Introductory Chemistry is a required course for all nursing majors and satisfies general education requirements. In 2020, Dr. Melody Esfandiari introduced her 400+ student class to Labster when the Covid pandemic prevented in-person labs. She tracked the impact of Labster in two ways: by comparing students’ grades to those of a previous class and by surveying students about their perceptions of Labster’s effectiveness.

Performance Assessment

Average Final Exam Grade Increased from D+ to B-

• Fall 2019: 69.3%
• Fall 2020: 80.4%

+16.02% improvement

Average Final Course Grade Increased from from C+ to B

• Fall 2019: 79.5%
• Fall 2020: 84.3%

+6.04% improvement

Student Survey

• 96% liked the flexibility
• 85% felt prepared to apply lab safety learning in an in-person lab
• 84% felt capable of easily navigating Labster
• 78% found it easy to understand concepts in Labster
• 75% found it fun and stimulating to learn with Labster

What Students Said

Flexible & Fun

• “I was able to work at my own pace and was under less stress.”
• “I can do a virtual lab on my own time.”
• “It’s fun.”
• “It keeps things interesting.”
• “I like how the simulation puts my knowledge to the test.”

Makes In-Person Labs Easier

• “Using virtual labs can help before doing the physical lab so that you can have a better understanding of the task before executing it.”
• “If I do a laboratory online and then show up to a laboratory physically, I will have some background knowledge.”
• “I’d rather use virtual labs to learn and try out concepts on my own before or after the actual in-person lab.”

Helps You Learn from Mistakes

• “Virtual labs let you repeat a step if you mess up an experiment.”
• “There is no fear of messing something up.”
• “It felt more like a video game, there was room for trial and error without real consequences.”
• “I have had bad experiences in all my labs in my college career, but the virtual labs built my self-esteem and confidence.”

What’s next?

When in-person classes resume at San José State University, Introductory Chemistry will be taught with a combination of in-person labs and Labster virtual labs.