Paul Kasili教授在马萨诸塞州波士顿的Bunker Hill社区学院教授遗传学和生物技术。他在2016年遇到了Labster，当时他正在寻找创新的方法来使他的课程更具吸引力并增强学生对科学概念的学习。
Prof. Kasili piloted the labs in his class for the first time that same year, and found that the virtual labs not only supported and enhanced the teaching of complex scientific subjects and techniques, but also provided the students with an enjoyable, interactive and engaging way of learning science. The students were even willing to go above and beyond their course assigned virtual lab simulations and explore other topics of interest. This gave the students a dominant role and ownership in the learning process. “It’s like you’re playing a game, but you’re learning. It’s contextualized. That makes it a lot of fun. So will I keep using Labster? Of course I’ll keep using Labster! I love it. And the students clearly love it too.”
Read on to learn how Prof. Kasili used Labster’s virtual lab simulations in his courses, and to find out how he used them to engage his students and enhance student learning, and thus give them a better understanding of core techniques and methods covered in his course.
Contextualized learning
One of the main things that Prof. Kasili wanted to give his students through his teaching was a better understanding of the connection between what he taught in his classes and the application of it in ‘the real world’.
Kasili教授发现，当概念附有某种背景时，学生对概念的理解得到了改善。例如，当学生能够看到现实世界中的概念如何应用时，他们发现不仅要学习，而且更容易保留信息。此外，这引起了学生参与和学习的兴趣和兴奋。
“当我认为减数分裂的实验室,比如你e’s a story behind it. You’re following a couple going through IVF. In the HPLC lab, you’re analysing medicine. So you’re working with real world applications and you can make real world connections with the course content, as opposed to just coming into a lab in school, where you follow a lab protocol, you do what you’re able to do, sometimes without giving it much thought, and you go home… you learn better when you’re able to attach meaning to a concept or theory. When learning is contextualized, you not only learn the material better, you also retain it better.”
Another thing that aided the students’ learning was the visualisation of concepts. “Take the PCR lab, for example, where you’re able to look at molecules and molecular interactions through animations, you get a better understanding of molecular processes and the technique. So yes, I can read about a technique, I can answer questions about a technique, but do I really know why it’s important and how it happens? I think that’s where Labster comes in.”
“我可以阅读有关一种技术的信息，我可以回答有关一种技术的问题，但是我真的知道为什么它很重要，以及如何发生？我认为那是Labster进来的地方。”
让学生超越
自从一开始就可以完全访问Labster模拟以来，Kasili教授课程中的学生已经有了一组与遗传学和生物技术课程一致的实验室模拟。华体会赞助ac米兰但这并不意味着学生坚持分配的虚拟实验室。
“I typically assign a few labs that are aligned to the curriculum, for example Mitosis, Meiosis, and Gene Expression, and what I’ve found with time is that there are some students who go above and beyond and do labs that aren’t even assigned! It just shows that it really piques their curiosity and engages them in exploring learning science: What else is there within the menu of labs that are available at Labster?”
“What I’ve found with time is that there are some students who go above and beyond and do labs that aren’t even assigned!”
这清楚地表明，自虚拟实验室被引入以来，卡西利教授的学生已经从事学习和投资，尽管实验室确实与他所教的课程保持一致，但学生仍然希望探索其他实验室。Kasili教授鼓励这种以学生为中心的学习方式，让学生有机会在第一次在虚拟实验室中表现出色，以提高自己的成绩。例如，如果一个学生获得85％的人，想获得95％，他会给学生选择回去并重做虚拟实验室的选择。
On-demand labs
The option of repeating labs was not only useful for students who wanted to up their grades. It was also useful for the learning process as a whole. For example, the simulations allowed students to learn at their own pace. When they repeated the virtual labs, learning outcomes were reinforced.
“Labster has these checkpoints, so you can log out and come back and do it later, and at your own pace. This on-demand aspect was really attractive to me.” In addition to repetition, the simulations were particularly useful for preparing students for lab work. Prof. Kasili’s Biotechnology course in particular was heavy on techniques and technology, and here the simulations contributed tremendously.
“We have HPLC machines, but when they do the HPLC lab simulation as a pre-lab, they know the components and how it’s operated. So they come in with a familiarity, and they’re not scared of using this big machine for the first time. This has worked really well in my biotechnology classes, because we have equipment such as Bioreactors, plate readers, HPLC, and PCR machines. The virtual labs really help the students become familiar with the material before they engage in the class, and I think that’s really, really useful.”
“The virtual labs really help the students become familiar with the material before they engage in the class, and I think that’s really, really useful.”
在有限的时间和进入真实实验室的情况下，Kasili教授发现，按需方面不仅有助于为学生准备实验室工作，而且还可以在实验室工作后加强学习。
“我以两种方式使用实验室。对于HPLC实验室，我将其作为LAB练习提供给他们。但是他们在实验室之后也再次这样做，因为他们现在对设备更加熟悉。这样，学生会获得更多的曝光率。对于Gene Expression Lab，他们也在课堂上介绍了内容之后就可以做到这一点，从而加强了类内容。但是他们也可以选择自愿回去重复虚拟实验室。”
Using Labster at a community college
Bunker Hill Community College is a two year college. One of the college’s primary goals is to support student development and get the students to transfer to a 4 year college. Because the school has an open enrollment system, students don’t have to go through entrance exams to get admitted, and the students’ skills and abilities therefore vary much more than the typical 4 year college or university.
Kasili教授发现，在这种情况下，特别是在这种情况下，可以访问虚拟实验室，这为学生提供了独特的机会来为学生做好准备。
“我认为Labster为社区大学带来了巨大的好处。如果您希望学生在转学4年学校时做好充分的准备，我认为这是吸引他们的方法之一，使他们的学习情况与他们的学习情况相关联，并在转学时为他们做好准备。”
“我认为Labster为社区大学带来了巨大的好处。”
部分是由于将Labster的虚拟实验室纳入他的课程，Kasili教授在BHCC的生物技术计划获得了BHCC的认可。MassBioEdBiotechnology endorsement program. This means that the Biotechnology program meets the core biotech industry competencies developed by a working group of leaders from academia and the biotechnology industry.
What do the students think?
为了更好地了解Labster对学生的有用程度，Kasili教授要求他的学生在课程结束时完成一项调查。调查中的重要主题之一是关于学习成果。
“我喜欢Labster Labs中的学习成果，它们与课程学习成果非常融合。从调查中可以明显看出，学生知道课程学习成果以及如何评估他们的评估已融入到实验室模拟中。华体会赞助ac米兰我认为这是一个非常大的优势。”
From the surveys, it was also clear that the students liked that Labster provided a risk free environment for them to explore. They liked that it was inquiry based, and that it provided an active learning opportunity. Overall the attitude towards the labs was really positive. “The students always say that they want to keep using Labster, which is really encouraging to me as a teacher.”
在调查结束时，Kasili教授有一个公开的问题，他会问学生他们最喜欢模拟的内容。华体会赞助ac米兰
“Some of the things the students mention is that Labster provides new learning experiences next to the wet lab, that they’re fun, risk free, logical and organised. They also like the visuals and graphic videos that show things at the molecular level, and they say that it reinforces the concepts learned in class. They like that it’s interactive, that you learn techniques that give a better idea of what research is, and that there are new topics they could explore that weren’t in the class. They also really liked that they were able to go back and play the labs multiple times.”
“They like that it’s interactive, that you learn techniques that give a better idea of what research is, and that there are new topics they could explore that weren’t in the class. They also really liked that they were able to go back and play the labs multiple times.”
卡西利教授还问他的学生他们认为哪些实验室最有趣。他们在这里提到Gene Regulation，，，，蛋白质合成，，，，Mendelian Inheritance，，，，andAnimal Genetics。其中一些提到甚至没有分配的实验室，例如多能干细胞培养lab, which again just showed that the students were exploring, playing—and enjoying—the labs on their own time.
“It’s like you’re playing a game, but you’re learning. It’s contextualized. That makes it a lot of fun. So will I keep using Labster? Of course I’ll keep using Labster! I love it. And the students clearly love it too.”
在这里与我们联系了解如何使学生参与科学。
