Case Study: Raritan Valley Community College boosts microbiology engagement and clinical relevance with Top Hat's digital lab manual

Raritan Valley Community College boosts grades and cuts feedback turnaround to days with Top Hat

Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) professor Derek Weber faced the challenge of making his Microbiology course clinically relevant for a diverse body of non-majors and overcoming the limitations of an outdated print lab manual. The static manual failed to engage students with high-quality media and timely case studies, leaving them disconnected from the material. To address this, he used Top Hat to author a custom digital lab manual.

The solution implemented with Top Hat was a dynamic digital lab manual that incorporated multimedia, pre- and post-lab assessments, and real-world case studies. This allowed Professor Weber to flip his lab, identify learning gaps quickly, and provide timely feedback. The results included a significant spike in chapter assignment and exam grades, higher levels of student satisfaction, and the development of greater critical thinking skills, as students could now directly apply their learning to clinical settings.

Raritan Valley Community College (rvcc)