What Students Think About Labster: How it Helps 

In a recent Gallup poll, over 2,000 students nationwide in grades 5-12 revealed a truth about the state of education in the United States - and students were the ones giving the grades. On average, students awarded their schools a B- grade. However, the real shock lies in the underlying concerns expressed by students:

• U.S. schools are struggling with a meager 2.68 GPA across various critical disciplines
• Students aren’t feeling excited about learning
• Students aren’t being exposed to potential career paths
• Students don’t feel technology is being used in new and exciting ways

In response to these challenges, Labster virtual labs emerge as help for the science classroom. By leveraging our innovative technology, Labster rekindles students' enthusiasm for learning and shows them exciting career pathways while raising their GPAs along the way.

How Labster can help

Raising GPAs

Scientific concepts are challenging for most students to grasp, leaving a barrier to good grades. Labster breaks difficult concepts down in visualized and easy-to-digest ways across various disciplines such as Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Earth Science. A research study actually found that low-knowledge students increased their knowledge by 24% with Labster (1). 

What Labster students say:

"The real-life interaction helps me really understand hard chapters in school, especially with A&P" - Jill

“It helps me understand the topic. I thought I would do horribly in it, but these simulations have made it so I'm getting A letter grades on each assignment!" - Jessica

"It's very informative and gives lots of hints and notes to help you understand better." - Jennifer

"I love the way Labster makes science fun and interactive. I like that if you don't do well on the first try, you can retry as many times as you need to." - Destiny

Hear from a high school chemistry teacher about her experience making concepts click with Labster, “I definitely think the kids understand the content better when they get to do a simulation. And so that final ‘Aha! moment’ when they understand how to convert units, or they understand that an atom is so small, and it finally all clicks... They felt like they were scientists.” - Shawn Zeringue, West Ranch High School

Engaging students

The Gallup poll found that 52% of students give their school a C or lower in making them excited about learning. How can students be engaged and retained if they aren’t excited about what they’re being taught?

Labster’s virtual labs offer a solution in gamified learning. Our labs take students into a 3D world where they can solve a missing person case, do thin layer chromatography, investigate Newton’s laws of motion, and so much more. We have over 300 virtual labs across 39 disciplines, and every one involves a storyline that students can follow to stay engaged. 

What Labster students say:

"These simulations are the next best thing to in-person lab work. They're thorough with their information while not being too overwhelming. I absolutely love them!!” - Abigail

"It's not boring" - Karl 

“Everything is so realistic and fun and that pushes me to want to learn." - Anthony

"I enjoy how engaging and fun the simulations are! You get to learn and have fun playing a game." - Jada

Hear from a career and technical educator about her experience, “When I tried Labster, I was like, “Whoa, this one is actually engaging me.” And I realized that if it’s engaging me, it’s going to engage the kids. This is game-like, and that’s where this generation lives.” Emily Dehoff, Biology Teacher, NCCCV

Using technology  

Students in the Gallup Poll gave their schools a grade of B- on the dimension of “Using technology in new and exciting ways to help you learn”. In contrast, students who use Labster say they like how the platform helps them learn.

What Labster students say:

"I enjoy the graphics, the teaching style, and the attention to detail. I love this!" - Iceiss

"As a hands-on learner, the interactive learning is simply the best! The sense of humor of Dr. One, along with the encouraging messages and praise really top everything off." - Chandler

"I love how creative it is." - John

"It really felt like I was in an actual lab getting hands on experience instead of just reading and testing." - Christopher

Listen to what Matthias Polte had to say about teaching with Labster technology on an episode of The Labster Podcast: 

“There are so many parents and so many students who come to me and say, Matthias, it's perfect. That is the digital learning we need, that kind of digital learning. Because when you just put a paper of exercises into your learning management system, that's not digital learning at all. You need tools that help you to understand science more in detail. And that's what Labster does, in my opinion.” - Matthias Polte, Biology Teacher, RHG Kreufeld

Showing clear career paths

When students aren’t exposed to potential career paths, they have difficulty getting excited about what they’re learning. The Gallup poll found that nearly 50% of students give their schools a C or lower in teaching them about career opportunities. This is a missed opportunity!

One of the benefits of Labster is that each simulation has that contextualized storyline, many of which align directly with the curriculum instructors are teaching as well as with careers students might be interested in.

What Labster students say

"I love it! I'm now more interested in science!" - Sarah Mae

“This helps me see how things work in the life of a scientist." - Laura

“It emulates what it would be like to work in the field of physics." - Joseph

Hear from Charlotte about how her apprenticeship students connected theory to practice: 

“Whatever topic we're teaching, we offer a connected Labster simulation, and then we run that alongside the formal teaching so that they get that additional learning perspective where they can put what they've just learned in the theory lessons into context. All of it has to be connected.” Charlotte Hamblet, Senior Science Instructor, S&A Academy

Furthermore, an external research study found that students who use Labster as a pre-lab assignment are 4 times more likely to say they plan a career in STEM (1). What is more exciting to a science teacher than a student having a lightbulb moment that they’re meant to be in STEM?

Conclusion

The state of education in the United States, as revealed by the recent Gallup poll, highlights several concerning issues. Students have expressed their struggles with low GPAs, lack of excitement about learning, and limited exposure to potential career paths. However, Labster virtual labs offer a promising solution to address these challenges.

Are you excited by the idea of using virtual labs to deliver a learning advantage in your classroom or school? Schedule a demo with us today to learn more. 

Source:

1. Schechter, R., Chase, P., Shivaram, A. (2023). Virtual Labs Boost STEM Success: Insights from Contemporary Science Courses in Higher Education. 

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