Interested in learning more about how to create a more inclusive environment for an online laboratory? Come hear how we identified and overcame barriers by using the principles of inclusive curricula, universal design, and affordability. Be prepared to learn our process and practice your knowledge on example activities.
Imagine being in a laboratory classroom with too many students, not enough room to move around, not enough equipment for each student, and resources that some learners can’t access. Throughout this presentation, we will share ways in which we were able to overcome these challenges while we kept these things in mind:
- Using inclusive curricula, learning climates and instructional practices
- Universal Design in an educational context
- Affordability and cost containment
With these principles in mind, we developed an online laboratory course that included all the same experiences and learning content as the face-to-face course and, most importantly, kept the same student learning outcomes. In laboratory coursework, many outcomes include students gaining experience in doing hands-on activities and growing from a novice into an experienced lab student. An entry level laboratory course requires students to learn about lab safety, set up experiments, and make observations in order to form conclusions. These key learning outcomes were used to effectively develop an online laboratory course. Each laboratory exercise was broken down and presented to students as either a physical lab experiment or as a virtual lab exercise. We will show examples of an inclusive curriculum that was used to reach all learners, and the ways in which we adapted various approaches to incorporate the same learning concepts in all the lab exercises by appealing to multiple sensory experiences. Students are able to access laboratory content through manipulation of objects both virtually and physically, do or watch hands-on experiments, and feel or simulate ways to analyze samples. We will walk through the process of designing lab exercises to include multiple ways of examination so that students can engage and report scientific based observations. We also wanted to ensure learners were able to communicate with each other similar to the in-person lab experience. To meet the demand for students to interact with each other and the course content, we brought in current issues in the discipline and opened conversations with students to create a learning climate that allowed for growth and examination of important scientific issues.
The journey begins with discussing how we used inclusive curricula and practices as well as Universal Design for Learning. Ensuring that students have a rich, meaningful learning experience begins with student access. It is not simply a matter of checking off a series of accessibility requirements but requires an advanced level of accessibility for all learning materials so that all learners feel welcomed and part of the learning experience. The goal is to push higher than this minimum level and discover creative course design techniques that provide a qualitatively richer learning experience for all learners. The universal design for learning principles were used throughout the creation of the online laboratory course, focusing on the principles of multiplicity, clear goals, intentional planning for learner variability, flexible methods, and timely feedback. Lab experiments were developed to allow all students to participate, regardless of the students’ access needs. This included providing tactile graphics, recorded demonstrations, and three-dimensional models. The driving force behind the course development process was to identify potential barriers and develop some proactive accommodation solutions for ensuring that students receive a comparably rich learning experience and not just the bare minimum accessible format. Come hear our story as we share the process of creating an accessible online course, developing rich and meaningful learning experiences for all students, and brainstorming potential accommodations that supply a rich learning experience.
Next, hear how we pursued ways to provide an affordable online laboratory course to further support student access. Laboratory courses can be expensive, for both the institution and the student. However, the cost associated with online laboratory courses can be much lower with some strategic thinking. Instead of using space and equipment at the campus, we used at-home lab kits for the student, which are typically simpler an lower cost than extensive equipment and supplies. Additionally, the at-home lab kit process is streamlined through the eText initiative, which ensures that students receive their lab materials during the first week of the course so no delay in the learning process. To make the costs more student-friendly, electronic resources for the textbooks and lab manuals are also used in the course through the eText program at the university, which is directly linked to the learning management system (LMS) course site. When students enroll in a course with an eText, the student is charged for the text at a significantly reduce priced and has access to the text on the first day of class.
Interaction Strategies
At the beginning, attendees will think of content used in their curriculum that is taught using an active learning process which may be seen as a barrier for specific learners. Throughout the presentation we will have physical examples of the tactile graphics, three-dimensional artifacts, recorded demonstrations, and alternate text to describe salient images used so that learners could reach course outcomes, regardless of their environment. Participants will be able to interact with materials used in the laboratory course and learn how we worked with various team members to design and produce alternative solutions. We will then revisit each other's content and brainstorm how to apply multiple learning opportunities to their content, which will allow participants to share their ideas and challenges.
Takeaways
As the number of online courses increases, high-quality, hands-on laboratory experiences for students cannot be left behind. The naysayers want us to believe that this can’t be done, but this course is a great example of how to create an inclusive, effective science learning environment. Throughout this presentation key concepts in designing an accessible online laboratory will be highlighted.
At the end of our session, attendees will be able to:
- Identify barriers in the online environment that excludes learners
- Give examples of ways to build inclusive learning materials
- Apply inclusive principles to their own course content