Designing a teaching-learning framework for the effective online-based laboratory classes in Bangladesh

Abstract

Prior to COVID-19, almost all laboratory activities were completed collaboratively, it encouraging students' independent thinking and continuing to support their sense of independence. The transition of online learning brought with it new challenges in terms of organizing vast class schedules beyond the routine school time. To address these challenges, the completely redesigned online-based laboratory activities restructured comparatively small and independent work. Some assignments required students to work collaboratively, and others students required to work independently. Students were highly compelled to communicate with the teacher during online class or to schedule a meeting for the assigned tasks that promoted independent learning in order to receive feedback and suggestions on their assessment. As they shared their concepts, the teacher noticed an interesting sense of confidence and pride in the students who attended the online-based laboratory class. The purpose of this research is to investigate the appropriate framework in the laboratory-based teaching and learning process in universities. Specifically, this study will be identified the knowledge and benefits of using online-based laboratory classes to perform laboratory classes as perceived by students studying education programs. This study involved teachers and students in universities and provide questionnaires to collect data. Data analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study tried to find out students’ knowledge and experiences on online-based laboratory classes to do lab classes and a positive view on it. The study suggested a teaching-learning framework that can facilitate to perform laboratory classes in different universities students in their learning process and this effective framework will provide a user-friendly interface and navigation to support students’ learning on practically oriented courses. This thesis does not investigate quantitatively the relative effectiveness of online versus physical laboratories in achieving specific learning outcomes. The question of whether virtual laboratories are better or worse than physical laboratories is not addressed in this thesis. Instead, it addresses the question of what issues must be considered in online-based laboratory class design and expresses these issues in the form of a set of design guidelines in the COVID-19 and post COVID-19 teaching-learning framework for effective online-based laboratory classes.