Chemistry in a cup of coffee: Adapting an online lab module for teaching specific heat capacity of beverages to health sciences students during the COVID pandemic

Abstract

The present pandemic has hurled organizations into a new social “norm”—and academia is not exempt. As a result, a novel pedagogy has evolved, demanding mechanisms of social distance teaching and learning be developed. This new era in education has learning institutions acquiring, adapting or even designing online STEM labs for physical science courses—replacing face-to-face teaching laboratory settings. The difficulty of designing science practicum that promotes student engagement and relates scientific principles to “real life” has heightened as we shift to more online instruction. Therefore, a necessity to develop contemporary methods of promoting student engagement and participation in an online learning environment has become apparent. Here, a virtual lab course designed for health science majors, utilized an online lab module and, with the use of a learning management system, adapted it to illustrate the principles of specific heat capacity in “real life”: hot coffee. Students enrolled in the lab course were able to perform a virtual lab, complete calculations, compare calculated and experimental values, and relate the experimental chemistry topics to healthcare in a lab report. Following the lab experience, students completed an anonymous and voluntary qualitative survey in which they recommended this lab exercise for future classes.