Using CoLABnet to help students understand collaborative scientific research practices

Nancy Kerner [1], LSA - Chemistry, created CoLABnet (Collaborative Laboratories through Networked Computers) in order to give science students experience with how experiments are conducted and conclusions are reached in the “real world.”

Students work in the lab in teams, with each using its own set of samples and/or conditions. Each team funnels its data into the CoLABnet software program, which then collects, pools and summarizes the qualitative and quantitative data and places it into a customized databank. Students can then study, manipulate and analyze the data in a laboratory context that simulates the scientific process that they might follow as professional scientists.

For more information on CoLABnet, go to the Chemistry 125 homepage at http://www.umich.edu/~chem125/. [2]

Academic Area:

Science, Technology, and Math

Discipline:

Chemistry

Course Type:

Lab

Faculty Name:

Nancy Kerner

Pedagogical Goal:

Improving teamwork during group projects/activities

Promoting student reflection and critical thinking

Increasing engagement and/or interactivity

Technology Tool:

Simulations/Case Studies

Promoting Excellence & Innovation in Teaching & Learning at U-M

Founded in 1962, the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) at the University of Michigan was the first teaching center in the country. CRLT partners with U-M faculty, graduate students, and administrators to promote a university culture that values and rewards teaching, respects and supports individual differences among learners, and encourages the creation of learning environments in which diverse students can learn and excel.

Resources and Links

Links:
[1] https://www.chem.lsa.umich.edu/chem/faculty/facultyDetail.php?Uniqname=nkerner
[2] http://www.umich.edu/~chem125/.
[3] http://www.crlt.umich.edu/category/tags/faculty-using-technology
[4] http://www.crlt.umich.edu/category/tags/no-parent/great-teaching-university-michigan