Biology: University of Central Florida

How can a university reduce the resource burden of running a large undergraduate Biology course without compromising student outcomes or access to teaching staff?

 

Overview

Objective

Reduce the resources required to deliver a large introductory undergraduate Biology course.

Challenge

Approximately 4,000 students took the course each year, requiring up to 75% of the Biology department's available Teaching Assistant hours.

Approach

Working with UCF, we developed a series of virtual Biology lab modules, including simulations of experiments, habitat explorations, lab skills activities, and interactive visualizations of biological concepts.

Outcome

The course was delivered using a fraction of the resources required by the classroom-based course, with no negative impact on student grades.

The Challenge: Delivering Biology Labs to 4,000 Students

Michele Yeargain, Laboratory Course Coordinator in the University of Central Florida's Department of Biology, approached us to explore whether virtual learning could reduce the resource burden of delivering a large introductory undergraduate Biology course.

Approximately 4,000 students took the course each year. At the time, delivering it required up to 75% of the Biology department's available Teaching Assistant hours.

Michele wanted an alternative to face-to-face Biology labs that could reduce the pressure on physical resources and teaching staff without compromising students' access to interaction and support.

Facade of University of Central Florida Department of Biology building with trees and a solar panel in the foreground.
Woman observing laboratory equipment on a countertop, including bottles labeled acid and base, hydrogen peroxide, a timer, and measuring tools, in a room with blinds.

Developing UCF's Virtual Biology Labs

Working with Michele and the University of Central Florida's Biology Department, we designed a series of virtual learning environments where students could familiarize themselves with analytical machines and laboratory safety equipment, practice core lab skills, and apply their theoretical knowledge. The virtual Biology modules included simulations of real-world experiments, explorations of habitats, and imaginative visualizations of biological concepts. They could be used during supervised class sessions or accessed independently by students outside scheduled class time.

The original concept was a virtual biodome where students could practice key laboratory skills without consuming physical resources or requiring the same level of TA supervision.

During development, the project expanded beyond recreating what students could already do in a physical lab. We created a giant animal cell that students could walk through as though they had been miniaturized, adapting activities that had previously been taught on paper. We also developed virtual wet laboratories, a jungle environment, and a desert crash site where students encounter an alien species while learning about Mendelian genetics.

The virtual environments allowed the course to combine recognizable laboratory experiences with ways of visualizing and exploring Biology that would not be possible in a physical classroom.

“(The students) just love it. They embrace it, spend a lot of time here, and they want to come back and do the labs over and over again. They also help each other in the environment, and that to me is a beautiful thing.

We plan to continue using UniVirtual for our labs. I feel that it is the ultimate customized and customizable lab because UniVirtual built exactly what I asked for. It sounds cliché but really, to me, if we can dream it, we can do it.”

— Michele Yeargain, Lab Course Coordinator, Department of Biology, University of Central Florida

Available Modules.

  • Measurements.

    Students explore measurement, including units of length and pH values. The activity takes place at a carnival. Students earn tickets for successfully completing educational mini games and must earn a set amount of tickets to complete the activity.

  • Microscope.

    Within a virtual laboratory, students study compound and dissecting microscopes by interacting with large-scale models. Using what they learn, they solve a robbery by collecting, examining, and identifying evidence collected at a crime scene.

  • Cellular Organelles/Structures.

    Students are tasked with locating and identifying ten different structures inside a typical animal cell. The module takes the form of a treasure hunt. They are assisted by their Heads Up Display, which offers clues and hints as they explore the cell’s interior.

  • Osmosis and Diffusion.

    In the virtual lab, students learn about passive transport cells, including osmosis, diffusion, and tonicity. Their avatars sit at a lab bench and are guided through the experiments via a Heads Up Display.

  • Enzymes.

    This module, which also takes place at a virtual lab bench, enables students to experiment with enzymes by measuring the rate of enzyme activity at various pH levels and temperatures.

  • Cellular Respiration.

    Cellular respiration is demonstrated inside a cell that students walk around as if they have been miniaturized. They collect various organic compounds, then enter a mitochondrion. To synthesize ATP, they combine the compounds in the matrix.

  • Mitosis & Meiosis.

    In this module, students return to the cell to explore the cell cycle and mitosis, and learn how these two processes function within an organism. They also explore the process of Meiosis and how it functions to produce gametes.

  • Mendelian Genetics 1 & 2.

    Students visit a desert canyon where an extra-terrestrial race is carrying out agricultural studies while succumbing to a genetic disease. Over two modules, students are introduced to monohybrid/dihybrid crosses, Punnett squares, sex-linked inheritance and pedigrees, then use what they learn to find a cure for the extraterrestrials’ sickness.

  • DNA Synthesis, Transcription and Translation.

    Returning to the giant cell, students discover how DNA is replicated, and explore the ways in which genetic information is used to make proteins, by interacting with virtual representations of cell components. These modules cover the processes of DNA synthesis, Transcription, and Translation.

Results: Reducing Resources Without Lowering Student Grades

Approximately 4,000 students enrol in UCF’s Biology course annually. By using UniVirtual’s labs, UCF is able to deliver the course using a fraction of the resources required by the traditional classroom-based version, with no negative impact on student grades.

The project also gave students virtual spaces where they could repeat activities, help one another, practice laboratory skills, and explore biological concepts through experiences that would be difficult or impossible to reproduce in a physical lab.

Read more about our biology labs on our Virtual Learning blog.