The rapid migration of courses from blended teaching to a fully online learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic required the timely development of new, online teaching resources and re-imagined strategies, to teach practical skills to university students. The move to deliver content that was fully online challenged the assumptions and conventions about the use of face-to-face classes, especially in STEM disciplines that rely on experiential learning. This critical review uses case studies to describe the innovations that were used to adapt undergraduate, first year (foundation) biology courses which were previously delivered using a blended learning pedagogy to a fully online format. In doing so, the opportunities to enhance traditionally practical based activities have also been considered. Future innovations for blended learning, however, require inherent properties and capacity of technologies to support aligned learning tasks. Reflections on the crisis response to learning however, act as a catalyst for educational change towards more flexible models and practices in future interconnected learning environments.

This study compared the associated impact of gamified molecular genetics lessons on undergraduate student grades for pre-COVID-19 blended delivery and COVID-19 online only delivery of a first-year biology course. When the molecular genetics gamified lessons were used by on- and off-campus students to support their learning, most students had successful learning outcomes in either blended or online only learning environments. In contrast, students who chose not to use these lessons had significantly greater failure rates for both the molecular biology and the genetics short answer questions in the final invigilated exams. Importantly, there was noticeable gamified lesson fatigue observed by both on- and off-campus students and therefore when incorporating gamified lessons into courses, curriculum design needs to be carefully considered. In conclusion, the use of gamified lessons was associated with significantly reduced student failure rates for molecular genetics concepts studied in a university foundational biology course.

Development and deployment of innovative teaching materials and teaching methods are required by the university sector to maintain its relevance in a competitive and rapidly changing online world. In the last five years there has been an expansion in the digital marketplace for STEM online teaching materials, but these do not replace the acquisition of hands-on skills gained by students from experimentation in an on-campus laboratory. Further, there is a paucity of peer reviewed studies defining the efficacy of at home practical options which must be determined before these teaching innovations become adopted by the sector. The fully online restrictions imposed during COVID-19, provided an opportunity to assess the student perceptions and the effectiveness of potential tools for distance learning for STEM education in the future. This study provides insight into the student involvement and attitudes to online supported laboratory practicals, in a core first year biology unit. We compare the response from cohorts of typically on-campus and off-campus learning modes and review the efficacy of these lessons to improve the educational outcomes of students with access limitations to future face-to-face practical learning.