Creation, Adoption, and Assessment of a Lab Manual in an Introductory Biology Lab Course

Oct 22, 2026

The study examines how open educational resources (OER) lab manuals in an introductory biology laboratory course can reduce financial hardship and stress for undergraduate students while improving course passing rates and major retention. The work addresses a gap: many existing biology OER repositories are not aligned with the SUNY Old Westbury curriculum. A newly created OER lab manual embeds more hands-on activities and mini-CURE research experiences, and student perceptions and course grades were assessed. Results show comparable perceptions to purchased manuals and a reduction in DFW drop-fail-withdraw rates, supporting improved passing outcomes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages23

Reading Time58 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Textbook costs and student barriers

Student outcomes and access needs

Role of OER in STEM success

Journal of Online Learning Research and Practice • Volume 10, Number 1 • Summer 2026 Creation, Adoption, and Assessment of a Lab Manual in an Introductory Biology Lab Course Sangeeta Nischal SUNY Manya Mascareno SUNY Kinning Poon SUNY Abstract The use of open education resources (OER) in the Biological Sciences major courses can reduce financial hardships and stress for undergraduate students while improving course passing rates and major retention. Equitable and timely access to course materials can especially improve outcomes for disadvantaged students. Although there exists a large repository of biology-related OER materials, few lab manuals have aligned specifically with the curriculum at SUNY Old Westbury. The goal for this study was to create an OER lab manual specifically for a foundational biology lab course that embeds more hands-on activities and uses mini-course-embedded research experiences (mini-CURE). Student perception to this manual and course grade outcomes were also assessed. The results from this study show that student perception of the OER lab manual is comparable to any purchased lab manual and that the largest benefit to using the new OER lab manual is a reduction in drop-fail-withdraw (DFW) rates. This suggests that access to free and curriculum aligned lab manuals can improve the student passing rate in biology courses. Keywords: Open educational resources, introductory biology lab, mini-CUREs, OER lab manual, disadvantaged students 121 doi: 10.18278/jolrap.10.1.8 Journal of Online Learning Research and Practice Creación, adopción y evaluación de un manual de laboratorio en un curso introductorio de biología Resumen El uso de recursos educativos abiertos (REA) en las asignaturas de Ciencias Biológicas puede reducir las dificultades económicas y el estrés de los estudiantes de pregrado, a la vez que mejora las tasas de aprobación y la retención en la carrera. El acceso equitativo yoportuno a los materiales del curso puede mejorar especialmente los resultados de los estudiantes desfavorecidos. Si bien existe unamplio repositorio de materiales REA relacionados con la biología, pocos manuales de laboratorio se han alineado específicamente con el currículo de SUNY Old Westbury. El objetivo de este estudio fue crear un manual de laboratorio REA específico para uncurso de laboratorio de biología fundamental que integre más actividades prácticas y utilice experiencias de investigación integradasen minicursos (mini-CURE) . También se evaluó la percepción delos estudiantes sobre este manual y las calificaciones del curso. Los resultados de este estudio muestran que la percepción de los estudiantes sobre el manual de laboratorio REA es comparable a la decualquier manual de laboratorio adquirido y que el mayor beneficio de usar el nuevo manual de laboratorio REA es una reducciónen las tasas de abandono, reprobación y abandono (DFW) . Estosugiere que el acceso a manuales de laboratorio gratuitos y alineados con el currículo puede mejorar la tasa de aprobación de los estudiantes en las asignaturas de biología. Palabras clave: Recursos educativos abiertos, laboratorio de biología introductoria, mini-CUREs, manual de laboratorio de REA, estudiantes desfavorecidos 生物学入门实验课程中实验手册的创建、采用和评估摘要在生物科学专业课程中使用开放教育资源(OER)能减轻本科生的经济困难和压力，同时提高课程通过率和专业保留率。公平及时地获取课程资料尤其能改善弱势学生的学习成果。尽管存在大量与生物学相关的OER资料库，但很少有实验手册与纽约州立大学奥尔德韦斯特伯里分校(SUNY Old Westbury)的课程设置相符。本研究的目标是专门为基础生物学 Creation, Adoption, and Assessment of a Lab Manual in an Introductory Biology Bab Course 实验课程创建一本OER实验手册，该手册包含更多实践活动，并采用迷你课程嵌入研究体验(mini-CURE)。研究还评估了学生对这本手册的评价和课程成绩。研究结果表明，学生对OER实验手册的评价与任何购买的实验手册相当，并且使用新版OER实验手册的最大好处是降低了退课-挂科率(DFW)。这表明，获取免费且与课程设置相符的实验手册能提高学生的生物学课程通过率。关键词：开放教育资源，入门生物学实验室，迷你课程嵌入研究体验， OER实验室手册，弱势学生 Introduction The rising textbook costs in STEM education is both a bar rier and a burden for students that are trying to achieve a higher education degree. Purchasing textbooks is a source of stress to studen

FAQs

What problem does the study address regarding lab manuals and access?

Existing biology OER resources are abundant, but few lab manuals align specifically with the SUNY Old Westbury curriculum. The study targets timely, equitable access to curriculum-aligned lab materials.

What features does the created OER lab manual include?

The manual is designed for a foundational biology lab course with more hands-on activities and mini-course-embedded research experiences (mini-CURE).

What were the main findings about student outcomes?

Student perceptions of the OER lab manual were comparable to purchased lab manuals. The largest benefit reported was reduced drop-fail-withdraw (DFW) rates, indicating improved passing outcomes.

Oct 22, 2026

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