Lessons learned from the integration of virtual labs and at-home lab kits to enhance microbiology education during the COVID-19 pandemic

Hands-on lab components are an integral part of biological science courses at the college level, as they develop students’ technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and critical-thinking skills. During the COVID-19 pandemic, instructors were required to devise strategies for providing hands-on lab experiences through remote instruction. This study reports the successful implementation of hands-on lab activities using at-home custom Carolina lab kits along with McGraw-Hill Connect Virtual Biology (MHCVB) Labs. A total of 220 students from 10 sections of microbiology courses were selected for MHCVB or without MHCVB. As part of the Fall 2020 course, three sections (66 students) were instructed to perform labs at home using lab videos. MHCVB Labs were used along with instructor demonstrations during the Spring 2021 semester. Students assessed their knowledge through pre- and post-quizzes and lab skills through lab reports. No significant differences were observed in student performance on pre-lab quizzes, post-lab quizzes, or laboratory reports between the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters. In contrast, significant improvements were observed in hands-on technical skills during Spring 2021. Evaluation of student images showed that streak-plate proficiency increased from 57.7 ± 2.5 to 80.1 ± 7.6 ( P < 0.05). Similar improvements were observed in simple staining (57.3 ± 11.6 to 74.4 ± 6.4; P < 0.01) and Gram staining (55.0 ± 8.7 to 80.1 ± 6.4; P < 0.001). Student proficiency was assessed by normalizing total scores to a 100-point scale, enabling direct comparisons between groups. These results demonstrate that integration of virtual laboratory simulations enhances hands-on microbiology skill development in remote laboratory courses and supports blended laboratory models across instructional modalities.