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Real-world digital simulations emerged in the mid-2000s, making inroads in both industry and academia. Today, the use of virtual lab simulations in science courses is not only becoming a standard at University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), but it is boosting non-science students’ knowledge and engagement with science. 

In a recent webinar sponsored by The Chronicle of Higher Education, Debra McLaughlin, the portfolio director for UMGC’s Natural Sciences Program, said non-science major students in virtual labs were more likely to complete their courses—and with higher grades—than were students in science classes using hands-on lab kits.

“We saw non-science majors inspired and motivated by science, and their experiences were more positive,” she said, noting that course completion rose by 15 percent. 

In her comments at The Chronicle of Higher Education’s virtual forum, “Expanding Opportunities in the Hard Sciences,” McLaughlin noted that students enrolled in a virtual lab class were less likely to drop the course and more likely to receive A and B grades than were students in classes using hands-on lab kits. She speculated that “the positive experience” in the virtual labs might cause non-science majors to better appreciate science and, perhaps, even consider different career options.

Lessons learned

As a predominantly online academic institution, ��������for years found it challenging to teach science laboratory classes. Prior to virtual labs, the university adopted a system in which lab kits were shipped to its students around the world, Mc Laughlin said. The kits had all the materials needed to conduct science experiments, but they also had limitations. Students in remote locations sometimes did not receive their kits—or did not receive them in time to keep up with their classes. Parts of kits were occasionally missing. And the kits only supplied what was needed for one repetition of each experiment (more than one experiment in the kit). That meant students could not repeat experiments, which is part of the scientific process.

In addition, most non-science students disliked lab courses because they only carried one credit even though the work seemed as intense as a three-credit course. Virtual labs have mitigated that perception.

“Once they’re in it, they’re fine,” McLaughlin said, “because they’re exploring. They’re looking. They’re asking questions that they hadn’t thought of probably for years or never thought of.” 

The virtual labs, McLaughlin said, ignite students’ interest and draw them into science in unexpected ways.

“Our 22-year-old selves still channel our 5-year-old selves, and we are just fascinated by science,” McLaughlin said.  

The shift to virtual labs came when the university connected with a vendor, TableTop Science, that was familiar with the type of students ��������serves, including adult learners, military students and parents with children at home. The interactive virtual labs developed by TableTop Science allow general education students to undertake more sophisticated experiments they are also able to repeat. Some of the lab experiments feel relevant to the students and their lives. 

“They could analyze DNA patterns, and they could look for fat content in foods,” McLaughlin said. “That led to more positive student responses and higher retention rates in the courses.” 

Bringing laboratories to living rooms

Science majors at ��������have traditionally completed laboratory course requirements in person, in physical laboratory classrooms. In-person laboratories, like other in-person activities, were not an option during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic drew attention to the growing number of virtual lab simulations available. Restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic meant that professors sought alternative laboratory options which made virtual laboratory activities available to science majors. Today, at UMGC, several science courses for biotechnology and laboratory management majors include virtual labs.  

Virtual Reality (VR) is also beginning to play a role in enhancing lab courses.  Students wearing 3-D VR goggles perform experiments, including virtual dissections, while sitting at home. One of the most engaging interactive environments is a crime-scene simulation used in classes for students majoring in areas including forensic science, criminal justice�����Ի� journalism. �į

“It’s a virtual neighborhood with a number of houses that have several dead bodies in them. All of them died from various things,” McLaughlin said. “The students go in and collect the data. They can do the analysis there on the scene. That helps them to learn how they use the equipment.”   

Journalism students use the simulation to learn interviewing and reporting skills; they also attend a virtual press conference.  

In a collaboration with tech giant Meta, ��������has also received about 100 3-D goggles that it makes available in lab courses for stateside students. Overseas students perform the same experiments in a two-dimensional format. 

Analyzing the impact

McLaughlin said the encouraging results from the new virtual labs prompted her and colleagues Meenu Vikram and Gro Torsethaugen to analyze tens of thousands of evaluations from students. 

“We saw the positive trends in the course evaluation scores. Now we want to see what the students are telling us with their own words to describe those experiences,” she said. “We are trying to get deeper into those open responses to really look at what they are telling us their experience was like.”  

Evaluating each response by hand would be unmanageable. That’s why ��������is using and enhancing Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools that can do that work almost instantaneously. Ouanessa Boubsil, UMGC’s manager for course evaluation surveys, is leading the effort to develop and apply AI tools in analyzing student comments in course evaluation surveys. Her work focuses on interpreting feedback quickly and at scale. Artificial AI models can be programmed to pick up the nuances in a student’s response that, in the past, had to be done by a human rater one-at-a-time. 

For example, one of the questions is, “What can we do to improve the course?” If the response is “nothing,” Boubsil said, the program needs to be trained to determine whether “nothing” is a positive response. 

“It’s not just positive/negative,” Boubsil explained. “It’s like, oh, they are very excited or they are satisfied or they are frustrated within a setting for labs.” 

Using AI-powered software, ��������can analyze data going back 10 years with responses from more than 40,000 students—as well as from 15,000 currently enrolled students—unlocking insights that were previously out of reach. McLaughlin, Boubsil and their collaborators already are seeing the virtual labs viewed more positively than hands-on lab kits used in the past. 

“Students often don’t recognize the value of learning critical thinking, making decisions based on evidence and following procedures,” McLaughlin said. “A critical aspect of the lab course is you collect the data and you share—in your own words—what you observed and what the data is telling you about the phenomena. You don’t just make it up.”