ERIC Number: EJ1277964
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Sep
Pages: 4
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
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Available Date: N/A
Converting an Environmental Sampling Methods Lecture/Laboratory Course into an Inquiry-Based Laboratory Experience during the Transition to Distance Learning
Journal of Chemical Education, v97 n9 p2992-2995 Sep 2020
In mid-March 2020, due to the novel coronavirus, my 300-level Environmental Sampling Methods lecture/laboratory course transitioned to distance learning. After this move, the primary focus of the course became the laboratory. To do this, I revised my three remaining laboratory exercises (i.e., water quality, soil quality, environmental microbes) and created two new ones (i.e., toxicology, ultraviolet radiation). For the students to complete the experiments, I shipped low-cost equipment and supplies to them; this shipment included Petri plates and sampling swabs, sterile water, a pH meter and associated calibration powders, a total dissolved solids meter, clay and sand samples, conical tubes, sampling baggies, cyanotype printing paper, and lettuce seeds. I justified this shift toward being primarily laboratory-focused by requiring all the experiments to become inquiry-based, increasing the rigor of the experiments but also keeping the students engaged by allowing them to design their own projects. To keep a sense of community within the class, discussion boards were utilized. To ensure a safe environment at home, each project required preapproval. The discussion below focuses on the details of how the course was modified, how the course was managed, some of the pitfalls I encountered, and how the students exceeded my expectations with the projects they created.
Descriptors: Active Learning, Inquiry, Science Experiments, Distance Education, Educational Change, Student Experience, COVID-19, Pandemics, Science Instruction, Chemistry, Independent Study
Division of Chemical Education, Inc. and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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Author Affiliations: N/A