Re-Designing a 2-Semester Anatomy and Physiology Lab Course for the Online Environment

In March 2020, in-person, on-campus courses were temporarily suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For summer and fall semesters of 2020, we have conducted Anatomy and Physiology courses in the online environment, which required re-design of the lab component of the course. Objectives for our re-design included maintaining key curricular components; replicating a hands-on lab experience for students, maintaining engagement with students, and employing our existing pool of teaching assistants. In the new online lab course, students complete at-home hands-on lab activities, guided by teaching assistants during a weekly one-hour video conferencing session. Lab assessments are shorter, weekly assessments outside of lab time. With this new format, we have continuity of content coverage along with the ability to serve students and maintain support of teaching assistants.