The Use of Online Pre-Lab Assessments Compared with Written Pre-Lab Assignments Requiring Experimental Result Prediction Shows No Difference in Student Performance

Abstract

Exam performance was compared for students who hand wrote questions designed to prepare them for daily lab activities in a senior level virology laboratory course versus those who answered questions created to mirror the written questions on-line. No significant difference was noted in exam scores on any of the three midterms, written final exam, nor the practical exam. Neither was there a significant difference in the quality of the laboratory reports turned in as evidenced by similar average scores over four years. These results indicate that using online pre-labs to prepare students for the laboratory sessions leads to equivalent learning as answering handwritten pre-lab assignments. Online pre-labs significantly reduced the amount of grading without reducing student learning, allowing a reduction in the number of teaching assistants required per section.