Dr. Vesa Paajanen is a senior lecturer in animal physiology at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF). In his current position as a facilitator of online and blended learning, he spends half of his time teaching students and the other half helping his colleagues adapt to online teaching and develop pedagogically useful online learning environments. He has been honored for his innovative online teaching methods with the Good Teacher Award from the Biology Student Union and the Excellent Teacher in Practice Award from UEF. 

Since 2016, he has focused on implementing the flipped classroom model and applying learning analytics to create personalized learning experiences. In 2023, Paajanen also began to use learning analytics data to study the impact of Labster simulations on student learning. Read on to explore his data and findings. 

Key Takeaways:

• Fewer students dropped out after Labster was integrated into the course
• Flipping the classroom increases 1:1 time with students
• Learning analytics show that structuring flexible course time helps students

Three-Semester Study Shows Labster Boosts Pass Rates 

When Paajanen decided to integrate Labster simulations into his flipped classroom online animal physiology course in 2023, he wanted to study its influence on student success. Specifically, he wanted to determine which course content was most impactful in the context of teaching with a flipped classroom approach. 

To do this, Paajanen gathered learning analytics data from the Moodle LMS, course discussion forum, weekly assignments, and the Labster Dashboard. He compared student pass rates from two prior semesters to the semester when he introduced Labster. 

Paajanen discovered that student pass rates increased by 16% after the introduction of Labster in the spring of 2023. Significantly, these pass rates increased at the same time as total course enrollment increased, indicating that Paajanen’s course was an effective learning experience even with a higher student-instructor ratio. 

“In all our correlation models, we observed that Labster had a strong influence on students' learning output. Pass rates increased by 16%. Other significant factors that clearly increased learning included frequency of interaction with the course, maintaining a steady study rhythm, and use of the LMS,” said Paajanen. “Students learn best when they can combine theoretical information with real-life applications. Labster provides the best virtual environment with experiments that motivate students and pedagogically meaningful tasks that result in meaningful learning.”

Paajanen presented the findings of his study at OEB 2023, a global conference on digital learning and training. 

Student Responses to Labster

Feedback from the students indicates that they found the Labster simulations to be helpful. 

• “Simulations helped my learning massively, they were an excellent learning tool. Simulation weeks were always the best weeks!”
• “I learned basic lab work and how to run calculations.”
• “I think it was a great experience for me. I have never been to a virtual lab before. I have learnt so many things and really enjoyed the simulations.”
• “It was my first time learning with simulations and I think was a great tool, some concepts from lectures that initially I did not understand properly I could understand totally in the simulations. Besides, even when there are tests in the simulations, the pressure of doing those tests is less than the test in real life. That helped me to feel more comfortable and confident to answer the questions and I think I obtained good results.” 

What is a Flipped Classroom? 

Flipped Classroom is an active learning strategy where the traditional lecture component of a course is viewed at home while traditional homework assignments are completed during class time with the instructor on hand to answer questions and provide guidance. Paajanen, like many flipped classroom advocates, records video lectures for his students to watch asynchronously and uses synchronous class meetings to help them apply their understanding of lecture content, develop career-ready lab skills, and practice collaborating and communicating with their peers.

Why a Flipped Classroom Approach?

From an instructor’s perspective, a flipped classroom creates more time to communicate with students. Paajanen says he uses this additional time to offer feedback to clarify challenging course content or modulate assignments to adapt them to the skills and interests of individual students. 

“I try to find some time to chat with each student every week, and as I do, they learn which material I think contains the most important themes of the course. That’s how I become personally familiar with the students in an online course rather than remaining an unknown reviewer of their work.” 

One of the most significant elements of Paajanen’s approach is allowing students to repeat the material as many times as they like. I've noticed some of my students re-do the self-test quizzes even dozens of times, watching the most difficult parts of the lecture material again and again. I see that they benefit from this opportunity to build their competence and confidence. 

From a student’s perspective, a flipped classroom offers much more flexibility. Instead of spending class time watching a lecture, they can study lecture content at home, whenever they want. Paajanen is clear that a flipped classroom model requires a lot of structure to help students stay on track. He relies on giving deadlines in the LMS, holding synchronous weekly meetings, and requiring online discussions to help motivate the students and guide them to use their time for learning. 

Paajenen's Favorite Labster Simulations:

• Thermal Homeostasis: Apply thermoregulation to climate change
• Action Potential Lab: Experiment with a squid neuron
• Cardio-respiratory Physiology: How can seals dive so deep for so long?
• Skeletal Muscle: Learn about the muscles we use to walk and run