RAPID: Reimagined Virtual STEM Laboratory Experiences in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts on Undergraduate Education

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With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), this RAPID project will address critical instructional challenges in undergraduate STEM education that result from the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, it will produce and deploy virtual labs in upper-division chemistry, physics, and math courses. The rush to online course delivery in response to COVID-19 has revealed limitations of commercially available online virtual labs. Existing virtual lab experiences are generally poorly focused on student exploration. In addition, the effectiveness of virtual lab activities is not well understood, particularly for specific student populations such as Hispanic/Latinx students. To address these opportunities, the California State University system will design three virtual labs that focus on community building, are culturally responsive, and relate to real life events brought about by the pandemic. The project will also study the effectiveness of these virtual labs, thus adding to the body of knowledge about effective online instruction. The creation and delivery of the proposed labs have the potential to positively affect many students, as well as increase equitable access to high-quality learning opportunities. Beyond its immediate impact on improving online laboratory instruction in a time of crisis, this work may provide models for other STEM education initiatives and contribute to institutional and educational changes to better support STEM learning.The project aims to develop and test three virtual labs that are purposely designed to create and sustain a culture of inclusion and equity that supports the success of all students, particularly the large population of Hispanic/Latinx students served within the California State University system. The project seeks to increase opportunity and achievement by providing students with avenues to grow STEM identity, self-efficacy, and sense of belonging. The design criteria for the three virtual labs will be informed by culturally responsive and trauma-informed teaching practices. The virtual labs will support instruction across the California State University campuses and beyond, beginning as early as Fall 2020. The overall goal is to directly improve students’ knowledge and ability, STEM identity, and integration of identities. The project plans to examine disciplinary best practices in student learning through an informed equity perspective. The project will investigate how to best implement culturally responsive and relevant teaching in virtual science and math laboratory environments and gather and analyze data about the shift to online teaching/learning modalities. Data will be collected every three months from students participating in the virtual labs via pre/post assessments to provide insight into the role of metacognition in their learning. Results of the research will be disseminated through peer-reviewed scholarship, virtual and face-to-face workshops, and reports. This RAPID award is made by the Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program in the Division of Undergraduate Education, Directorate of Education and Human Resources. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and build capacity at HSIs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.