Educational Research

This paper outlines a cross-institutional study surveying instructors responsible for running lab courses in the UK (N=30). They reported a shift away from traditional prelab practises such as live demonstrations and formal lectures, and towards active and digital engagement materials.

Virtual simulations including LearnSci LabSims were used by nearly half of respondents (44%). This was a marked increase from an estimated 5% uptake in 2016. LearnSci resources were explicitly mentioned in the free-text comments by a number of respondents.

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The growing diversity of university student populations, and proportion of those taking on work and caring responsibilities during their studies highlights the critical need for inclusive support strategies, particularly for core skills like quantitative analysis.

This study investigated the impact of widening participation (WP) characteristics on student engagement with, and perceptions of, strategic use of Quantitative Skills Smart Worksheets across four student year groups at Northumbria University, UK.

This paper investigates the use of Smart Worksheets to address pandemic-related teaching challenges in first-year quantitative chemistry courses. Prof. Shallcross utilised these digital tools to monitor student progress and provide rapid formative feedback to cohorts with disparate mathematical backgrounds. The Smart Worksheets effectively identified specific technical weaknesses in graphing and uncertainty analysis, while helping instructors distinguish between students who could apply mathematical concepts to chemistry and those who could not. Ultimately, the integration of these tools allowed for more personalised workshop interventions and improved student engagement through instant feedback and direct teacher-to-student communication.

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Academic staff at Sheffield Hallam University were seeking to promote student preparedness for lab sessions via increased engagement. They deployed Smart Worksheets alongside traditional pre-laboratory exercises as an interactive way to scaffold learning, and shifted the pass condition from physical lab presence only to a blend of pre-lab engagement and physical attendance.

When these measures were introduced, pre-lab engagement significantly increased, so did mean laboratory test scores. Furthermore, student completion of pre-lab engagement material including Smart Worksheets was significantly positively correlated with laboratory test scores.

This study evaluated student engagement and performance in two modules after introducing Smart Worksheets in a formative context. Smart Worksheet analytics such as completion rates, mean score and autosolve % gave insight into student engagement and revealed gaps in knowledge. These insights informed teaching practices and student support, such as targeted content to reinforce conceptual understanding, the introduction of scaffolded questions, and stretch activities for high performers.

Forensic science staff at London Metropolitan University implemented a blended learning model in a new first-year undergraduate module, with a stronger emphasis on pre-sessional activities. This included LearnSci Smart Worksheets on forensics scene incident management, and LabSims on microscope setup and use, scientific drawing, and pipetting techniques. The paper reports that LearnSci resources helped track engagement via analytics, and supports a more engaging and student-centred learning experience.

This study investigated student use and views of a Scientific Numeracy Smart Worksheet. This was introduced as a supportive and diagnostic resource to help students develop numeracy skills and identify areas for personal improvement.

Analytics data showed that students did well at ‘Displaying numbers’ and ‘Rearranging and solving equations’ sections, whereas ‘Graphs’ was an area students struggled with. Students who repeated the SNSW scored significantly higher and used the auto-solve feature significantly less on the second attempt (both p < 0.001). Students gave a high recommendation rating for this resource (8.2/10), with most students finding it helpful and pitched at the appropriate level.

This poster details how the University of Queensland transformed lab assessments for their first-year Chemistry cohorts from limited quizzes and paper results sheets to a flexible, technology-enhanced solution. Collaborating with LearnSci, they introduced LabSims and Smart Worksheets across the curriculum, helping students practise new techniques before labs, and enhancing assessment post-lab. The solution addressed student feedback by reducing anxiety and time pressure with a 24-hour deadline for post-lab work, improving consistency with autograding, and providing immediate, targeted feedback. Students felt better prepared and more confident, and staff benefits included reduced administrative complexity and marking burden.

An exploration of the use of Smart Worksheets as an assessment in two second-year practical courses, replacing written report assessments.

This case study describes an innovative and successful rework of a biochemistry lab assessment process at De Montfort University for a large, diverse student cohort. The new format had inclusivity, authenticity and student co-creation in mind throughout, and used various forms of dialogic and peer feedback in a flipped classroom. LearnSci LabSims were a key part of this approach, helping students learn and develop relevant scientific skills at their own pace ahead of formative and summative case study work.

J. McCartney and colleagues from the University of the Western Cape report on the benefits of rolling out LabSims and Smart Worksheets on their pharmacy students. They observed higher levels of student comfort in using the scientific equipment, allowing them to focus on the underlying scientific concepts rather than basic kit function when precious lab time was available to them.

Nicholas Harmer and Alison Hill from the University of Exeter successfully used LearnSci resources as part of a drive to effectively teach and assess practical bioscience amidst COVID-19 lockdowns. The laboratory simulations (LabSims) helped consolidate theoretical and practical concepts, and were well-received by students. Smart Worksheet tasks which were originally created to address poor performance in a challenging part of a biochemistry course were shown to effectively support students when using historical datasets for those unable to attend lab sessions.

Neil Williams from Kingston University introduced LabSims and Smart Worksheets as a way of closing the attainment gap his chemistry module was experiencing, by providing more opportunities to develop skills and confidence in students who had little previous lab experience before university.

This collaboration between educators at the Universities of Sydney and Leicester asked a large Year 1 chemistry cohort whether and how students believed LearnSci LabSims impacted their laboratory experience. Through both quantitative (N=419) and free-text (N=373) survey responses, a firm majority of students expressed positive impacts which included motivation from feedback and help visualising the techniques and easing them into the lab.

A series of Smart Worksheets were introduced to a second year chemical kinetics course at the University of Bristol. These supported students in workshop preparation while allowing staff to tailor these sessions based on areas of strength and misunderstanding revealed by the Smart Worksheets. Students responded very positively to the Smart Worksheets, and their introduction resulted in higher-order thinking within the workshops and a significant increase in subsequent examination performance on kinetics questions

This report describes the innovative use of formative–summative paired laboratory assessments in chemistry and demonstrates an association between student engagement with formative online assessments and summative attainment.  For both gravimetric analysis and titration pairs, students who engaged with the formative assessment scored significantly higher in the corresponding summative assessment. Additionally, students who engaged with both formative assessments scored significantly higher in mid-module and end-of-module tests than students who did not.

Richard Blackburn and colleagues from the University of Leicester integrated LabSims into a first year chemistry module to help students practice experiments, make mistakes and receive feedback before their lab sessions. Students were highly engaged with the simulations and provided very positive end-of-module feedback. They were also noticeably more confident, and achieved higher marks compared to a previous cohort.