Race Alexandra I, De Jesus Maria, Beltran Roxanne S, Zavaleta Erika S
Education University of California Santa Cruz CA USA.
Biological Sciences Florida State University Tallahassee FL USA.
Ecol Evol. 2021 Feb 8;11(8):3625-3635. doi: 10.1002/ece3.7209. eCollection 2021 Apr.
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many standard approaches to STEM education. Particularly impacted were field courses, which rely on specific natural spaces often accessed through shared vehicles. As in-person field courses have been found to be particularly impactful for undergraduate student success in the sciences, we aimed to compare and understand what factors may have been lost or gained during the conversion of an introductory field course to an online format. Using a mixed methods approach comparing data from online and in-person field-course offerings, we found that while community building was lost in the online format, online participants reported increased self-efficacy in research and observation skills and connection to their local space. The online field course additionally provided positive mental health breaks for students who described the time outside as a much-needed respite. We maintain that through intentional design, online field courses can provide participants with similar outcomes to in-person field courses.
新冠疫情扰乱了许多科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）教育的标准方法。受影响尤其严重的是野外课程，这类课程依赖特定的自然空间，通常需要乘坐共享车辆前往。由于发现面对面的野外课程对本科生在科学领域取得成功特别有帮助，我们旨在比较并了解在将一门入门野外课程转换为在线形式的过程中，哪些因素可能有所损失或收获。我们采用混合方法，比较在线和面对面野外课程的数据，发现虽然在线形式失去了社区建设，但在线参与者报告称，他们在研究和观察技能以及与当地空间的联系方面的自我效能感有所提高。此外，在线野外课程为学生提供了积极的心理健康休息时间，学生们将这段户外时间描述为急需的喘息机会。我们坚持认为，通过精心设计，在线野外课程可以为参与者带来与面对面野外课程类似的成果。
