Development and assessment of an online plant science laboratory course: Comparison to current in‐person laboratory

An introductory plant science lab offered by the Department of Agronomy & Horticulture at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln was adapted for online delivery. This paper describes the adjustments made for online delivery and examines students’ perceptions of learning and engagement from surveys administered in both the in‐person and online plant science laboratory course over two academic years. The in‐person course was offered in Fall. The online course was offered twice per year, as a fully independent course in Summer and with synchronous web‐conferencing discussion groups in Spring. The goal of this study was to examine differences or similarities in satisfaction and learning across the three course models. There was no difference in assessment scores or student perception of learning across models. The students in the in‐person model and the web‐conferencing model reported similar levels of understanding value and implication of course content while the fully independent students did not understand the implication of course content toward their future management decisions as well. Overall, content on plant biology was well‐translated to the online audience but implication was not as well‐translated. Having just a few opportunities for real‐time discussions with students per semester went a long way to elevating their learning and appreciation of course content as compared to working fully independently. Core Ideas Student learning and overall satisfaction were similar across course delivery modes. Synchronous web discussions created opportunities to elevate learning. Directions for and purpose of lab activities were not well translated to the online students. In an open‐ended survey question, the most cited pro of the online labs was convenience. In an open‐ended survey question, the most cited pro of in‐person lab was seeing/touching plants.