Returning to in-person teaching - what is it like?

Of all the equipment I'd like for my lab, I never thought 2m long sticks and enormous photos of breadboards would be my most-wanted tools! But as we re-opened the lab to teach safely, they've been invaluable for remembering to keep a 2m distance between all staff and students, then pointing at to enable teaching at more than arms' length!

While many activities will be delivered online using some of our range of remote practical methods, there is often no substitute for in-person practical teaching. We thought it was important to show just what it is like to prepare and deliver Covid-secure in-person lab teaching in the present time, and to record for the future just how we had to operate in 2020.

Benches are safely spread out, maintaining social distancing, and clearly labelled if safe to use. All equipment that students need is laid out for them in advance, to avoid mixing around the room. If we have PCs available in the labs, we are avoiding printing paper labsheets, just to remove another potential virus transmission surface.

Students using the electronics lab pictured above would normally share a workbench with a lab partner. However, they are now working individually, and to ensure they stay 2m apart during the whole session (up to 2 hours), the capacity has been reduced from 144 to just 26. This has resulted in many benches being left empty to ensure social distancing, although excitingly they can be used for remotely accessible lab equipment (hopefully another blog post on this to follow soon!).

We have a thorough cleaning regime in place between every session. Students are expected to wipe down everything that they have touched with a suitable cleaning agent, and will usually be supervised by staff to ensure they do a thorough job. To make sure the cleaning process is comprehensive and effective, there are clear divisions of responsibility for staff and students, with checklists, so that nothing can be forgotten.

Some labs wanted to increase their capacity to maintain as much teaching as possible. The best way to do this was to grow into the library-managed study spaces! On the right are some wind tunnnel rigs, set up at a suitably distanced spacing when used individually. On the left, what is usually "group study" space is now additional workspace for students to write up observations or process data, while keeping a safe distance.

Before students arrive at the lab, we have prepared guidance on what they should expect and how they can work safely. This includes one-way systems, and frequent hand-washing. Here is a video for just one of our lab spaces - all of the different labs that we manage have produced something similar.

As well as all of these in-person lab sessions, we are very excited to have launched a whole range of activities that students can complete from wherever they are in the world. This includes a range of experimental hardware that students can control over the internet, alongside take home kits with custom designed parts - we will write more about this here in future blog posts.