Designing a data-based capstone course for hybrid or remote learning

Abstract:

The Department of Environmental Science at Rowan University enrolled its first undergraduate students in September 2019. In September 2020, I will teach our project-based capstone course, Environmental Clinic, for the first time. There are always unique challenges associated with any wholly new endeavor, but these challenges are now compounded by the uncertainty of teaching in hybrid or remote formats due to the COVID-19 pandemic. How will we provide meaningful, hands on, student-driven learning experiences under these circumstances? The plan is to devote the semester to a data-driven project using large water-monitoring datasets from regional coastal and nearshore marine environments. Students will strengthen real-world data management, analysis, and interpretation skills and generate a professional report or presentation on their findings at the end of the semester. In this presentation, I will describe the setup and structure of the course, share some highlights from student findings and midterm course evaluations, and reflect on lessons learned.