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From: Jeffrey Lewin <jclewin**At_Symbol_Here**MTU.EDU>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Seeking Literature on Safety Impacts of Transitioning from Online to In-Person Chemistry Labs
Date: Aug 9, 2023 13:10 UTC
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID: <CAEwQnqg6_H0qdTfzXeYdt_vGh_400gv_PtGbJX80os0BecRveQ**At_Symbol_Here**mail.gmail.com>
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Journal of Science Education and Technology 30, 862–876 (2021)
Recent global events and educational trends have led schools to heavily rely on digital media to educate their students. Science classes, in particular, stand to lose substantial learning opportunities without the ability to provide physical laboratory experiences. Virtual reality (VR) technology has the potential to resolve this issue, but little is known if VR environments can produce similar results to real-life (RL) science learning environments. This 2 × 1, between-subjects study compares students’ learning results and safety behaviors in VR and RL chemistry laboratories. The study attempts to identify differences in learning experience (i.e., general chemistry content, experiment comprehension, laboratory safety knowledge) and laboratory safety behavior. Results indicate learning general content knowledge, laboratory skills, and procedure-related safety behaviors were comparable between RL and VR conditions, but clean-up behaviors were less frequent in VR. Also, the exploratory, risk-free nature of VR environments may have allowed the learners to elaborate and reflect more on general chemistry content and laboratory safety knowledge than in the RL environment.
Different virtual chemistry laboratories (VCLs) have been developed with which students can perform and practice their practical and experimental work, thus increasing their learning before performing the same work in a real chemistry laboratory. In this paper, we present an analysis of the existing virtual chemistry laboratories by identifying their strengths and shortcomings and formulate guidelines for the development of future VCLs with more generalized, realistic, and flexible features.
Dear colleagues,--- For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.orgIs anyone familiar with literature that documents or hypothesizes safety concerns or incidents in higher-level in-person labs, linked to students with only prior online introductory chemistry lab experience and lacking proper hands-on preparation?My colleagues and I are hoping to advocate for the importance of hands-on, in-person lab sessions, stressing that online labs shouldn't supplant them as administration continues to stress transitioning to more online courses. While the above question points toward both the anecdotal and what seems like common sense, is there evidence of such in the literature? Despite several semesters of students transitioning from online to in-person chemistry labs these past few years, I've found no specific literature on this context.Thank you for any assistance you can provide!-Dan Jacques---------------------------------------------------Daniel R. N. Jacques, MSChemistry Stockroom and Safety ManagerInstructional Support Specialist, SL4Dept. of Chemistry - ISC 329SUNY Geneseo, 1 College Circle, Geneseo, NY 14454Office: (585) 245-5318Website: geneseo.edu/chemstockroom
