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The techniques learned in a laboratory translate into strong critical thinking aptitudes as well as adeptness in complex problem-solving within research. Typically, these laboratory skills are not acquired until a budding scientist enters graduate school since many undergraduate laboratories are more procedural than investigative. Therefore, the module in discussion was designed to aid students in developing competence toward thinking like a scientist. Through utilization of an inquiry-based approach, a laboratory involving high performance liquid chromatography was transformed into a blended online learning experiment. While students were provided in-class time to interact with their peers and the instructor and TA, the majority of the work and development was done outside of class. All background information and protocols were provided outside of the lab via an online course management system including the PowerPoint videos that students used to prepare for the experiment. The students used those materials to ultimately determine the identity and number of different steroids in an unknown sample. The objective was to determine if this approach promoted the metacognitive skills of students and encourage the use of argumentative skills when presenting and justifying claims and data.
Bowen et al. (Tue,) studied this question.