Engaging online labs and courses grounded in pedagogy launch STEM students to success

Incorporating teaching pedagogy

Behind the scenes, teams led by Karen Watte, senior director of the Ecampus Course Development and Training Unit, ensure that all courses are delivered at the highest quality.

“All of our online courses have to meet the same learning outcomes as every on-campus course. So students are going to achieve the same learning as within any on-campus class,” she said.

What distinguishes Oregon State’s online science courses is the careful attention to both teaching approach and digital delivery. Offered through OSU’s top-ranked Ecampus, these courses combine research-based teaching with expanded access, making the College of Science’s academic programs accessible beyond the Corvallis campus.

“All of our online courses have to meet the same learning outcomes as every on-campus course. So students are going to achieve the same learning as within any on-campus class.”

“All of our instructional designers are trained in online pedagogy. Some of them have degrees directly related to online learning,” Watte said. “They work with the faculty, determine where the complex topics are and apply those pedagogical principles to make the best learning experiences possible for the students.”

Teaching science courses online involves particular challenges. The discipline builds on itself, follows a structured path and often involves abstract ideas. Scientific concepts often build sequentially, rely on visual representations, and include hands-on experimentation. Translating this into an online format takes careful planning and a foundation in learning science.

Faculty work with Ecampus instructional designers to develop online courses that align with national standards and reflect current research on learning and student engagement in STEM fields.

Lisa Templeton, vice provost of Oregon State University’s Division of Educational Ventures, leads the division that works with faculty across campus to ensure that academic programs are serving students well.

“Some universities don't use their own faculty to develop and teach the courses,” she said. “So we're really proud of the fact that all the courses we have delivered through Ecampus are in partnership with an academic unit at Oregon State.”

Finding flexibility and success online

The College of Science offers more than 115 online courses, available to students pursuing degrees, completing prerequisites or gaining skills for professional advancement. Students can complete full sequences in subjects like general and organic chemistry, physics, biology, anatomy and physiology, and calculus — foundational building blocks for majors in health, engineering and the sciences.

Creative applications in these sequences not only make learning more engaging, but also more valuable for students with a diverse set of backgrounds all around the world. Whether students are majoring in science or not, the sequences have a major impact on all students.

For 34-year-old Esteban Contreras, taking the chemistry series online helped him advance in his career while working full-time and raising kids.

“I always wanted to go back to school, but meeting at a time and place for classes was always holding me back. But taking science classes online at Oregon State made going back to school possible,” he said.

As an environmental compliance inspector at the City of Lodi Water Pollution Facility in California, he was able to learn the why behind chemistry in the online labs. Students like Contreras can get their digital feet wet by interacting with a nationally award-winning chemistry lab, built by in-house talent at Oregon State.

“I’ve been working in a lab setting for nine years and these chemistry courses give you the reasons for why things are done instead of just going through the motions. For example, learning to not add water to acid because things blow up,” Contreras said.

To add a physical hands-on learning experience for students, some of the science courses sent kits through the mail. In chemistry, Contreras received a kit that allowed him to physically build molecules and expose his kids to chemistry at a young age. Now, they bubble with excitement whenever he settles down to do chemistry homework.

One time, his five-year-old daughter asked to use the kit to make molecules. Basic building blocks like hydrogen and carbon became inspiring for everyone involved — students and family alike.

“I want to work for state agencies and the thing that always held me back was not having a bachelor's degree. In California, there are many state agencies in toxic substances to water, pesticides, you name it. As an environmental science major, that concentration in chemistry is going to give me the most knowledge and make me stand out as a candidate,” he said.

From finding jobs to exercising flexible schedules, learning science online opens the doors to a variety of programs. Some students even go beyond their bachelor degrees. At the graduate level, Oregon State offers a fully online Master of Science in Data Science. This interdisciplinary program integrates statistics, computer science and applied analytics to prepare students for data-focused roles in a range of sectors.

Creating interactive and memorable experiences

Rather than replicate the classroom, Ecampus science courses offer a rigorous learning experience tailored to digital environments. Courses follow a modular design that emphasizes active learning and frequent feedback. Instructors use tools such as discussion forums, peer review, virtual labs and simulations to help students engage with complex material.

For example, Staci Bronson, an assistant professor for integrative biology, used a home lightboard studio for video lectures, developed an interactive and virtual “bone box” and included simulations that replicated the in-person lab experience. She won the Ecampus Innovation Award in 2022 after incorporating these interactive tools into her online courses.

All Ecampus classes are designed to be asynchronous, allowing for flexibility and regular instructor interaction. This structure supports the needs of students who may be balancing coursework with caregiving, military service or other responsibilities.

Support services are also available to online learners, including tutoring, advising, research assistance and accommodations for students with disabilities.

Lowering costs for students

Affordability is another consideration in online learning — particularly for materials in science courses, which can be costly.

Physics professor Kenneth Walsh developed the College of Science’s first online course, incorporating features likelive support from graduate teaching assistants, access to a virtual tutoring center, registration for supplemental instruction tables, support from a strong team of undergraduate learning assistants, and live-action lectures that engaged students with a lightboard.

Still, providing affordable learning materials was a challenge. As an Ecampus Research Fellow, Walsh launched Project BoxSand — a platform offering instructional videos, open-source textbooks, practice problems, simulations, and curated references. Open educational resources (OER) expand access to high-quality, low-cost instruction.

With thoughtful pedagogy and student-centered online learning, anything is achievable.