A Comparative Analysis of Student Performance in an Online vs. Face-to-Face Environmental Science Course From 2009 to 2016 (original) (raw)
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Communications Earth & Environment
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Student Success Factors in Two Online Introductory-Level Natural Resources Courses
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Interactive learning in an urban environmental education online course
Online courses play an increasing role in professional development of environmental educators, yet little information is available on the interactive processes involved in online learning. We examined the relationship of three types of interactions in an urban environmental education online course – participant–participant, participant–instructor, and participant–content – to four course outcomes: participants’ motivation to learn, intent to adapt ideas and information learned through the course in their practice, actual adaptation of ideas in their practice, and development of professional networks. Content analysis was used to characterize participants’ and instructors’ weekly online posts and comments, and generalized estimation equation modeling was used to explore the relationships between interactions and outcomes. The results showed that participant–content interaction had significant positive relationships with participants’ motivation to learn, intent to adapt ideas, and adaptation of ideas. Participant–participant interaction had significant positive relationships with participants’ motivation to learn, and development of professional networks with each other. Finally, participant–instructor interaction had a significant positive relationship with participants’ development of professional networks. The results of this study can be used to improve professional development online courses for environmental educators.
Online Teaching Of "Energy & The Environment
2003 Annual Conference Proceedings
In the Fall of 2002, the Department of Energy & Geo-Environmental Engineering (EGEE) in collaboration with "The John A. Dutton e-Education Institute" (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences) offered a 3-credit web-only version of the existing resident class "Energy & the Environment" at The Pennsylvania State University. The goal of the project was to enable students at any of the University's 25 campus locations, including its virtual "World Campus," to participate in the same high-quality, online, learning experience. Expected outcomes included increased enrollments (overcoming room availability issues) and, by virtue of the fact that students would be enabled to study at times and places most convenient to them, a more studentcentered learning environment than is typically encountered in large classroom settings. The methodologies and techniques employed to transform an existing lecture-based resident class into a compelling and engaging web-only learning environment are discussed. The goal of this paper, then, is to report what is entailed pedagogically, institutionally, and individually in such a large-scale project in online teaching and learning. Opportunities for formal evaluation of student engagement, and of the relationship between engagement and learning, are also discussed.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), 2022
While the remote working and learning environment overwhelmed instructors of all courses throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, it presented an especially unique challenge to instructors of laboratory courses designed to engage students through a "hands-on" curriculum. With a primary objective to engage students in the process of science throughout the COVID19 pandemic, we transformed a long-standing laboratory course for first year science students into a more accessible, immersive experience of current biological research using a narrow and focused set of primary literature and the C.R.E.A.T.E pedagogy. The efficacy of the C.R.E.A.T.E approach has been demonstrated in a diversity of higher education settings and courses. It is however not yet known if C.R.E.A.T.E can be successfully implemented online with a large, diverse team of faculty untrained in the pedagogy. Here we present the transformation of a large-enrollment, multi-section, multiinstructor course for first-year students in which instructors are following different biological research questions but working together to reach shared goals and outcomes. We used a mixed-methods approach to collect data and assess students': (1) science self-efficacy and (2) epistemological beliefs about science throughout an academic year that was fully administered online as a result of ongoing threats posed by the COVID19 pandemic. Our findings demonstrate that novice C.R.E.A.T.E instructors with varying levels of teaching experience and ranks (research faculty, teaching faculty, and postdoctoral research fellows) can achieve comparable outcomes and improvements in students' science efficacy in the virtual classroom as a teaching team. This study extends the use of the C.R.E.A.T.E strategy to large, team-taught, multi-section courses and shows its utility in the online teaching and learning environment. Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic forced an unprecedented shift to online learning in higher education (Farnell et al. 2021). The rapid transition to "emergency remote teaching (ERT)" challenged instructors of in-person classes, many of whom were untrained and inexperienced in online teaching practices, across campuses around the world (Hodges et al. 2021). While ERT characterized the instructor experience in the Spring of 2020, many colleges and universities continued to deliver courses online into the Fall of 2020 and some courses remained online even in the Fall of 2021 or were forced to go back online despite an initial return to in-person classes (Elias et al. 2020). While the remote working and learning environment has overwhelmed instructors of all courses traditionally taught on campus, it presented an especially unique challenge to instructors of laboratory courses designed to engage students in the process of science through a "hands-on" curriculum (Gamage et al. 2020). Laboratory courses give students access to the tools, equipment, and technology involved in discovery and are therefore an integral part of science education (Hofstein and Lunetta 2004; Bretz 2019).
Virtual laboratory based online learning: Improving environmental literacy in high school students
JPBI (Jurnal Pendidikan Biologi Indonesia)
Oftentimes the increase in industrial development is the cause of environmental problems. Environmental problems can be overcome by the presence of humans who care about the environment or have environmental literacy skills. Environmental literacy skills can be instilled from an early age, for example through practicum learning in schools. However, considering that the Covid-19 pandemic is one of the obstacles in carrying out the practice, virtual laboratory-based online learning is carried out. This study was aimed to improve students' environmental literacy through virtual laboratory-based online learning that has been developed. This research is quasi experiment with pre-test and post-test research design Control Group Design. The total sample of the study was 70 students of class X at state senior high school. The research instrument used was in the form of test questions about environmental changes material and environmental literacy questionnaires. The results showed that...
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The Chemical Educator, 1999
Four semesters of student evaluations of an environmental chemistry class have been analyzed for differences that can be attributed to Web-based enhancements. The enhancements included Web-based lecture notes, reading and problem assignments, bookmark files, and videotaped lectures. We developed these materials as part of a larger project to provide university-level technical courses over the Internet. Student perceptions of the course improved significantly (α = 0.10) after adding Web-based enhancements. Student's opinion of the instructor improved, but the change is not significant at the 90% confidence level. The student responses to "Was the course challenging?" "Was my interest stimulated?" and "Was the instructor concerned?" were unchanged in the two groups of students. Drop rates were unchanged between the two student groups. The grade-average was nearly identical for the two student groups (82.9% vs. 83.5%), but the grade-distribution changed significantly. The percentage of A's decreased slightly when Web-based enhancements were added, but the number of B's increased from 22% to 40%. The percentage of C's, D's and F's decreased for the students with access to Webbased enhancements. These results indicate that Web-based materials helped weaker students improve their performance and, therefore, their opinion of the class and of the instructor was more favorable.
Learning Science Online: What Matters for Science Teachers
Online education is a rapidly growing phenomenon for science teachers. Using a sample of 40 online science courses for teachers offered during the [2004][2005] academic year, the Learning Science Online (LSO) study explores what characteristics of online science courses are most strongly associated with positive learning outcomes among science teachers, after accounting for teachers' prior science experiences and demographics. This research is unique in that it is the first aggregate study of teachers learning science online in a wide variety of educational programs. Hierarchical linear modeling points to changing roles of instructors and students in online courses, with lower perceived levels of instructor support and a supportive course design strongly associated with positive learning outcomes.
At James Cook University, a core first-year subject within the Bachelor of Education, Foundations of Sustainability in Education (FSE), sees students investigate the underlying science and complexity of socioecological challenges through inquiry, placebased learning, experimentation and consideration of classroom practice. Given that this subject is delivered across modes, a blended learning approach that encompasses an innovative use of learning technologies and careful consideration of pedagogy provides opportunity for both on-campus and online students to engage in active, learner-centred, collaborative, experiential and praxis oriented learning experiences (Wals & Jickling, 2002). In this paper, we draw upon Pittaway’s (2012) engagement framework and Herrington, Herrington, Oliver, Stoney and Willis’s (2001) guidelines for quality online courses to explore students’ perceptions and experiences of FSE. We investigate how a blended learning design can support the development of a robust foundational knowledge base in science and sustainability education, and engagement in active, experiential and praxis-oriented learning experiences for first year online students. This paper furthers the discussion around best pedagogical practice and blended learning design for science and sustainability education in online preservice teacher education, and in other disciplines in teacher education that call for hands-on learning experiences in an online environment.
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Conference Proceedings
The internet not only has changed a vast spectrum of the world's operations, but also the ways teaching can deal with information and strategies for learning. While this trend has naturally led to the flexibility of time and location, it is crucial to focus on understanding effective pedagogical strategies with the use of this technology. This paper establishes the thesis that an online setting was effective in teaching both the fundamentals of regenerative studies, while focusing on how undergraduate students learned in this online learning setting. The online coursework and its challenges are discussed along with the structure and methods set to achieve the comprehension of the contents. The urgency for the search of a clear plan and actions to address climate change was the main goal of the class, which was explained in the current political and social context. Consecutively, critical topics of energy, water, shelter, and waste were explored individually, from the main challenges to the design solutions for regeneration. The paper also explains how surveys were a vital tool and an essential instance for feedback. Lessons learned from creating a virtual learning environment that allows for both the grasp of everyone's role in climate change and the generation of action/plans/solutions for regeneration are discussed, aiming to inform colleagues using a teaching tool that is here to stay.