Addressing Diverse College Students and Interdisciplinary Learning Experiences Through Online Virtual Laboratory Instruction

Abstract

Habits in note-taking and media usage of the current generation of undergraduate college students are very different from prior generations. Current students are attracted to multi-dimensional teaching approaches which utilize visual learning aids and increased social interactions beyond the traditional lecture. Moreover, the diversity with respect to first generation college student/immigrant and returning learners is growing. This learning situation becomes further complicated in teaching interdisciplinary biopsychology courses, where students may not possess a complete set of foundational concepts. Thus, students require increased learning opportunities, sustained practice, as well as positive and corrective feedback to meet curricular proficiency expectations. At the same time, many students also have difficulty receiving, accepting, and implementing necessary feedback in order to succeed in their academic endeavors. To address this “feedback” issue, we have proposed a theoretical approach using “error-based” learning, for a biopsychology curriculum, to remedy this student learning problem through virtual laboratory instruction. Notably, this approach can be used in other integrative fields of learning.