Response to COVID-19 Field Research and Education Disruptions: Creating Virtual Field Experiences in Coastal and Estuarine Science

应对 COVID-19 实地研究和教育中断：创造沿海和河口科学的虚拟实地经验

• 批准号: 2037372
• 负责人: Robert Hougham
• 金额: $ 9.75万
• 依托单位: University of Wisconsin-Madison
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-08-15 至 2021-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2037372&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Response; COVID; 19; Field; Research

Three university field stations, including Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Baruch Marine Field Laboratory (BMFL) at the University of South Carolina, and the University of Georgia Marine Institute (UGAMI), are collaborating to produce a suite of virtual estuarine field experiences polished for distance-delivery in undergraduate programs. UGAMI at Sapelo Island and BMFL at North Inlet - Winyah Bay, will be the two filming locations for these virtual modules because they have unique access to relatively pristine model estuarine systems dominated by Spartina alterniflora marsh that are similar to low-gradient, Spartina marshes that rim the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coastlines from approximately New York through Texas, with the exception of the mangrove systems of South Florida. The virtual field experiences will be more accessible and equitable than traditional in-person field experiences and can help address barriers to participation in the traditional field experiences, such as mobility impairments, financial limitations, family obligations, as well as reduce limitations of geographic accessibility. The videos, datasets, and educational materials will be available for free download and will be developed to be compatible with platforms used by universities in virtual learning. Upham Woods’s expertise in environmental education will help ensure the quality and applicability of these assets. Providing these experiences to a wider audience has the potential to broaden the pipeline of students pursuing careers in STEM fields. The final products will feature research by and voices of a diverse group of scientists to address issues of equity in the university field station community and to better represent human diversity in ecological fields, and the modules will be distributed widely to undergraduate institutions, outdoor education centers and schools. This project will develop products that address widespread educational challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic for the marine science community. The pandemic has dramatically impacted the educational landscape in the United States, radically limiting the traditional in-person, experiential educational programs for undergraduates and high school students. The crisis has highlighted the need to develop educational content and experiences that provide access to outdoor, field-based learning to all students, not just those who are able to access in-person programs. This project will bring accessible, engaging, and rigorous science experiences to learners by developing a suite of virtual estuarine field experiences for undergraduate courses. These experiences will consist of ten modules, each focusing on a particular estuarine ecology topic and featuring research projects, datasets, prompts, and worksheets to support science learning. A range of topics will be covered in the modules, such as fish ecology, fisheries research field techniques, coastal physical oceanography, coastal depositional processes, biogeochemical processes in the coastal zone, benthic and water column processes, field sampling and laboratory methods for estuarine biogeochemistry research, human interactions with coastal ecosystems, research ethics, formulating research questions and hypotheses, designing field studies, laws governing research, collecting and analyzing data, scientific writing and presentation skills. The modules will also be modified for delivery to high school students as virtual modules that can be incorporated into programs at outdoor education centers and schools.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.

包括威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校的厄普汉姆·伍兹户外学习中心、南卡罗来纳大学的巴鲁克海洋野外实验室(BMFL)和佐治亚大学海洋研究所(UGAMI)在内的三所大学外勤站正在合作制作一套虚拟河口野外体验，为本科课程的远程教学打磨。Sapelo Island的UGAMI和North Inlet-Winyah Bay的BMFL将是这些虚拟模块的两个拍摄地点，因为它们可以独特地进入以互花米草沼泽为主的相对原始的模型河口系统，这些系统类似于低坡度的斯巴达纳沼泽，从大约纽约到德克萨斯州环绕大西洋和墨西哥湾海岸线，但南佛罗里达州的红树林系统除外。虚拟实地体验将比传统的面对面实地体验更具可及性和公平性，并可帮助解决参与传统实地体验的障碍，如行动不便、财务限制、家庭义务，以及减少地理无障碍的限制。这些视频、数据集和教育材料将可免费下载，并将开发成与大学在虚拟学习中使用的平台兼容。厄普汉姆·伍兹在环境教育方面的专业知识将有助于确保这些资产的质量和适用性。将这些经验提供给更广泛的受众，有可能拓宽学生在STEM领域寻求职业的渠道。最终产品将以不同科学家群体的研究和声音为特色，以解决大学野外站社区的公平问题，并更好地代表生态领域的人类多样性，这些模块将广泛分发给本科生机构、户外教育中心和学校。该项目将开发应对新冠肺炎大流行给海洋科学界带来的广泛教育挑战的产品。疫情极大地影响了美国的教育格局，从根本上限制了面向本科生和高中生的传统面对面体验式教育项目。这场危机突显了开发教育内容和体验的必要性，为所有学生提供户外实地学习的机会，而不仅仅是那些能够获得面对面课程的学生。该项目将通过为本科课程开发一套虚拟河口实地体验，为学习者带来可接触的、引人入胜的和严谨的科学体验。这些体验将由十个模块组成，每个模块专注于一个特定的河口生态主题，并以支持科学学习的研究项目、数据集、提示和工作表为特色。这些单元将涵盖一系列主题，如鱼类生态学、渔业研究领域的技术、沿海物理海洋学、沿海沉积过程、沿海地区的生物地球化学过程、底栖生物和水柱过程、河口生物地球化学研究的实地采样和实验室方法、人类与沿海生态系统的互动、研究伦理、制定研究问题和假设、设计实地研究、指导研究的法律、收集和分析数据、科学写作和陈述技能。这些模块还将进行修改，以虚拟模块的形式提供给高中生，可以整合到户外教育中心和学校的项目中。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。