Development of soft skills in science through Video Lab Reports (VLR) – two birds, one stone!

It is imperative that STEM students retain the ability to present, analyse, interpret and discuss scientific data using formal scientific language. Therefore scientific writing and data analysis remain two of the most critical... [ view full abstract ]

It is imperative that STEM students retain the ability to present, analyse, interpret and discuss scientific data using formal scientific language. Therefore scientific writing and data analysis remain two of the most critical programme learning outcomes of any honours scientific degree programme in higher education. Yet more and more we are told that our semesterised students are being ‘over assessed’ through the apparently exhaustive writing of modular laboratory reports. Moreover feedback received from the pharma/biopharma industries would suggest that softer graduate attributes such as critical reasoning, science communication and presentation skills are being under developed through our current programme assessment strategies. In a bid to address these issues and in consultation with the level 8 students themselves, it was agreed to pilot a single video lab report (VLR) for one module of their semesterised honours degree. The students were asked to prepare a ten min screencast of their practical laboratory report, inclusive of aim, introduction, methods, results and discussion sections but presented through the medium of Microsoft PowerPoint and narrated by the student themselves. No technical difficulties were reported and students were enthusiastic regarding the success of the pilot, stating that it saved time and provided an opportunity to receive “lecturer feedback on presentation skills” prior to their final year research project presentations. Students reported that they found the process to be “more engaging” and “way better then written lab reports” and 100 % of the students surveyed stated they would like to see this approach established in other modules.  Following on from the success of this pilot, VLR’s have now been introduced into level 8 practical modules. This educational research was conducted as part of the TEAM multi-institutional, sectoral project funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning.