RCN-UBE Undergraduate Virtual Experiences as a Recruitment Tool for Underrepresented Students in STEM

创建虚拟领域(theVirtualfield.org)是为了扩大STEM专业本科生在外勤站和海洋实验室(FSML)获得变革性的实地学习体验的机会。传统的实地经验已被证明对学生的知识和对科学的参与有深远的影响。然而，由于经济、社会和后勤方面的障碍，来自社区学院(CCS)和少数族裔服务机构(MSI)的学生往往无法获得这些机会。此外，新冠肺炎疫情进一步加剧了这些挑战，限制了面对面的现场机会。为了克服这些障碍并增加获得实地经验的机会，该项目将利用虚拟技术使实地生物学经验得到广泛获取。通过联合FSML、虚拟学习专家、录像师和教育工作者，该项目旨在弥合差距，将科学教育带到不同的社区，最终促进增加实地科学多样性的更广泛目标。该项目将侧重于探究式和循证教学方面的培训，以及开发虚拟材料，以促进研究协调网络(RCN)教职员工和实地考察站和海洋实验室(FSMLS)有效地使用和开发虚拟探究式学习材料。将创建一个在线社区，鼓励分享想法，为服务不足的学生创造有效的虚拟学习体验。该项目包括七个年度指导和培训讲习班，专家将在讲习班上介绍虚拟技术技能、课堂使用和教育评估。这些研讨会提供了促进讨论、分组讨论和收集反馈的机会。该项目旨在收集关于网络参与者需求的反馈，确定访问内容的障碍，探索合作机会，并为教师和FSML开发实践社区文档。与会者和对该项目感兴趣的任何人将获得额外的双月办公时间，以寻求支持和澄清。教师和FSML参与者将把虚拟材料整合到他们现有的课程和教育计划中，并采用严格的评估来量化结果，与其他参与者分享。该项目还侧重于协作开发新的虚拟材料和工具，包括虚拟材料、教学视频和评估指南。评估专家将牵头创建评估指南，其中包括评估学生学习和情感结果的协议，该指南将根据参与者的反馈意见每年更新。此外，该项目寻求建立长期伙伴关系，以便在赠款期限之后维持虚拟实地体验。该项目由生物基础设施司生物科学局和本科教育司STEM教育局共同资助，作为他们应对《本科生物学教育的愿景与变革：行动呼吁》中提出的挑战的努力的一部分(http://visionandchange/finalreport/).This奖反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

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.