One of the greatest challenges in foundational lab courses is ensuring all students arrive prepared to complete the experiment at hand.
In my large General Chemistry Lab, the over 970 enrolled students enter with vastly different levels of prior experience, and many lack a solid high school lab background. The written procedural guide often falls short; students need to visualize the complex techniques, glassware, and instrumentation they are about to use before they step into the lab.
This critical need for visual context led to my project called Visualizing Success, which I completed over the summer as part of the Office of Digital Learning’s (ODL) Digital Learning Sprints grant program. Our goal was simple: to create high-quality, targeted media that bridge the gap between the written procedure and the physical reality of the lab bench, thus boosting student readiness and confidence.
The Design
The core of the project was the creation of a comprehensive video library. These are not generic safety videos, but concise tutorials demonstrating specific, common manipulations—from assembling a reflux apparatus to accurately zeroing a balance or safely using a separatory funnel. These videos were then integrated into a revised pre-lab assignment sequence, becoming a mandatory component of student preparation alongside their traditional two-part pre-lab write-up.
Through purposeful planning, we designed the videos to:
- Level the Playing Field: Provide explicit visual instruction that benefits students who lack a practical lab background.
- Increase Efficiency: Improve preparation quality so students arrive focused and the experiments proceed more smoothly, reducing troubleshooting time for TAs.
- Boost Confidence: Make the lab environment less intimidating by familiarizing students with all equipment and techniques in advance.
The Impact
Halfway through the semester, the feedback and results have been overwhelmingly positive. The most significant insight is that students genuinely appreciate visualizing the entire process—seeing the equipment, the movements, and the correct setup before stepping into the room. This has been especially impactful for students who previously lacked confidence in the lab.
We are consistently seeing better preparation prior to arrival, which directly translates to smoother experimental execution and less time spent on basic procedural corrections by our TAs. The videos, paired with the required pre-lab assignments, allow students to process the information across multiple modalities.
The project hasn’t just improved learning; it’s increased visibility, as well. I recently had a humorous encounter at the grocery store when a couple of students who are in the course recognized me, laughed, and said, “Oh! You are our lab professor, we see you in the videos, you're kind of famous!” It was a funny moment, but it reinforced that the videos are reaching and resonating with the wider student body, establishing continuity across the massive course.
My greatest piece of advice for any faculty member considering a similar digital learning project is to focus on the practical “how” more than the theoretical “what.” Students can read theory in a textbook, but they cannot always properly visualize spectrophotometry or the correct way to handle a graduated pipet filler without seeing it demonstrated.
This investment in clear, visual media transforms anxiety into confidence, making the lab a richer, more productive learning environment for everyone.
Dana Horgen is an associate teaching professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry. She received funding through the 2025 Digital Learning Sprints.