Since we started collecting the CURE data, there was always a recurring issue: getting enough students to answer the surveys and sign up for focus groups. When 2020 started, we had plans for expansion and dissemination, and we we were starting to outline how to broaden the reach of the CURE to other classes.
Woody Allen famously said “If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans,” although the original source seems to be the Bible. In any case, right after the February 2020 class attended the field trip, the Covid-19 pandemic exploded and turned the world upside down. And with onsite classes stopped and Scripps pier activities being limited, we were looking at a no activities for the foreseeable future. While in the fall we were able to get back in the lab and start prepping and collecting samples, there was no way to get students back to the pier.
When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. The pandemic forced us educators to adapt laboratory classes to the online environment. And while we mourn the lack of hands-on experience, possibilities open in other dimensions- the ability to stagger the information overload (in educators’ jargon, scaffolded), the capacity to make the message more organized and appealing, and most importantly, to make the experience accessible for many more students.
So we worked on recording lectures and writing scripts, the National University video team recorded us on the pier and in the lab, and in record time the content was uploaded in time for the November classes: 3 sections of nonmajors and one of majors. All online of course.
This was the overall design for the virtual field trip experience:
- Week 2: Watch the documentary Into the gyre and discuss in the weekly discussion board
- Week 3: Watch recorded lectures re ocean plastic research and our project (these were usually delivered the day of the field trip). Assessed as part of the weekly quiz. Watch footage of the deployment and collection of samples, discuss during synchronous session. At the end of the week, students participated a a live Q&A with researchers to talk about plastic pollution, research, and career options/skills.
- Week 4: Nonmajors observe pictures of plates inoculated with microbes. Majors observed the pictures, and then did Blast searches of DNA sequences provided to identify the colonies.
The results were amazing. The engagement from students was palpable from the beginning. The live Q&A, held on a Saturday morning, was well-attended, and students had a lot of questions and comments. For the first time, we had students signing up to the focus groups. And finally, the survey data arrived.
The heatmap below shows the Likert scores to the survey questions. The questions cover students perception of knowledge of scientific research, laboratory techniques, ocean plastic research, and appreciation of science. There was a significant increase in scores between before and after the field trip for both onsite and online students. As you can see from the dark colors, online students’ “before” scores were lower than those of the onsite counterparts (in fact, statistically significantly lower). However, there is no significant difference in the “after” scores between onsite and online students.
Well, of course we need more data. But these results are very encouraging. Seems like we’ll be able to keep exposing students to the research experience even in an online setting, and this experience seems to be comparable to the onsite one. While as lab scientists we wish for students to be able to actively participate in hands-n activities, this is an alternative that can reach a much higher number of students independently on their geographical location or ability to do field trips.
So yes, we are pleased. The final versions of the videos (edited and with interviews) are in the works, and we are planning for a new set of virtual field trips in February 2021.
Happy New Year!
