Going virtual: Lessons Learned From a Two-Week Virtual Summer Research Experience for Community College Students.

Abstract:

The Research Experience for Community College (RECCS) REU program brings Colorado community college students to the University of Colorado Boulder campus and engages them in earth and environmental research projects. The RECCS program responded to the Covid-19 pandemic by creating and implementing a novel two-week, virtual program. RECCS-Lite maintained key elements of the full REU, including a supportive cohort, professional development, and an authentic research project guided by individual mentors and presented in a preliminary research poster.

In variance from previous years, RECCS-Lite utilized a highly scaffolded and intentional design based on the 5E learning model, encouraging mentors to meet with their mentees daily using provided discussion prompts and a pre-existing data set. Daily synchronous 75-minute group Zoom meetings allowed students to reflect on their learning, create shared understanding about scientific research and communication, further develop their science identities, and explore topics on networking, education, and careers. Students performed approximately 4-5 hours/day of asynchronous independent work guided by tasks set by the program and their individual mentors. Microsoft Teams for Education was used as the learning platform in order to be able to integrate with Office 365 and external apps, provide a central place for students to obtain information and resources, and enable students to communicate with each other.

Preliminary results suggest that the program was successful, with students reporting good to great gains in four areas- thinking like a scientist, research skills, attitudes and behaviors, and personal gains related to research- measured on the Undergraduate Student Research Self-Report (URSSA, 2009). Some valuable lessons-learned include grounding instruction in a learning model, utilizing a learning platform, ensuring access to and providing basic instruction in Excel and programming software before program execution, incorporating small group reflection, and clarifying expectations around the quantity and quality of student work expected during a short program. This short format offers new avenues for making undergraduate research more accessible while developing research skills, STEM persistence, and STEM identity.