More Than Just Learning Discipline Skills: Social Interactions in Science Fieldwork Could Enhance Student Well-being and Cognition

Abstract

Fieldwork is typically used to develop students’ technical skills in a range of scientific domains. Fieldwork may also be particularly conducive for enhancing social learning because of increased opportunities for social interactions. However, few studies have explored the value of students’ social interactions during science fieldwork. This pilot study used a mixed-methods survey to investigate 107 undergraduate students’ perceptions of science fieldwork. Participants had completed science subjects with repeated on-campus fieldwork. The survey questions examined students’ perceptions of the potential influence on their well-being and cognition.
 
 Most respondents reported long-lasting benefits to their well-being (57%; 42 students) and/or cognition (69%; 52 students). Commonly reported benefits related to well-being included enhanced enjoyment, relaxation, increased motivation and engagement, and stress reduction. In examining cognition, commonly reported benefits included gaining a deeper conceptual understanding from ‘hands-on’ activities and improved information retention. Whilst a variable response rate must be considered in interpreting our findings, our preliminary results suggest science fieldwork has a broader value to learning and the student experience. Students recognise that the benefits of fieldwork activities extend beyond the development of technical skills. Future studies could further explore how science educators can generate more effective social interactions during fieldwork-based education in science.

Theory-practice gap: Nursing students’ self-reported depth of understanding of bioscience and its relevance to clinical practice

“…Likewise, registered nurses need to have a sufficient understanding of bioscience to underpin safe and effective clinical practice [ 15 , 47 ]. Similar to the study of Rafferty et al [ 11 ], the majority of participants in the present study reflected an adequate understanding of all bioscience modules and not deep, this may be due to inconsistency in the quality of support offered to students, the lack of learning opportunities and the low priority that bioscience is given in placement education [ 4 ] notwithstanding, that many students find science subjects difficult [ 48 ]. This study revealed that the participants understanding of Human Biology and Pharmacology was better than that of Physics and Chemistry, this could be related to the importance the lecturer gives the subjects and the relevance perceived by the students as over 20% have a superficial understanding of Physics, Chemistry.…”

“…This clear gap between Physics and Chemistry and how it underpins clinical practice may be the key to why more students reported these subjects as less relevant to nursing practice as compared to Human Biology and Pharmacology. In addition, students’ attitudes toward the value of science are constantly changing and when students find science challenging this leads to undesirable levels of anxiety which further perpetuate their negative perception of bioscience modules [ 42 ] resulting in them perceiving it as less valuable in nursing practice [ 48 ]. Although a fair amount of anxiety can be motivating (Deshpande and Kawane 1982 as cited in Cooper et al [ 51 ]), high levels of anxiety can undermine the learning process and lead to irreversible negative perception towards the content that needs to be learned.…”

Written Reflection Influences Science Students’ Perceptions of Their Own and Their Peers’ Teamwork and Related Employability Skills

“…Paulus and Brown (2007) stated that fostering a team climate requires "some type of "bridge" that binds the group members together" (p. 256). Such undergraduate teamwork "bridges" have included icebreakers (Fleischmann, 2015), social interactions (Carew, Ho, & Brookes, 2020) and structured mentoring (Detweiler-Bedell & Detweiler-Bedell, 2019). It is possible that the written reflection on their team interactions (goal settings, communication strategies, etc.)…”

Students’ well-being development in the classroom: a mixed-method study

“…First, studies focus on the learning process in the classroom in developing well-being [7], [8]. Second, studies focus on creating a harmonious environment and social interaction among school members, both interactions between teachers and students [9], [10], and between students and students [11], [12]. Both approaches emphasize the importance of school climate in developing student well-being.…”