Each lab included in the SI Lab Portal follows a consistent format to ensure students can easily navigate the lesson. This article will provide an overview of the structure of an SI Lab Portal lab.
Anatomy of a Lab
Each lab in the SI Lab Portal includes two sections, the lesson and the assignment.
The lesson portion of the lab (1) will include the Exploration and Experimentation.
- Exploration - This section provides students reviews the essential background information they need to successfully complete the experiments.
- Experimentation - This section includes all of the experiments students will perform, including materials lists, experimental protocols, supplemental videos, and post-lab assessments.
The assignment portion of the lab (2) includes the Evaluation section. This is a post-lab assessment designed to test students' achievement of the learning outcomes.
For SI Cloud Users: In Cloud, the Evaluation was paired with the Exploration and Experimentation section. By separating this section out, it can serve as a more formal assessment of students' achievement of the lab learning objectives, and allows you to set up proctoring and/or repeated attempts at the evaluation.
Overview of the Lesson (Exploration + Experimentation)
Enter the lesson (Exploration and Experimentation) by pressing “Start.” Upon entering the lesson, students will encounter a policies page. This page will display the policies applied to the lesson, including number of attempts allowed, time limits, and how feedback is displayed.
Lessons will default to the the SI standard policies. However, custom policies can be created and applied to lessons. To learn more, review the Overview of the SI Lab Portal Lesson Policy Options article.
Once you have entered, you can navigate in two ways, either by using the lesson overview on the left-hand side of the page, or by using the “Next” and “Previous” button on the bottom of the page.
Note: In the instructor view, you can both view the layout of the lessons, as well as participate in the student experience with the ability to answer questions directly without creating a student account.
For SI Cloud Users: In Cloud, navigation could be done at the bottom of the page or through drop down menu. The drop down menu was eliminated in favor of the sidebar navigation to allow students to have a better sense of their progress through the lab activities.
The Exploration section reviews the essential background information students will need to successfully complete the experiments in their lab. The content here is designed to supplement the lecture or text content a student reviews in their class.
The Exploration section starts with the Exploration Overview. This page will always provide students with:
- Estimated Completion Times for each section of the lab
- Exploration Learning Objectives
The overview page is followed by the Test Your Knowledge questions. There are typically 1-3 TYK questions, designed to provide students a baseline of their knowledge of the topic at hand prior to starting the lab.
TYK questions are are multiple choice or matching type questions. Upon completing the questions, students will select the "How Did I Do" button to get immediate feedback on whether their answers were right/wrong. For faculty, TYK questions are always autograded.
For SI Cloud Users: In Cloud, Test Your Knowledge questions also included drag-and-drop style questions. We have eliminated the use of the drag-and-drop questions to improve ADA accessibility of our content.
Upon completion of the TYK questions, you will encounter the Exploration Content Pages. Most labs have in the range of 3-5 content pages. Content pages include all of the background information students will need, paired with various engagement elements including:
- Images
- Animations
- Interactives
- Videos
- Did You Know
Most exploration content pages will end with a Question Time question, allowing students to check their understanding of the content they just reviewed. These are always multiple choice, provide students with immediate feedback, and are autograded.
For SI Cloud Users: Question Time questions are no longer a "pop-up" style box for students. This is designed to allow students to review the content if desired before answering the question.
This section includes all of the experiments students will perform, including materials lists, experimental protocols, supplemental videos, and post-lab assessments.
The Experimentation section starts with the Experimentation Overview. This page will always provide students with:
- Estimated Completion Times for each section of the lab
- Experimentation Learning Objectives
The overview page is followed by the Materials page. This page will list all of the items required to perform the experiments in the kit. There are two lists on each page:
-
Student-Supplied Items - Items that must be supplied by the student. This typically includes perishable items, common household goods, or items used in bulk - such as tap water, scissors, paper towels, and soap.
- Science Interactive-Supplied Items - Items that students will find in their kit. This includes labware, specimens, and chemicals, among other items.
After the materials, students will enter the Experimentation pages. Most labs have 2-3 experiments performed by the student. This page will begin with a brief explanation of the lab, followed by step-by-step instructions on how to complete the lab. The procedures are accompanied by supplemental images and videos to provide guidance on how to perform the experiment.
On each page, students will be expected to collect data and submit this in tables, images, data panels. These are located at the end of the exercise procedure.
For SI Cloud Users: Unlike the pop-up data tab in Cloud, students will scroll to the end of the experiment to upload and populate their data.
Each experimentation page will conclude with the exercise questions, a series of long answer questions.
Students should complete all experimentation sections. Once completed, they will select the Submit Lesson button to submit the lesson portion of the assignment for grading.
Overview of the Assignment (Evaluation)
The Evaluation section is a post-lab assessment designed to test students' achievement of the lab learning outcomes.
This section will begin with a policies page. This page will display the policies applied to the assignment, including number of attempts allowed, time limits, and how feedback is displayed. Students will then select the "Start" button to begin the lesson.
From there, students will commence the competency review portion of the evaluation. The competency review includes 8-10 multiple choice questions tied to the lab learning objectives. These questions are autograded for faculty.
The competency review is followed by a long-answer extension question, which challenges students to apply what they learned in the lab to a real-life situation.
Upon completion of the evaluation section, students will select the "Submit Assignment" button. Upon submission, students will be provided with an initial grade for the autograded portion of the assessment. They can view the correct answers with feedback by selecting the
Submission of the assignment completes the lab.