Collaborative Development of a Virtual Reality Tool for Teaching Employable Cell Culture Techniques Across Scottish Universities

Background/Rational Virtual Reality (VR) is a teaching resource academia did not know it needed. It is increasingly being used to teach skills to workers and students alike. We have recently implemented the use of VR to teach laboratory skills to post-graduate (PGT) students. Laboratory techniques, like cell-culture, are a key part of basic training in life sciences and are difficult to teach within a traditional teaching laboratory due to multiple pedagogical barriers. Within a VR laboratory, students are taught the ‘how-to’ and ‘what not to do’ with emphasis on the latter while working at their own pace. The consequences of poor aseptic technique are significant, especially for a PGT student with a limited project time (10-weeks), as contamination can set experimental work by a week or more. Such techniques require a high-level of training, and failed cultures can often result in waste/loss of materials and negative feelings towards the work. The use of VR to train students in cell culture techniques not only helps to reduce waste and costs, but also provides opportunities to practice these skills more than they can in a conventional laboratory setting. Work undertaken: We started using VR technology to improve student confidence, understanding, and competency when learning cell culture techniques. Initial investigations had two groups of students: group-1 used VR to practice their aseptic technique before using the protocol in a ‘real-life’ laboratory-setting; group-2 learnt the aseptic technique in a laboratory, and then used VR to consolidate their knowledge. The feedback from this pilot study was positive, showing that students with VR-experience prior could expect the next steps without fearing negative consequences. The next stages will be to include different life science PGT programmes. We will also consider previous knowledge students may have, and whether they have prior experience using VR, as initial reports suggest this affects student approach towards learning with this technology. Further information will be obtained by other Scottish universities in a wider study. Challenges: VR is a relatively new modality, and the cost of such equipment is still significant. Moreover, custom software built for laboratory training is still in its infancy, and integration of features like hand gestures instead of using joysticks is difficult. Another limitation is that it might not be accessible to students who are not comfortable with VR or suffer ailments like severe motion sickness. Integrating Links to the Learning and Teaching Strategy VR as a learning tool is becoming increasingly more used in higher education and we have adopted this strategy to support the learning of new skills. Our PGT students can build their confidence, competency and understanding without detrimental consequences. In line with the Student Skills and Professional Development pillar of the learning and teaching strategy, our approach will support student development into competent, confident graduates who can work effectively with fundamental laboratory techniques.