Adapting for remote delivery during COVID‐19: Insights from a science engagement project

Abstract

Science Hunters is an established outreach program using the computer game Minecraft to engage children in science. Before the pandemic, Science Hunters regularly delivered sessions in schools but ceased delivering face-to-face sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Online remote delivery was trialed in eight schools, with 201 children of age 9-11 years and 21 school teachers and classroom assistants. This paper aims to evaluate the success of making the change from face-to-face to remote delivery. Children's feedback indicated they were as positive about online sessions of Science Hunters as about those previously delivered in-person. Teachers rated the session organization, delivery, and student benefit on a scale of 1 (lowest)-5 (highest); mean scores of 4.47-4.76 were returned and 100% would repeat the session. The study found that pre-session discussions with teachers covering expectations, training, and technical setup were key to running session successfully. Using activities to run alongside Minecraft sections made the session more immersive and videos at the start of the activity were particularly successful and were carried forward to face-to-face sessions.