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Biology: Enhanced Course
Through Virtual Labs
"I had several high school students go through an online science course and was frustrated with the lack of interactivity they had while online... I saw a gap in the class for hands on learning activities that would help the lectures make sense."
Lynette McGregor: Former High School Science Teacher and Science Educator at Wartburg College
Science educators have long recognized the importance of science labs for promoting meaningful learning of science processes and concepts.1 However, most science instruction is based on a traditional didactic approach grounded in lecture- and textbook-based instruction.2 This trend is even more pronounced in online science courses.3 These online science courses, that use information and communication technologies simply for information delivery, are not taking advantage of the potential for these powerful tools to provide interactive collaborative activities to enhance student learning.
Case Quick Reference Subject: Biology Assessment Technologies Used Organization Resources
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In Project Bio, educators worked together to incorporate an online virtual laboratory component into an existing PowerPoint-based information delivery type distance education Biology course. The virtual laboratory activities facilitated collaborative scientific inquiry among students and promoted conceptual change in students' understanding of scientific phenomenon through online multimedia simulations and computer-mediated discussions. These online activities allowed students to construct their own scientific knowledge through investigation rather than memorization —pedagogy believed to provide students with skills they need to become life-long science learners.4
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"I'm trying to get them to do 'predict, observe, explain' —pedagogy which has been shown to be pretty successful for creating conceptual change in science education."
(Lynette McGregor)
Biology 109, offered through Iowa State University, is an introductory course that fulfills the university's science graduation requirement. High school students who are looking for more advanced science courses, and/or are interested in earning early college credit, also enroll in the course. The course was originally designed to take advantage of the information delivery potential available with widespread access to the World Wide Web. High school teacher Lynette McGregor worked with the university instructor to restructure the class and provide more interactive activities for students.
Initially, instructional activities included reading a textbook, using a WebCT site to view PowerPoint slides and listening to an audio recording of the instructor explaining course content, taking online quizzes , and contacting the instructor and/or other students to ask questions and clarify course content or procedures through email. Mrs. McGregor's high school students, who were enrolled in the course, began asking her for help with course material. As she became more familiar with course content she recognized the need for additional student-centered learning activities to enhance the course. As part of a graduate education course, Mrs. McGregor began to seek ways to incorporate hands-on science lab activities to help her students develop a deeper understanding of the scientific concepts taught in Bio 109.
Mrs. McGregor used Riverdeep online science simulations and introduced a more structured approach to the use of computer-mediated communication to facilitate student participation in the kinds of collaborative inquiry-based science learning currently endorsed by the National Science Education Standards . Further, the simulated science labs allowed students to work collaboratively in three person lab groups. Lab groups each had a discussion board to engage in conversations about the topics under study in the simulated experiments —enabling them to learn from each other, as well as the course instructor. Rather than passively receiving course content through technology, students began to use technology to engage in active hands-on learning with the Riverdeep online simulations and participated in collaborative discussions to co-construct scientific conceptions with their peers.
For example, Mrs. McGregor had students use a discussion board to post their predictions about the role carbon dioxide played in photosynthesis during the photosynthesis unit. Students then engaged in a Riverdeep simulation on photosynthesis which allowed them to adjust carbon dioxide levels and observe the effect of their variable manipulation on various plants in the simulated environment. Students then went back to their small group discussion boards and posted revised explanations of carbon dioxide's role in the photosynthesis process based on their experience with the simulation. Students read and responded to each other's postings to support theories with which they agreed, and/or pointed out flaws in their peers developing photosynthesis understandings. Students participated in the predict, observe, explain learning process promoted by the National Science Education Standards through these activities. Mrs. McGregor also integrated simulations for units on population ecology and energy cycles. She worked to enhance the existing Bio 109 learning environment by using virtual science lab activities and collaborative online discussion to provide inquiry-based student centered activities grounded in a conceptual change model.
Using online tools for communication between students creates pedagogical and logistical challenges for teachers. To facilitate productive discussion groups Mrs. McGregor used guidelines for effective online discussion developed by the Concord Consortium . One principle involved keeping discussion groups small —three or four students per discussion board. This arrangement can increase dialogue between students, who may be overwhelmed by the multitude of postings that occurs when the entire class posts to the same discussion board. Further, Mrs. McGregor specifically prompted student discussion by posting initial questions for students like "What do you think will happen ..." before they engaged in each simulation. This helped students avoid making vague, general comments that can discourage productive online discussion. |
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Mrs. McGregor also provided structure to address logistical issues associated with online asynchronous discussion. Deadlines were set for completing simulations and postings reactions. Without deadlines, some students did simulations as soon as they were assigned and immediately posted results back to the group. Others did not complete simulations or respond to peer postings promptly, holding up group progress and discouraging students who had posted early and had to wait for feedback. Flexibility is clearly a strength of online schooling, but deadlines are necessary to structure discussions and create interactivity among students.
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WebCT, an online course management tool, was used to structure the Project Bio course. WebCT allowed Project Bio students to download the course syllabus, PowerPoint presentations and audio clips at any time, from any computer with an Internet connection. WebCT was also used to create online quizzes, control student access to quizzes and provide students with individualized feedback on their performance. WebCT e-mail software provides a self-contained system that allows students convenient e-mail access to any student or instructor enrolled in the course through easy-to-use mail features.
Each group of students was assigned to a unique discussion board to support their collaborative inquiry-based science activities. WebCT discussion boards are structured to support student learning in two unique ways. First, they are threaded —which allows students to read and respond to existing messages focused on a particular topic. Postings and responses are graphically represented in a hierarchical structure to show the relationships among them. For example, one threaded discussion for Project Bio began with the teacher posting "What do you think will happen to the plants when we change carbon dioxide levels in the ecosystem?" Students responded with their predictions —then read and commented on their peers predictions. This creates a virtual conceptual discussion of the upcoming topic. Another discussion might begin with a student who posts under the heading "This is my theory about photosynthesis." This helps students avoid the confusion that can occur when multiple topics are being discussed at one time. The asynchronous nature of WebCT discussion boards also supports student learning. This characteristic allows students to read a message and respond back at a later time —supporting students' abilities to be more reflective in their responses.5
Students gained access to online Riverdeep simulations through a subscription provided as part of the course. The subscription allowed students to download the interface software needed to run the simulations on any Windows or Mac computer. With the interface installed, students proceeded to the simulation using links available from their WebCT accounts. Simulations are multimedia-based and include streaming audio and animation. They provide students with virtual tools to manipulate variables and observe how their manipulations change phenomena they are exploring. Students can print or save screen shots to provide documentation of their work and a visual to use in explaining how they arrived at their conclusions when engaging in collaborative discussion activities with peers. These simulations may support students active engagement in scientific explorations and their construction of more conceptually sophisticated scientific understandings.
The success of this online learning case lay in Lynette McGregor's ability to find and use online tools to create an interactive online environment to create new opportunities for student learning. She was able to transform an online course that was designed to deliver information into one that provided students with increased opportunities for hands-on activities and collaborative learning. The future and sustainability of online learning may lie in the innovative and creative ways classroom teachers apply advances in technology to enhance courses that were initially based on traditional pedagogical models.
Footnotes:
1. Linn, M. C. & Slotta, J. D. (2000). WISE Science. Educational Leadership 58 (2), 29-32.
2. Baker, D. R. & Piburn, M. (19XX).
3. Cuban, L. (1986). Teachers and machines: The classroom use of technology since 1920 . New York: Teachers College Press.
4. Linn, M. C. & Slotta, J. D. (2000). WISE Science. Educational Leadership 58 (2), 29-32.
5. Wade, S., Niederhauser, D. S., Cannon, M., & Long, T. (2001).
Thanks to Lynette McGregor and Iowa State University for their help.
This case developed by:
Dale Niederhauser, Ph. D. and Denise Lindstrom, M. S.
Center for Technology in Learning and Teaching
Iowa State University
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Case Studies
Web Links:
Iowa State University: http://www.iastate.edu
Project Bio: http://project.bio.iastate.edu/
WebCT Learning Environment: http://www.webct.com/
Riverdeep: http://www.riverdeep.com/index.jhtml
National Science Education Standards: http://books.nap.edu/html/nses/3.html
Riverdeep Simulation on Photosynthesis: http://www.riverdeep.com/science/biology_gateways/bg_overviews/catn.ovw_PHOG.jhtml
Riverdeep Simulation on Population Ecology: http://www.riverdeep.com/science/biology_gateways/bg_overviews/catn.ovw_POPG.jhtml
Concord Consortium: http://www.concord.org/
Download free Adobe Reader: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
A project funded by Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust
Partners: Iowa Public Television, Iowa Department of Education,
Iowa State University - Department of Curriculum and Instruction - Center for Technology in Learning and Teaching - Department of Chemistry,
University of Virginia - Curry Schools of Education - Center for Technology and Teacher Education,
Ottumwa Community Schools, Wartburg College
'Good Practice to Inform Iowa Learning Online' case studies were developed by the Center for Teachnology in Learning and Teaching at
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Last updated: January 2005