Careful consideration of the design of an online laboratory course can lead to an improved laboratory experience for students (Cancilla & Albon, 2008). This dissertation study represents one iteration in a process to improve the online offering of a general biology lecture and laboratory course at Hartnell College. The purpose of this research was to examine the influences of two specific course changes intended to improve teaching presence on student satisfaction, actual and perceived learning, and retention in this online biology laboratory course. The first change was to include a series of focused virtual office hours via Zoom. These were called biology skills sessions, with each focusing on a particular skill that students have struggled with in the past. The second change was to include a lab wrap-up video each week to emphasize major points, help students form connections between lecture and laboratory material, and review for the lab quiz. This study examined how students utilized the two innovations throughout the course. While the focus of the study was on improving teaching presence, student perspectives on social presence and cognitive presence were explored as well. This explanatory mixed methods case study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, data were gathered from the Fall 2020 (baseline data gathered before teaching presence-focused changes were made) and Spring 2021 (post-changes) semesters of an online general biology course. In the second phase, interviews were conducted at the end of spring semester. Qualitative results were used to explore the trends identified in quantitative data. Results indicated that teaching presence, cognitive presence, satisfaction, perceived learning, and some aspects of actual learning were significantly improved after adding teaching presence-focused course elements. When examining differences between students who used the innovations versus those who did not, results were not as clear cut, but survey results and scores were generally, if not significantly, higher for those who utilized the biology skills sessions and lab wrap-up videos. Student comments indicated that they appreciated the biology skills sessions and lab wrap-up videos and felt they should be kept as part of the course. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]