Renée Vancraenenbroeck (contributions from Suzanne Ruddy, Amanda Cain; Department of Structural and Molecular Biology)

Asynchronous Submission

When face-to-face teaching was suspended in March 2020, an alternative for the extended laboratory practical that is core to the year 1 UCL Biochemistry post exam key skills module was urgently sought.

An alternative was found using a free web-based protein purification lab simulation program. This enabled our students to access an online, problem-solving, real-world activity using MS Teams. Students worked in small groups on the assessment and showed their results with presentations that were rated by their peers.

The rapid adaptation to online delivery and the success of maintaining the learning objectives of the laboratory practical provide valuable sources of information, as seen from both staff and student perspectives.

Key questions covered: How to…
• provide undergraduate practical experiences remotely?
• make the most of the available tools?
• engage students in online team projects?
• implement peer-to-peer feedback?
• evaluate and develop our online teaching?

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