Math and other STEM courses pose unique challenges, especially online, including the level of difficulty of these courses for some students and the resulting anxiety, complex notation, and the need to re-imagine lab activities for a new teaching and learning environment.
STEM Courses
Options for teaching math and other STEM courses:
- If you plan to teach a STEM class using Zoom, introduce concepts and terms by using Canvas (myCourses) pages before the virtual meeting so students can be better prepared.
- Use short, focused videos to demonstrate how to solve problems. Zoom provides a which you can use to draw and write.鈥
- Take advantage of these STEM Resources developed by the Center for Academic Resources (CFAR). These resources have been carefully selected and/or created to complement the most commonly enrolled 91制片厂 STEM courses. Videos are intended to supplement the information presented in class. Strategies are provided鈥痜or helping students to structure their study plans for these courses.
Online Labs
Lab courses can be difficult to replicate in an online environment. Your original learning objectives were designed and developed based on the hands-on lab activities. When redesigning your lab course,鈥痗onsider the following:
- Will students have access to the resources at home and be able to safely complete the labs?
- Can online videos or simulations鈥痵ubstitute for鈥痶he hands-on鈥痚xperience? For example, if your students were asked to use a鈥痬icroscope鈥痶o identify cells,鈥痗an they use a video or simulation鈥痶o replicate this process and discuss their observations, or even identify鈥痯rocess errors鈥痠n the simulation?鈥
Consider what students can learn without accessing the lab material or equipment:
- Develop hypotheses
- Design experiments to test the hypotheses
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- Draw conclusions鈥痓ased鈥痮n鈥痙ata
An online lab course can be more focused on analysis and conclusions 鈥 and application of theory-- instead of hands-on experiences. While students cannot work in the lab, instructors may be able to photograph or produce videos of important components of the lab in order to provide students with the opportunity to make the observations and 鈥渃ollect鈥 data necessary for conducting the appropriate analyses and reaching conclusions.
Make sure your students have access to a computer/tablet and internet so they can utilize all the resources to do virtual lab work. Academic Technology has a limited number of laptops鈥.
The Resource collection contains a sampling of online resources which can be useful in designing remote labs. We encourage you to search your professional networks, or connect with a librarian, to find appropriate resources for your lab.
