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Science Courses Adapt to the Hybrid Model
Imagine receiving a discrete brown paper shopping bag during your first few weeks of science class. Inside you find an array of interesting objects, like bubble gum, styrofoam balls and seed packets, as well as a tool kit of pipettes, measuring tape and goggles, organized in labeled ziploc bags. Would this curious collection of things set your mind to wonder what you would be getting up to in your science class this fall? The Hopkins Science faculty spent hours this summer carefully putting together the first of a series of custom, take-home science kits for their classes.
The Science Department knew that they needed to adapt their instruction and lab processes for the hybrid model in this unique school year. Last Spring, students in their classes were disappointed when labs were no longer possible after the campus was closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and all classes were conducted virtually. Science teachers Jen Stauffer and Kristen Abraham took some time in the spring to record videos of themselves conducting labs to share with their classes, especially Chemistry Accelerated and AP Chemistry. From these recorded videos, students were able to collect the data for analysis, and complete their coursework. But the first hand experience of conducting the labs was an unfortunate loss.
With time to prepare for the 2020-2021 school year, Abraham and Stauffer, working with colleagues Maura Foley, Angelina Massoia, Sarah Leite, Carla Coste Sanchez, Ian Clark, and Josh Young, brainstormed ways to adjust their curricula, allowing for students at home to engage directly with the lessons. The take home kits are one such innovation. Tailored for each course, the kits contain all that is needed to conduct safe labs at home, either as homework or during a virtual class. Some of the at-home labs include a density column, seed germination, crystal growth, chromatography of markers, and chemistry of candy. A popular Science 7 lab at the beginning of each year is the bubble gum lab, where lab groups analyze which type of bubble gum yields the biggest bubbles. This year, Foley and Massoia adapted the lab so students had to design their own experiment to analyze the gum at home. The process encourages students to think about the scientific method and how to write instructions that someone else could replicate, allowing them deeper independent investigation at home, and allowing for more collaborative time with their peers during class time.
In addition to the science kits, Chemistry teachers developed “Unit Zero,” which involves performing all critical chemistry labs in the first part of the year. The on campus students are paired with remote students at home. The students on campus set up their mobile device next to their lab station, so those at home can observe. The student on campus conducts the lab, communicating each step as it happens, while the student at home records the data. The following week the roles are reversed, allowing all students to gain experience in both data collection and the critical hands-on lab work. After they have conducted all the labs, they will then return to the data to analyze and conclude each unit. Stauffer explained, “We chose to adjust the year this way in case there is a need to go fully remote again. If there is a resurgence of Covid-19 in Connecticut, we won’t run into the same issue as we did last spring. The students will have the data sets already completed and we can keep working with minimal issues. If we remain hybrid or are all back on campus, and we have moved through all the planned labs, we can add more as needed. Unit Zero gives us the most flexibility for whatever this school year will look like.”
While this may not be the year that anyone could have predicted, some of the resulting adaptations to the curriculum are going so well, Stauffer says they may continue using them moving forward.
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Hopkins is a private middle school and high school for grades 7-12. Located on a campus overlooking New Haven, CT, the School takes pride in its intellectually curious students as well as its dedicated faculty and staff.
