When David Leasure isn’t teaching computer science at University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), he’s researching ways adjunct faculty at the online university can better support students. Two other faculty members—Debra McLaughlin, who directs UMGC’s Natural Sciences Program, and Meenu Vikram, an adjunct associate professor of natural sciences—are also interested in the learning process, in their case tracking the experiences of students taking science courses that include virtual labs.
Because of their deep interest in how students learn in online environments, the three UMGC faculty members have each been awarded an Elkins Fellowship for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for the 2024-25 academic year. There are among only 10 educators within the University System of Maryland to receive the competitive fellowships this year. The awards, announced by the William E. Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation, go to faculty whose research focuses on ways course design and instructional decisions can improve learning outcomes and advance the university system’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals.
Leasure’s scholarship looks at ways to improve the teaching of PACE 111, the foundational course required for all new students.
“This award to Dr. Leasure speaks to the quality of research that UMGC is doing to improve the student experience,” said Matthew Belanger, UMGC vice president for student engagement and achievement. “So few faculty members in the entire Maryland University System receive these fellowships that being awarded one is a high honor and recognition of innovative work.”
UMGC’s enrollment includes significant numbers of students from under-represented minorities; sometimes, they are the first members of their family to attend college. Because of its focus on adult learners, including military servicemembers, UMGC also attracts students who have been away from a classroom—sometimes for years—or have limited experience with online education. PACE classes seek to position students for success by helping to forge faculty-student relationships, provide academic coaching and elevate outcomes that incorporate the university’s system’s commitment to DEI.
Leasure’s research is anchored in a collaboration with UMGC’s Director of Faculty Training and Development Dawn Kemp and Vice President of Integrative Learning Design M.J. Bishop. His work seeks way to boost student learning and improve course completion, while also considering student persistence and satisfaction. The goal is to keep more UMGC students engaged through graduation.
Belanger has described Leasure’s research as “groundbreaking.” The university has budgeted $65,200 in operational expenses for Leasure’s project.
“UMGC recognizes the transformative potential of Dr. Leasure's work in enhancing our teaching and learning practices, particularly through the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Belanger wrote in a statement of support for the award. “This research not only can elevate UMGC’s educational model but also offer valuable insights that could benefit online education across various underserved communities, extending the impact of our DEI initiatives.”
The research of faculty members McLaughlin and Vikram, meanwhile, looks at ways to improve online science laboratory classes. Although virtual lab courses have gained significant traction in educational settings, offering students the opportunity to engage in hands-on learning experiences remotely, they also have been the subject of criticism because instructors cannot directly observe and guide students as they work.
McLaughlin and Vikram’s research relies on end-of course evaluations and natural language processing models to help understand students’ experiences in virtual lab courses. The use of qualitative and quantitative data points to insights and strategies that identify both best practices and areas for improvement.
“Their research focuses on what constitutes success in online science laboratory work,” said Nancy O’Neill, executive director of the William E. Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation. “Instead of thinking that online learning is a second-best approach to education, they are working on the idea that online science lab courses can allow for unique engagement opportunities for students when faculty members lean in to the affordances made possible by the labs being virtual.”
In the past, drawbacks to the virtual science lab classes included problems with the lab kits students were required to buy to do their experiments. Not only did the price of each kit rise over time, but UMGC students outside the United States said delivery of the kits was haphazard. Kits arrived too late for the semester, were stuck in customs or even disappeared in transit. McNeil said reliance on the kits also limited how students conducted experiments. Unlike in an in-person lab course, students could not repeat the experiments until they got them right because the materials in the lab kits ran out and couldn’t be replaced.
Against that backdrop, McLaughlin worked with Bobby Bailey, a UMGC natural sciences professor, to create a virtual laboratory experience that meets the requirements of basic lab science courses for undergraduates. Everything a student needs for the lab is available online.
“These are straightforward virtual labs that aren’t complicated, that set expectations for the students that are clear,” McLaughlin said. “The background information, the procedures and the virtual labs are all in one place. [Students] can tab over to get to various features. And that’s it.”
If students find their experiments don’t work, they can repeat them over and over until they figure out what went wrong, she added.
The fellowships enable McLaughlin and Vikram to continue their deep dive into course evaluations to understand what works, what doesn’t—and why.
“We are analyzing [data from course surveys] whether it is positive, negative or neutral,” Vikram said. “We are researching what kind of emotions they are using. Are they happy, frustrated, challenged?”
The sentiments logged in end-of-course evaluations before a virtual lab experience were compared with those expressed after the virtual labs. With adjustments to the labs, student feedback has shifted from “I hate labs” to now-glowing reviews. Vikram said this was unusual for general education students who are not likely to major in the sciences.
Working with McLaughlin and Vikram on the project are Gro Torsethaugen, a full-time biology professor, and Ouanessa Boubsil in UMGC’s Academic Services and Quality Department.
O’Neill said the work will provide a systematic evaluation of what is happening with student success. She said this kind of research, which is essential in helping the next generation of students succeed, aligns perfectly with the Kirwan Center’s mission.
“We want to amplify the idea that we can take a research-based approach to studying teaching and learning, to understand what's happening with our students,” she explained. “We also want to share what we're learning, not across the [University System of Maryland] but with the broader field. That will help put USM faculty and their teaching innovations on the map.”
Last year, Leasure received the UMGC President’s Innovation Award for work in creating an academic coaching curriculum, called ROCK-SOLID coaching, to elevate successful outcomes in graduate courses. He has more 25 years of experience in higher education as a teacher, leader faculty-coach, curriculum developer and researcher. His areas of interest includes artificial intelligence.
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