Assistant Professor Dickinson College Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Science educators increasingly recognize the value of ‘inquiry-based’ and ‘project-based’ instruction, which share an emphasis on engaging students in creative and open-ended investigations to master course concepts. These active learning experiences deepen student understanding and build motivation, with particular benefits for students belonging to historically marginalized groups. That said, the rapid shift to remote and hybrid instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic presented considerable challenges to implementing active learning strategies, particularly for laboratories. I will share lessons learned in fall 2020 from adapting for online instruction an undergraduate, upper-level laboratory course in agroecology, with students participating remotely from diverse geographies and with variable resources. While the challenges were considerable, one of the most interesting silver linings was the opportunity for students to connect course concepts to their home communities. The talk will weave together student and instructor perspectives on this teaching/learning experiment, with an eye toward lessons that may translate to the post-pandemic world.
