Tonight I watched the Quality Matters (QM) session titled “Ensuring Quality in STEM and Beyond: inside Doane University’s Open Learning Academy.” Jim Snyder from QM introduced the session and shared QM resources including free resources and events. Dr. Catlin Runne-Janczy, the Chief Academic Officer with Science Interactive introduced the speakers: Dr. Andrea Holmes and Erin May from Doane. Runne-Janczy shared data from the 2024 Annual Lab Report Science Interactive conducts. They surveyed 2100+ students and educators. Out of 1878 student respondents, 63% took online courses. Similar to CHLOE 9 report, students are taking online lab courses because of work or availability. However, online labs are challenging: 80% of STEM leaders said “recreating hands-on experience is a top challenge.” Affordability and limited resources are also challenges. Modalities preferred by faculty, administrators, and students include hands-on labs. Runne-Janczy noted that “virtual simulations aren’t effective on their own, but further enrich online & on-campus labs.” Students prefer hands-on labs with virtual labs that support quality, preparedness, and engagement. Runne-Janczy shared the top three considerations for student success:
- Deliver a course mix that supports diverse student needs.
- Use hands-on labs for a high quality, authentic lab experience.
- Supplement hands-on with virtual simulations to reinforce learning.
Erin May from Doane University provided an overview of their institution. To create online courses for their institution, Doane University offered “The Open Learning Academy” with different start dates. Students can take courses online in five, eight, or sixteen week formats and time-based and instructor-facilitated formats. The small team defined goals to design equitable course offerings for their target student demographic. The team also wanted all online courses to have the same learning objectives. All third party tools were confirmed by their Accessibility team. Holmes described their approach to restructure the entire chemistry curriculum. They described their initiative and spoke about the tools shared.
