Analysis of Safety Competency: A New Assessment of Student Learning Behavior

Abstract

Chemical laboratory safety is paramount for conducting effective experiments and safeguarding the health of researchers. Traditional teaching methods have often provided a limited perspective on students’ laboratory safety competency assessment. In this work, we presented the data of our course, entitled “Laboratory Safety in Chemistry” from the MOOC platform, which contained six years of discussion forum. By analyzing these data, we explored a new approach to better understand students’ safety competencies. Because discussion forums alone are hard to quantify, we integrated a data-driven approach to analyze learning behaviors. By effectively examining these learning behaviors, we were able to outline their cognitive safety competencies. Based on these findings, course modifications were implemented and received favorable feedback. These results indicated that targeted changes in course content may facilitate a progression from superficial awareness to a deeper comprehension of laboratory safety principles. It reflected the rationality of using the data-driven approach to help understanding students’ learning behaviors, thereby optimizing the course and enhancing students’ safety competencies. It further highlighted the potential of interactive and discussion-based approaches in addressing the evolving challenges of safety education. Representative examples of consistently engaging discussion questions are provided in the Supporting Information.