Summary of Activities and Deliverables
Basic
Concepts Training
Through workshops, Faculty and Field Station and Marine Lab (FSML) participants will be introduced to how inquiry-based learning and virtual learning tools can enhance curriculum, teaching effectiveness, and students’ understanding of ecology and scientific understanding.
Virtual Material Integration into Curriculum
The Virtual Field leadership team will orient participants to The Virtual Field platform (thevirtualfield.org), its educational materials, and other virtual skill-building tools. Faculty leaders and returning RCN participants will discuss how TVF can be used for various classroom structures (hybrid, large groups, research focused courses, flipped classrooms, etc.)
Assessment
Assessment tools will be developed by education research experts and distributed to faculty and FSML participants to assess student response to TVF materials, teaching effectiveness, and impact on FSML educational programs. Participants’ experience in the RCN will also be evaluated and an assessment report will be created.
Building a Learning Community
Participants will share experiences, models, and ways of teaching across a variety of classrooms through workshops and discussion forums in an online learning community. Feedback from Faculty and FSML participants will help TVF leaders improve the online platform and content.
Resource sharing and expanding reach
Communication tools will include a Repository of Knowledge via the OBFS website, where FAQs and information will be gathered, summarized, and organized by topic for Faculty and FSML community members. Faculty and FSML leaders will develop a Community Standards for teaching with TVF materials.
TVF marketing materials will not only be developed and distributed for recruiting future Faculty and FSML participant cohorts, but be used to highlight the unique resources and opportunities that Field Station and Marine Labs provide.
Content Creation
Faculty feedback will guide FSMLs to create and share new educational content for The Virtual Field platform.
Field experiences in undergraduate education and research have a profound effect on student recruitment and long-term engagement in STEM (Billick et al., 2013; Boyle et al., 2007, Welsh and France, 2012), boosting motivation, retention, critical thinking and academic success for students of all backgrounds and disciplines (NRC 2014). Yet due to logistic and financial barriers, students rarely are exposed to these experiences prior to declaring their major.
�Virtual technology shows promise for lowering barriers (e.g., cost, logistics, social, economic) to research and field experiences. Recent post-Covid publications show that undergraduate virtual research and other virtual experiences can be just as impactful as in-person experiences (refs). These experiences are more easily made available to large introductory classes and students with financial, logistic, cultural or physical barriers that prevent or restrict field access.
�This RCN-UBE supports groups of investigators dedicated to developing transformative virtual field experiences for lower division underserved and underrepresented students at Community Colleges (CCs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges (TC), and other institutions that serve these students.
NSF RCN-UBE
Undergraduate Virtual Experiences as a Recruitment Tool for Underrepresented Students in STEM
Angelica Patterson, Sara Kassis, Chris Mead, Itchung Cheung
Participants
Photo credit: Wendy St. John. RCN-Incubator participants at Bodega Bay Marine Laboratory, CA.
Faculty Participants
Use TVF materials to give field experiences to lower division underserved and underrepresented students
Use assessment tools to evaluate teaching effectiveness and students’ responses towards TVF materials
Provide feedback to Senior Personnel and Evaluators on TVF content needs and RCN experiences
FSML Participants
Create TVF video and VR content representing a wide variety of ecosystems and research experiences (optional for faculty participants)
Create TVF materials and/or incorporate into existing educational programs
Roles and Responsibilities
An Overview
Participants recruited
Workshop 1, Dec 1st
Orientation: RCN overview, goals, roles, expectations. Inquiry-based learning and TVF. Building community/collaborations for RCN participants.
Homework, month of Dec.
Content Development and Assessment: Training videos for creation of EE and 360-degree videos, and LFTF events, as well as how to assess your teaching. (asynchronous)
Workshop 2, Jan 12th
Tech Skills: Participants learn and share technical skills making virtual materials using smartphones, 360-degree cameras, gimbals, editing software and other tools.
Workshop 6, Jun 3-5th
Synthesis/Solutions: Participants discuss what they did, how it worked (e.g., teaching assessment results), ideas for engaging underserved students, recommendations for practical solutions, and ways they would like to continue to be engaged in the RCN.
Timeline of Activities (2023-2024)
Workshop 3, Jan 19th
Classroom Use: Participants learn about and explore how they will use TVF materials to complement their course curriculum.
Workshop 5, Apr 19th
Challenges/Successes: Participants report on how they are using virtual materials and assessments and issues/ideas for engaging disadvantaged students.
Start
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
End
Faculty and FSML participants will be compensated for their time.
Workshop 4, Feb 23rd
Check-In: Participants share what their plans are to incorporate TVF into their curriculum or create content. Challenges and wins encountered along the way will be discussed.
Bonus Workshop, month of Mar.
Measuring the Effect(s) of Virtual Field Experiences: Assessment, IRB, TVF Measurement Approaches. (asynchronous)