Exploring Students’ Experiences with Online Sciences Practical Activities during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Lessons for the Future

The coming of the COVID-19 has pushed many teaching institutions to shift from face-to-face teaching mode to online mode. Practical sciences activities for undergraduate students in the field of Integrated Natural Sciences at the University of Namibia Rundu Campus have been disrupted to adapt to the sudden changes. The focus of this study was to examine students’ experiences on practical distanced methods used such as in-lab sessions, remote access to in-lab equipment, take-home kits, and other online methods. A qualitative approach was adopted to generate data through semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews and narratives. The participants were 30 students in third and fourth year from science department due to the experience they had on both face to face and online practical activities. The researchers used the narrative approach for the participants to give voice and elaborate on their own experiences. The results showed that although students enjoyed working from home, the shift to online sciences laboratory activities is still a challenge to our capacities and boundaries of our collective knowledge, understanding and practices.