Open AccessFlexible and Inclusive Ecology Projects that Harness Collaboration and NEON‐Enabled Science to Enhance Student Learning
Author(s) -
Stack Whitney Kaitlin,
Heard Matthew Joshua,
Anderson Laurel J.,
Cooke Sandra,
Garneau Danielle,
Kilgore Jason,
Kolozsvary Mary Beth,
Kuers Karen,
Lunch Claire K.,
McCay Timothy S.,
Parker Allison T.
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
the bulletin of the ecological society of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2327-6096
pISSN - 0012-9623
DOI - 10.1002/bes2.1963
Subject(s) - flexibility (engineering) , modalities , context (archaeology) , ecology , work (physics) , engineering , sociology , geography , biology , management , economics , mechanical engineering , social science , archaeology
Abstract The COVID‐19 pandemic significantly impacted undergraduate education and fundamentally altered the structure of course delivery in higher education. In field‐based biology and ecology courses, where instructors and students typically work collaboratively and in‐person to collect data, this has been particularly challenging. In this context, faculty from the Ecological Research as Education Network (EREN) collaborated with the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) to design five free‐flexible learning projects for use by instructors in varied modalities (e.g., socially distanced in‐person, remote, or HyFlex). The five flexible learning projects incorporated the Ecological Society of America’s 4DEE framework and included field data collection, data analysis components, and an activity that incorporates existing NEON field protocols or datasets. Each project was designed to provide faculty members with a high degree of flexibility so that they could tailor the implementation of the projects to fit course‐specific needs. Collectively, these learning projects were designed to be flexible, inclusive, and facilitate hands‐on research while working in alternative classroom settings.