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Journal reflections shed light on challenges students face in an introductory field biology course
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Journal reflections shed light on challenges students face in an introductory field biology course

Kira A. Treibergs, David Esparza, Jeannie A. Yamazaki and Michelle K. Smith
Ecosphere (Washington, D.C), v 14(4), e4509
Apr 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4509
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4509View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

accessibility campus‐based field course challenges field journals inclusion undergraduate field biology
Field biology courses—which expose students to concepts through outdoor experimentation and observation—are a staple in undergraduate natural science education. Participation in field courses has been associated with increased academic success, retention, and strengthening of science identity. However, for some students, learning outdoors can pose barriers to comfort, enjoyment, and success and may contribute to alienation and attrition. To better understand the kinds of challenges encountered by students and how those experiences might vary by student demographics and prior experience, we analyzed journal reflections from undergraduates in an introductory field biology course using a mixed‐methods approach. We used open coding to characterize the challenges that students described and found that students identified challenges related to four categories: (1) scientific challenges, concerning concepts, field methods, and data; (2) logistic challenges, relating to factors such as the timing of the course and equipment; (3) conditions challenges, regarding difficulties with organisms, the environment, and inclement weather; and (4) additional challenges, encompassing a broad array of student difficulties. Using multilevel binomial modeling, we examined the effect of course factors (e.g., field lab topic and section) and student factors (e.g., demographics and prior outdoor experience) on the occurrence of each type of challenge within journal reflections. Field lab topic was the only effect likely to increase the presence of all four types of challenges for students. In addition, students with the most prior outdoors experience were less likely to report a logistic challenge compared with their peers in the course who had less outdoors experience. Based on our findings, we offer recommendations for how instructors can support students through challenges they face in introductory field biology.

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Ecology
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