RCN-UBE undergraduate virtual experiences as a recruitment tool for underrepresented students in stem

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $249,718 project grant titled "RCN-UBE Undergraduate Virtual Experiences as a Recruitment Tool for Underrepresented Students in STEM - The Virtual Field (TheVirtualField.org)" under the Biological Sciences CFDA program. This funding will enable the development of virtual field learning experiences to broaden access to transformative field station and marine lab programs for undergraduate STEM students, particularly those from community colleges and minority-serving institutions. The project will focus on creating an online community to share best practices, hosting annual training workshops, and collaboratively developing new virtual materials and assessment tools. Sub-awards were issued to Sonoma State University, Arizona State University, and Oregon State University to support specific elements of the project, including virtual learning infrastructure, assessment, and community outreach.

Abstract

The virtual field (thevirtualfield.ORG) was created to broaden access to transformative field learning experiences at field stations and marine labs (fsmls) for undergraduate students in stem disciplines. Traditional field experiences have been shown to have a profound impact on student knowledge and engagement in the sciences. However, these opportunities are often unavailable to those from community colleges (CCS) and minority-serving institutions (msis), due to financial, social, and logistical barriers. Additionally, the covid-19 pandemic further exacerbated these challenges, limiting in-person field opportunities. To overcome these barriers and increase access to field experiences, this project will leverage virtual technologies to make field biology experiences broadly accessible. By uniting fsmls, virtual learning experts, videographers, and educators, this project aims to bridge the GAP and bring science education to diverse communities, ultimately contributing to the broader goal of increasing diversity in the field sciences. The project will focus on training in inquiry- and evidence-based teaching, and the development of virtual materials to enhance the effective use and development of virtual inquiry-based learning materials by the research coordination network (RCN) faculty and field station and marine labs (fsmls). An online community will be created to encourage the sharing of ideas for creating effective virtual learning experiences for underserved students. The project includes seven annual orientation and training workshops where experts will present on virtual technology skills, classroom use, and educational assessment. These workshops provide opportunities for facilitated discussions, breakout sessions, and feedback collection. The project aims to collect feedback on the needs of network participants, identify barriers to accessing content, explore collaboration opportunities, and develop community of practice documents for faculty and fsmls. Additional bimonthly office hours will be available for participants and anyone interested in the project to seek support and clarification. Faculty and fsml participants will integrate virtual materials into their existing courses and educational programs and employ rigorous assessments to quantify outcomes to share with other participants. The project also focuses on the collaborative development of new virtual materials and tools, including virtual materials, instructional videos, and an assessment guide. The assessment expert will lead the creation of an assessment guide with protocols for assessing student learning and affective outcomes, which will be updated annually based on participant feedback. Furthermore, the project seeks to establish long-term partnerships to sustain virtual field experiences beyond the duration of the grant. This project is being jointly funded by the directorate for biological sciences, division of biological infrastructure, and the directorate stem education, division of undergraduate education as part of their efforts to address the challenges posed in vision and change in undergraduate biology education: a call to action (http://visionandchange/finalreport/). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.