Collaborative Research: Open Access Blended Learning Modules for Teaching Laboratory Methods: Developing Scientific Skills for Undergraduates

在本科阶段，缺乏适当的实验室技术教学材料，这对增加学生获得在地球科学和其他STEM领域取得成功所必需的分析技能和知识构成了重大障碍。该项目将创建和评估五个开放获取的在线学习模块，用于实验室方法和科学探究技能。这些材料将首先在一所四年制大学（JMU）和一所面向少数民族的两年制学院（NOVA）的课程中进行评估。基于社区的对这些模块的审查、评估、贡献和进一步测试将在不同类型的教室中进行，这将为地球科学和STEM教师创造一个分享思想的论坛，他们希望将分析方法纳入使用强大的同行评审在线教学资源的课程中。模块化的形式将为教师提供灵活性，使用尽可能少或尽可能多的单位需要为一个特定的课程或学生的研究经验。将创建五个学习模块，代表JMU和NOVA常用的分析方法和技术。这些装置将包括煤气和水管道、岩石显微镜、薄片设备、能量色散光谱、扫描电子显微镜、拉曼和红外光谱。科学探究技能将嵌入到内容模块中，包括创建和测试协议，评估数据质量和错误，以及综合数据。为了使更大的地球科学和STEM社区受益，这些模块将发布在开放教育资源（OER）课件网站上。模块的结构和内容将与主动的、基于探究的学习理论保持一致，并将包括视频迷你讲座、个人和小组测验和作业、视频或动画格式的说明性材料、设备和实验室的视频导览以及讲师资源。该项目将通过建立有效的实践，将开放教育资源整合到涉及分析设备使用的地球科学和STEM课程的研究型教学单元中，从而改善地球科学和STEM的学习。评估计划将包括对JMU和NOVA的学生在地球科学和STEM的必修和选修课程中的学习和态度的形成性和总结性评估，以及这些机构之外的地球科学社区成员的模块审查。评价将着重于开放教育资源和混合学习课程形式对学生保留分析方法和仪器技能、学生掌握科学探究技能以及学生对使用分析设备进行研究的态度和能力的影响。本研究建立的协议将用于未来创建其他分析技术的额外模块，并将成为STEM社区可用于开发其他在线学习资源的模板。

The lack of appropriate instructional materials at the undergraduate level for laboratory techniques presents a significant barrier to increasing student access to and knowledge of analytical skills necessary to succeed in the geosciences and other STEM fields. This project will create and evaluate five open access online learning modules for laboratory methods and scientific inquiry skills. These materials will initially be evaluated in courses at a four-year university (JMU) and a minority-serving two-year college (NOVA). The community-based review, evaluation, contribution, and further testing of these modules in various types of classrooms will create a forum for sharing ideas among geoscience and STEM faculty who wish to incorporate analytical methods into courses using robust peer-reviewed online teaching resources. The modular format will provide flexibility for instructors to use as few or as many units as needed for a specific course or student research experience. Five learning modules will be created that represent commonly available analytical methods as well as techniques available at both JMU and NOVA. These units will include gas and water plumbing, petrographic microscopes, thin sectioning equipment, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Raman and infrared spectroscopies. Scientific inquiry skills will be embedded into the content modules, and will include creating and testing protocols, evaluating data quality and error, and synthesizing data. To benefit the larger geosciences and STEM community, the modules will be published on an open educational resource (OER) courseware site. Module structure and content will align with active, inquiry-based learning theories, and will include video mini-lectures, individual and group quizzes and assignments, expository materials in video or animation formats, video tours of equipment and laboratories, and instructor resources. This project will improve geosciences and STEM learning by establishing effective practices for integrating open educational resources into research-based instructional units in geoscience and STEM courses involving the use of analytical equipment. The assessment plan will include formative and summative evaluations of student learning and attitudes within required and elective courses in geosciences and STEM at JMU and NOVA, as well as module reviews by geoscience community members outside of these institutions. Evaluation will focus on the effects of open educational resources and a blended learning course format upon student retention of analytical methods and instrumentation skills, student mastery of scientific inquiry skills, and student attitude and competencies towards conducting research with analytical equipment. The protocol established by this study will be used to create additional modules on other analytical techniques in the future, and will be a template the STEM community may use to develop other online learning resources.