grading is automated in the same manner as the
  quizzes.

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Grading

• A breeze!
• The system grades the exams automatically. Grades
  are held until all students have completed the
  exam.
• Once grades are released, students can see
  questions, their answers, and the automated
  feedback.
• In WebCT grades are automatically listed in a
  spreadsheet which can be downloaded to a
  spreadsheet program.

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Impressions

• Learning goals
• Comprehensive exam in same style as review
• Allow good assessment of learning
• Versatility
• Easy to maintain and update
• Cataloging feature
• No grading
• Scores on Exams have increased
• Initial set up investment is significant.

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Students love the system!

• Very helpful
• Keep them online
• Great way to study
• Very useful and easy to access
• I like the quizzes and the lab exams because of
  the pictures and different types of questions.

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Acknowledgements

• Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics
• College of Life Sciences
• Undergraduate Technology Apprentice Program
• Office of Information Technology

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On line exams- Set up

• See the set up in WebCT
• www.courses.umd.edu
• See me for guest password