Student‐led field studies of herbivory: Hands‐on experiences for remote (or in‐person) learning

Abstract

Challenging students to independently design and implement experiments is a powerful way to teach the scientific method while engaging with STEM‐related course material. For ecology and organismal biology, such experiences often take the form of field work. The COVID‐19 pandemic presented formidable challenges for instructors of such courses: How can students conduct any experiments, much less ones of their own design, when they might not even have access to campus? Here we describe a student‐led field project exploring invertebrate herbivory in terrestrial plant systems. Designed to flexibly accommodate student groups working either in‐person, remotely, or both, the project would be suitable for invertebrate biology, plant biology, or general ecology courses at the college or high school level. We describe our implementation in two sections of a sophomore‐level course, provide specific advice based on our experiences, make suggestions for future improvements or adaptations, and provide all the written materials that instructors would need to implement this in their own teaching.

The Pandemic's Impact on Underserved Students' Technology Access and Course Progress

“…Researchpriortothepandemicfounditispossibletointegratehands-onlearningintotechnical online courses, but it requires an investment in appropriate technology to replicate hands-on experiences virtually, coupled with an investment of time into course design (Annetta et al, 2009;Breweretal.,2013;Ghilay,2017;Mawnetal.,2011).Studiesonstudentsinscienceand medicinecoursesshowonlinestudentscansuccessfullycompletehands-onlabsremotelyusing VirtualReality(VR),however,designingaVR-basedlabcourseiscostlyandtimeconsuming (Amunga, 2021;Annetta et al, 2009;Barton, 2020;Berke & Clark, 2021;Vollbrecht et al, 2020).Whileitispossibletointegratehands-onlearningintoonlinecourses,thelackoftimefor coursedesignduringthequickpivottoonlinelearninginthemidstofthepandemichampered instructors' ability to integrate high-tech hands-on learning experiences (Code et al, 2020). Investigatingstudents'experiencesinonlinetechnologycoursesoneyearintothepandemicmay revealadifferentpictureintermsofstudents'perceptionsoftheirprogress,sincebyayearinto thepandemic,instructorsmayhavehadtimetobuildoutfullyplannedonlinecoursesinstead oftheERTonlineinstructionthatoccurredearlyinthepandemic.…”

Innovation in teaching and learning invertebrate zoology in remote and online classrooms

“…Berke and Clark (2021) sought to teach students through collaborative inquiry‐based research projects. They present a student‐centered field project exploring terrestrial invertebrate herbivory on plants compatible with students working in person, remotely, or both.…”

Learning from COVID‐19: Research education in troubling times

“…Several recent articles have addressed how the pandemic and related restrictions on science education practices have resulted in a greater exploration of options for incorporating field research experiences within online or hybrid course structures in secondary or post‐secondary settings. Berke and Clark (2021) posed the question “How can students conduct any experiments, much less ones of their own design, when they might not even have access to campus?” McKinnon (2020) noted that “Many would argue that an online field course is an oxymoron. A few short months ago, I would have agreed.” Creech and Shriner (2020) lamented the loss of interconnected social experiences that students gain from conducting fieldwork together, and raise the question of whether remote learning may inadvertently deepen social division and inequality rather than helping to alleviate it.…”

“…Several recent articles have addressed how the pandemic and related restrictions on science education practices have resulted in a greater exploration of options for incorporating field research experiences within online or hybrid course structures in secondary or post-secondary settings. Berke and Clark (2021) posed the question "How can students conduct any experiments, much less ones of their own design, when they might not even have access to campus?" McKinnon (2020) noted that "Many would argue that an online field course is an oxymoron.…”