Barnes Taylor L, Ramsey W Shawn, Dunlap Kathrin A
Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
Transl Anim Sci. 2021 Jan 5;5(1):txaa235. doi: 10.1093/tas/txaa235. eCollection 2021 Jan.
Traditionally, earning a degree in animal science requires many face-to-face, hands-on courses; however, the COVID-19 pandemic created a situation in which traditional delivery of these courses may not be feasible as they provide a health risk to our students, teaching assistants, and instructors alike. This examination of two pedagogically different courses and how each was transitioned to an online format highlights the types of teaching decisions that are required to effectively teach animal science in an online format. The Farm Animal Production Systems lab was an animal handling and production practices lab, and although the transition to online delivery did not allow for students to participate in traditional hands-on development of skills, various resources were utilized that still achieved the development of animal handling concepts that will prepare students for later courses and work with live animals. In contrast, the Animal Science Laboratory Teaching Methods course remained consistent in format through the transition to online because students were still able to participate in discussion-based activities via Zoom meetings each week due to the small class size, which helped to maintain student engagement. However, the final teaching experience was modified to an alternative assignment. The alternate assignment included self-reflection and course evaluation that will help to improve both the Farm Animal Production Systems laboratory and the Animal Science Teaching Methods course in the future. Although COVID-19 has been a challenge that disrupted traditional courses, it has provided opportunities for a traditionally hands-on discipline, such as animal science, to more effectively engage students via an online platform.
传统上，获得动物科学学位需要许多面对面的实践课程；然而，新冠疫情造成了一种情况，即这些课程的传统授课方式可能不可行，因为它们会对我们的学生、助教和教师都带来健康风险。对两门教学方式不同的课程以及它们如何过渡到在线形式的研究，凸显了以在线形式有效教授动物科学所需的教学决策类型。家畜生产系统实验室是一个动物处理和生产实践实验室，尽管向在线授课的转变不允许学生参与传统的实践技能培养，但仍利用了各种资源，这些资源仍然实现了动物处理概念的培养，这将为学生后续课程以及与活体动物打交道做好准备。相比之下，动物科学实验室教学方法课程在过渡到在线教学时形式保持一致，因为由于班级规模小，学生仍然能够每周通过Zoom会议参与基于讨论的活动，这有助于保持学生的参与度。然而，最终的教学体验改为了一项替代作业。替代作业包括自我反思和课程评估，这将有助于未来改进家畜生产系统实验室和动物科学教学方法课程。尽管新冠疫情是一个扰乱传统课程的挑战，但它为动物科学这样一个传统上注重实践的学科提供了机会，使其能够通过在线平台更有效地吸引学生。
