Teacher story by

Ann van Eeckhaut, Debby Mangelings, Najat Aourz

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

“Students are more accurately prepared, ask less practical questions and time investment for teaching staff is reduced.”

#2nd year bachelor students #Pharmaceutical Sciences

The challenge

A better preparation and understanding. Our practicals consist of experiments involving different techniques and methods. To adequately understand and prepare for these experiments, students must first master the theory and as a result be able to properly prepare for the practical part.

The transformation

For all experiments, a theory section and an ExperD (Experiment Designer) were developed. Theory sections included questions to test background knowledge. ExperD could only start when all theory questions were answered correctly. Additional questions in ExperD assessed both theoritical and practical knowledge for optimal preparation.

The final result

Students are more accurately prepared, clearly ask less practical questions and therefore complete experiments faster. The standardized lab journal layout saves teachers time during corrections by ensuring consistency of the students’ reports.