Virtual Science Simulations

The new frontier in science instruction in the post-pandemic Caribbean

Authors

  • Dave Cassie University of Southern Caribbean
  • Lydia Campbell-George University of Southern Caribbean
  • Rameez Baksh North Central Regional Health Authority

Keywords:

higher education, COVID-19, science laboratory simulations

Abstract

Many departments of science within Caribbean Higher Education Institutions were forced to provide science laboratory simulations because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This quantitative, comparative, retrospective study examined nursing students’ science laboratory performance prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. It utilized 2975 laboratory science scores from four lab courses completed by five cohorts of first year undergraduate nursing students across each academic year for the period 2017 to 2021 at a Caribbean university. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 29. The study revealed that the students’ mean laboratory scores appear to be higher for the period 2020/2021 to 2021/2022 in comparison to the years 2017/2018 to 2019/2020. An ANOVA indicated that there was a significant difference in means for laboratory grades and years (p < 0.05). Tukey’s HSD Post Hoc test revealed that the mean laboratory grades were all significantly different from each other except for 2020 and 2021. Based on this evidence, it can be concluded that there has been successful implementation of the science laboratory simulations during the pandemic and this can be incorporated as a best practice in digitally-enabled science instruction in the post COVID-19 era.

Author Biographies

Dave Cassie, University of Southern Caribbean

Dr Dave V. Cassie is an Assistant Professor at the University of the Southern Caribbean. He is a multiple graduate of the University of the West Indies and his terminal degree focused on Educational Leadership in Higher Education. His research interests include online learning, public health, educational leadership and e-leadership.

Lydia Campbell-George, University of Southern Caribbean

Dr Lydia Campbell-George is an Assistant Professor at the University of the Southern Caribbean, Department of Nursing Education.  Her research integrates telehealth, leadership, and online learning to develop transformative strategies that enhance student success in education and healthcare. She has presented at several professional conferences and conducted numerous impactful studies.

Rameez Baksh, North Central Regional Health Authority

Rameez Baksh is a graduate of the University of the West Indies. He holds a BSc. in Mathematics and a MSc. in Statistics. He is currently employed as a Research Officer at the North West Regional Health Authority. Mr Baksh has a passion for data driven decisions and outcomes.

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Published

2025-02-28

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2025): Caribbean Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies

Section

Articles