When the COVID-19 pandemic forced campuses to close overnight, instructors everywhere scrambled to figure out how to move their courses forward online. For most subjects, the transition was difficult. For microbiology—a course built on hands-on, technical lab work—it felt nearly impossible.

How do you teach lab skills when there’s no lab? How do you help a student perform a Gram stain without ever being in the same room? 

Faculty at the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) saw an opportunity to rethink how microbiology lab skills could be taught and responded with a thoughtful, student-centered solution. The results offered valuable insight for microbiology educators everywhere. 

The Approach

The Principles of Microbiology course at CCP serves Allied Health and transfer students, and hands-on lab competency is central to their success. To keep that experience meaningful during remote learning, the team combined two tools:

  1. McGraw Hill Connect Virtual Biology (MHCVB) Labs: fully online simulations integrated directly into CCP's Canvas course management system
  2. Custom at-home lab kits: shipped directly to students' homes and containing everything they needed, including prepared media, bacterial cultures, stains, PPE, and a portable microscope

The approach centered on preparation. Students would engage with McGraw Hill Connect Virtual Biology Labs first, getting familiar with the equipment, procedures, and expected outcomes, before putting those skills into practice at home. By doing so, they arrived at the hands-on experiments with the confidence and foundational knowledge they needed to succeed.

What the Data Showed

The team studied 220 students across 10 sections over two semesters, comparing outcomes when students used at-home Carolina lab kits with instructor video support alone versus when McGraw Hill Connect Virtual Biology Labs were added to supplement the same experience. 

Scores on pre-lab quizzes, post-lab quizzes, and final lab reports showed no statistically significant difference between the two semesters, indicating that students maintained a strong theoretical understanding of the material. When it came to hands-on technique, however, scores were significantly higher in the semester that included MHCVB Labs:

  • Streak plate proficiency jumped from 57.7 to 80.1
  • Simple staining scores improved from 57.3 to 74.4
  • Gram staining scores rose from 55.0 to 80.1

In this study, students who built conceptual understanding through virtual lab simulations before attempting hands-on experiments saw significantly higher technical performance scores. These findings support the case for combining virtual and physical lab experiences in microbiology instruction.

Why It Worked

The authors point to a few key reasons behind these results. Virtual labs helped reduce cognitive load. When students sat down to do the physical experiment, they weren't encountering the procedures for the first time. They had already seen the equipment, worked through the steps, and understood what a successful outcome should look like. That preparation translated directly into stronger execution.

There's also an accessibility factor worth noting. The at-home lab kits were provided to all students at no cost through CARES Act funding, removing a financial barrier that could have limited access at a moment when many students were already facing disproportionate challenges. The commitment to access ensured that all students had an equal opportunity to develop the skills essential to their success. 

Lessons That Go Beyond the Pandemic

What makes this study particularly valuable is that its implications don't stop at 2020 or 2021. As CCP moves back to in-person and hybrid instruction, the faculty plan to keep using MHCVB Labs and to study whether virtual pre-lab preparation improves outcomes in face-to-face settings too.

The pandemic forced educators to experiment. What CCP discovered is worth holding onto: virtual lab simulations don’t replace hands-on experience. They make it better.

CCP faculty Beena G. Patel and John-Paul Vermitsky published their full findings— including methodology, data, and practical recommendations for other instructors—in the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education.

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