#DryLabsRealScience: Redefining Practical Pedagogy Post-Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic posed specific challenges for STEM educators, namely the provision of meaningful laboratory experiences when access to equipment and facilities were restricted. #DryLabsRealScience is a community of practice that was formed to address these challenges, providing a free, open platform for sharing innovative, practical approaches to support the life sciences. The network identified datasets, augmented/virtual reality, simulations, and videos as the central and most effective approaches to delivering laboratory-focused teaching and learning. While all these approaches had been used pre-lockdown, the pandemic forced the adaption of these techniques to online delivery. In this paper, we describe the novel utilisation of these approaches to support student laboratory learning in response to the challenges faced by remote and blended teaching.