González-Orta Enid T, Tobiason Deborah, Gasper Brittany J, Raja Aarti, Miller Sarah
Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Sacramento, Sacramento, California, USA.
Department of Biology, Carthage College, Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA.
J Microbiol Biol Educ. 2022 Mar 23;23(1). doi: 10.1128/jmbe.00250-21. eCollection 2022 Apr.
The pivot to remote and hybrid learning during the Covid-19 pandemic presented a challenge for many in academia. Most institutions were not prepared to support this rapid change, and instructors were left with the burden of converting a traditional face-to-face course into multiple modalities with very limited preparation time. When institutional support is lacking, we posit that instructor communities of practice can help provide the resources needed to meet the instructional demands. Tiny Earth, a course-based-undergraduate research experience (CURE) and international network of instructors and students, responded to the instructional challenges of the pandemic by leveraging its large community of instructors to create several smaller working groups to form focused communities of practice. Using the pedagogical principles of backward design and scientific teaching, one working group, the Tiny Earth Pivot Group (Pivot Group) generated a course map of remote learning activities and simulated learning resources to fulfill the Tiny Earth learning objectives and maintain the essential tenets of a CURE. Additional working groups were created to disseminate the resources collated and created by the Pivot Group to the greater community. In terms of Tiny Earth, the community structure provided the means for instructors to rapidly pivot their course materials to multiple modalities while upholding the student CURE experience. Harnessing the hallmarks of communities of practice-collective workpower toward common purpose, diversity of perspectives, and ongoing evolution-coupled with high-structured course design allows instructors flexibility and adaptability in meeting the changing modalities of higher education.
在新冠疫情期间转向远程和混合式学习给学术界的许多人带来了挑战。大多数机构没有准备好支持这种迅速的转变，教师们面临着在准备时间非常有限的情况下将传统的面对面课程转变为多种模式的负担。当缺乏机构支持时，我们认为教师实践社区可以帮助提供满足教学需求所需的资源。“小地球”是一个基于课程的本科研究体验项目（CURE）以及教师和学生的国际网络，它通过利用其庞大的教师群体创建了几个较小的工作组，以形成专注的实践社区，应对了疫情带来的教学挑战。一个工作组，即“小地球转向小组”（转向小组）运用逆向设计和科学教学的教学原则，生成了远程学习活动的课程地图和模拟学习资源，以实现“小地球”的学习目标，并维持CURE的基本原则。还创建了其他工作组，将转向小组整理和创建的资源传播给更广泛的群体。就“小地球”而言，社区结构为教师提供了一种方式，使他们能够在维持学生CURE体验的同时，迅速将课程材料转变为多种模式。利用实践社区的特点——为共同目标而集体努力、观点的多样性和持续发展——再加上高度结构化的课程设计，使教师在应对高等教育不断变化的模式时具有灵活性和适应性。
