Commitment to students makes online labs possible

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (06/22/2020)—With only two days to prepare, the Department of Chemistry moved its general chemistry and organic chemistry undergraduate courses online, including their laboratory components. This feat would not have been possible without the general and organic chemistry directors and their teaching assistants.

Teaching laboratories online is not ideal, particularly with the problem-based and guided-inquiry approaches used in the Department of Chemistry. These approaches are designed to help students develop their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, to teach them how to work effectively in teams, and to encourage them to become comfortable with adapting-on-the-fly in the lab.

“It was truly remarkable to watch our graduate student teaching assistants, staff, and faculty develop and execute a plan to preserve as much of the learning experience as possible in only two days. As a leader in laboratory course instruction, it was very challenging to make some of the compromises that were required under these unprecedented circumstances. Our team put the students first, and I am proud of the level of service we were able to maintain.” — Department Head David Blank

General Chemistry

In two days, Professor Michelle Driessen, general chemistry director, Hannah Leopold, assistant director, lead teaching assistants Michael Hodny and Quin Hu, and other laboratory teaching assistants videotaped experiments or trial runs of each experiment remaining on the semester schedule.

Before videotaping, they planned and prepared storyboards for the remaining labs to help ensure that they captured everything students would need to have the most authentic online lab experience possible. Being a guided-inquiry lab, this proved especially difficult because experiments are self-directed by the students. 

"For some experiments we had to record and create data for seven different unknowns to create variability between our student groups and ensure authenticity. At one time, we had eight different teaching assistants recording experiments and collecting data in four different locations. The teamwork and efficiency was remarkable. All of the teaching assistants stepped up and did their part to contribute."—Hannah Leopold, general chemistry assistant director

The general chemistry team and teaching assistants also spent a lot of time testing features in Zoom to ensure everything worked. They wanted to take advantage of the different Zoom features to maximize students’ experiences. During the Zoom labs, teaching assistants started by screen sharing their PowerPoint introductions to share upcoming due dates, comment on previous work, and introduce the next project. During this time, students could raise their hands to ask questions or type their questions in the Zoom chat. The teaching assistants then screen share the pre-recorded experimental videos for the students. While students watch the video, they wrote down observations and data in their notebook like they normally would. The teaching assistants periodically paused the videos to pose questions to their students such as “what do you expect to happen or see when x is added to y?”

After watching the videos, the teaching assistants sent students the raw experimental data for them to analyze and draw conclusions. At that time, students went into breakout rooms with their individual group members so they could work together as a team. In their groups, they wrote a summary of the experiment and then wrote an experimental plan for the next lab period. Teaching assistants could enter the individual breakout rooms to answer any questions the students have or to check on their progress. 

The tutor room was also in an online Zoom format for students to continue to receive support in their lecture courses. Using Zoom, virtual tutoring was offered every day of the week. There were also lab report tutors who aavailable to answer specific questions students have about writing lab reports. 

"I would really like to commend many of our teaching assistants and all of the support staff in the department. Many people stepped up to help us transition from fully in person labs to fully online labs in a matter of two days. We were able to film all of the material we needed in those two days and we were able to work with whatever else we had to make the transition as smooth as possible for students." —Michael Hodney, a lead general chemistry teaching assistant

"Our students and teaching assistants missed the face to face interaction and connection," said Leopold. "I’m very proud of our team and what we were able to accomplish in the little time we had. This story is just one more reflection of the dedication and cohesion of the chemistry department that I’m honored to be a part of."

Organic Chemistry

Jane Wissinger, organic chemistry director, working with her teaching assistants, also created videos in two days for the 2311 Organic Chemistry Laboratory. The organic chemistry laboratory teaching assistants worked in teams of two or three (Team Oxidation, Team Reduction, Team Orange Dyes, Team Vanillin, Team Aldol/Diels Alder, and Team Coumarin) and created videos, each team adding their own flare to the production. Students were, therefore, able to virtually experience six of the last seven experiments remaining in the semester.

Students definitely benefited from having seven weeks of hands-on learning prior to moving to online learning, which gave them an appreciation for the techniques performed by the teaching assistants applied to new experiments.

To prepare for each lab, Wissinger's weekly lectures were delivered by Zoom, live and recorded, and students prepared their notebook pages, which were then uploaded for their teaching assistant to review during the time they would regularly attend lab. Online Canvas quizzes assessed their knowledge of the experiment.

Students then watched the experiment video, making observations in their notebooks as they went. Each experiment was also posted as a module with a preparation summary page and all related materials and links including nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) files to workup in MNova (NMR data processing software) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy spectrum. 

"Teaching an organic lab online is a challenging experience. It can be difficult to explain mechanisms and calculations over Zoom, so being creative and sharing examples on your screen during office hours is really important."—Janaya Sachs, an organic lab teaching assistant

Like many of the teaching assistants, Janaya missed the connections with students. Luckily, her students still frequently visited her zoom lab times so was able continue to connect with them despite the digital platform; though it was sad that she couldn't continue to watch them grow in lab skills over the second half of the semester.

Teaching Assistant Margaret Clapham also missed the students and their "ah-ha" moments that happen in lab, which couldn't happen over video. "We tried to keep the excitement level as high as possible but watching a video of a reaction is not as exciting as doing it yourself." she said.

"The teaching assistants did a great job and I appreciate their effort in the time when many were also helping to hibernate their research labs."—Jane Wissinger, organic lab director

This was hard work for the professors and the teaching assistants. In addition to preparation for the laboratories, they also conducted office hours and spent time connecting with students via email. 

Teaching Assistant Michael Hodny summarized the general feeling of the department: "I feel there is also the understanding amongst everyone, students, teaching assistants, and professors, that now, during all of this, all we can do is do our best. This has been a really positive and helpful mindset to keep."

Professor Lee Penn, director of Undergraduate Studies, reported that many students appreciated the hard work instructors put into developing effective online content. 

"When challenges arise, we strive to make it better to the best of our abilities,” Penn said.

By Eileen Harvala, Chemistry Communications Coordinator