West Ranch High School in Santa Clarita, California, initially adopted Labster as a remote learning solution, but when students returned to class excited about what they’d learned through Labster’s immersive science simulations, faculty realized they’d discovered something more. Learn how West Ranch uses Labster to close knowledge gaps, overcome funding barriers, and expand their curriculum.
“My kids like to play around, they like to do simulations, and they’re very visual learners. They’re all into video games so if you can bring the aspect of a video game into your class and teach your content that way, you’ve got 'em hooked.”
- Shawn Zeringue, Chemistry Teacher, West Ranch High School
“My kids like to play around, they like to do simulations, and they’re very visual learners. They’re all into video games so if you can bring the aspect of a video game into your class and teach your content that way, you’ve got 'em hooked.”
Chemistry Teacher
West Ranch High School in Santa Clarita, California, initially adopted Labster as a remote learning solution, but when students returned to class excited about what they’d learned through Labster’s immersive science simulations, faculty realized they’d discovered something more. Learn how West Ranch uses Labster to close knowledge gaps, overcome funding barriers, and expand their curriculum.
Challenges: West Ranch first turned to Labster to cope with the pandemic, but they faced a broader array of challenges. West Ranch educates a population of 2,200 students, including low-income households, ESL students, and SPED learners. Meeting these diverse learning needs can be a challenge —and costly lab equipment wasn’t making things any easier. To prepare its students for a future in STEM, West Ranch needed to think outside the box.
Results: Faculty discovered that Labster provided answers to deeper needs than remote learning. Students were not only doing the simulations, they were having fun and coming to class excited and full of questions. Now, Labster provides a lifeline for visual learners, especially in SPED, while biology faculty use it to teach once costly wet labs. Labster has not only expanded West Ranch’s curriculum, it’s enabled teachers to assess student progress, make the most of homework, and shift critical class-time towards discussion and mentorship.
Shawn Zeringue is the Chair of West Ranch High School’s Science Department. She has 23 years of teaching experience and currently teaches chemistry..
“We use it to supplement our curriculum, there’s a safety one all about safety in the classroom we use before we even start our first lab, and we use it for assessments, or on top of a lab to reinforce a concept. [For example] you can’t really do a lab on atoms, [but there is] a really good Labster on atoms; protons, neutrons, electrons, so we use that for chemistry.”
“Our special ed teachers use it often because those kids are more visual learners and they can move at their own pace, versus trying to shuffle them through a lab… so [those teachers] actually do it in the classroom with them, and [the kids] can get more one-on-one help.”
“Labster saves us because we don’t always have money to buy lab equipment… [for example] we use Labster in molecular biology because it’s hard to buy all the stains and slides... we just don’t have that equipment.”
“My kids like to play around, they like to do simulations, and they’re very visual learners. They’re all into video games so if you can bring the aspect of a video game into your class and teach your content that way, you’ve got 'em hooked.”
“My teaching is very much a flipped classroom. So I feed them information at home ... and then when they come into class we practice, review the concepts and do labs. That helps because they walk in with some type of knowledge, versus walking in going ‘what are we doing today.’”
“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. “
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