Published January 15, 2026 | Version v1
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INCREASING ACCESS TO STEM: LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT WHAT WORKED IN LAB COURSES DURING COVID-19

Authors/Creators

  • 1. ROR icon University of Arizona
  • 2. Independent scholar

Description

The COVID-19 pandemic created disruptions in teaching and
learning across all content areas, including the transition of
STEM lab courses to an online or hybrid format. Many of the
educational inequities that college and university students have
faced regularly were magnified by the change to online instruction.
As part of a larger longitudinal National Science Foundation
Rapid Response Research (NSF RAPID) funded study, undergraduate
students and instructors at two- and four-year Hispanic
Serving Institutions (HSIs) in the southwestern United States
were asked what instructional activities were most helpful for
learning and what tools or methods proved to be problematic in
their STEM lab courses. Data were collected during three academic
semesters, providing a comprehensive account of evolving
experiences throughout the pandemic while students shifted to
various formats of instruction. Using grounded theory to examine
student and instructor responses to open ended questions,
the authors summarized course elements that were beneficial
from both the student and instructor perspectives. Four central
ideas emerged: holistic accessibility, course design, instructional
practices, and instructor interactions. Based on the theoretical
model developed through qualitative analysis, recommendations
to decrease inequities and increase access to STEM lab experiences
were made.

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References

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