FLINN
Your Safer Source for Science
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All-In-One Science Solution
Your Safer Source for Science
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Address P.O. Box 219 Batavia, IL 60510
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Lab-based Science in a COVID World

The need for science education is reflected in current events that require people to make informed judgments about their actions using empirical data. For students to continue to hone their scientific thinking skills without safe access to equipment or supplies they must have access to real data on a range of relevant topics aligned to their curricula, that they can analyze and interpret, use to construct arguments, use to develop theoretical investigations, use to develop questions, and include in their communications to you and each other about science’s disciplinary core ideas. How students access this data depends on their learning environment.

--------------------   IN-PERSON LEARNING   --------------------

If your students will be physically present this Fall for the entirety of each school week but you need to prepare for the possibility of remote learning or an in-school/remote hybrid, choose adaptive materials from Flinn.

  • If you will be teaching regular or honors courses, explore 360Science™. 360Science™ lets you assign students one of four different laboratory procedures: short, guided-inquiry, open, or advanced. Each lab is available with a hands-on kit for in-school, first-hand data collection. The labs combine videos with assignable real data that let students continue to do science if they can’t gather data owing to school closures. Each lab includes a virtual reality simulation that helps students understand things they can’t see such as atoms, chemical reactions, and biological processes like photosynthesis. 

  • If you are an Advanced Placement® teacher, explore FlinnPREP™ lab solutions for Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, and Physics 1. Each set of labs is aligned to the relevant College Board curriculum framework, is available online, and can be paired with a hands-on kit for in-school data collection. Alternatively, students can watch videos that demonstrate lab techniques and use assignable data to construct questions and arguments and develop theoretical investigations in keeping with the inquiry-based practices required by the College Board. 

--------------------   ONLINE/REMOTE LEARNING   --------------------

If your students are starting the school year at home, choose an online solution developed for the sole purpose of keeping students engaged in the science practices should they be unable to safely use laboratory equipment and supplies.

  • If you teach high school Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Sciences, Physics; or middle school Life Sciences, or Physical Sciences, explore Science2Go. Each Science2Go lab begins with videos that demonstrate data collection and present real data, and follow them with prompts that direct students to observe, identify experimental design flaws, refine and expand experiments, practice scientific reasoning and connect to their world. Students can enter their answers online or you may download activities as writable pdfs. Each lab includes a suggested activity that students can perform at home with items they have on-hand or are obtainable at the local grocery store. Labs are easy to implement and require approximately 45 minutes to complete. Activities are aligned to the NGSS and other state science standards and can be used with any textbook curriculum. 

  • If you teach high school Biology or middle school Life Sciences, explore our digital dissections. Each activity includes videos that demonstrate the dissection of a specimen along with descriptive text and images, quick quizzes, and a post-activity multiple-choice assessment.

  • If you are an Advanced Placement® teacher explore the online component of FlinnPREP™ lab solutions. Your students can view videos that demonstrate data collection, and access real data from College Board-aligned labs that they can use to practice science theoretically, i.e. analyze data, engage in argument, plan investigations and communicate their findings.

--------------------   HYBRID/BLENDED LEARNING   --------------------

If your district will combine in-school learning with remote learning, or if your school district has not yet committed to a path forward, the laboratory activities you invest time in researching must be adaptable. Flinn’s laboratory activities enable first-hand data collection, second-hand data collection and a blend of the two.

  • If you teach regular or honors courses, start the year with Science2Go labs. These allow for true engagement with the science practices even without access to equipment. As your path forward becomes clearer and you find that you have the time and space for students to gather laboratory data directly, pair Science2Go labs with the hands-on kit recommended in each lab. Students can watch videos and respond to practice-aligned prompts so that your limited lab time is used more efficiently as student confidence and experience builds.

  • FlinnPREP™ lab solutions provide AP® students with the most adaptive experience out there. Your students can perform hands-on procedures as time and space allow, but if it doesn’t they can still examine real data and learn how that data is collected in a laboratory environment. Moreover, each lab solution includes practice exam problems aligned to the relevant lab topic as well as “re-teach” videos that show students how to solve the problems stepwise if they run into trouble. These are particularly helpful as AP® exams approach.
AP® and Advanced Placement® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, these products.