The University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS) is a field teaching and research facility located 250-miles north of the university’s Ann Arbor campus. We recently expanded field course offerings as part of a five-year “Transforming Learning for a Third Century” grant through the Office of the Provost. We developed new courses and modified existing ones in order to attract a larger and more racially, academically, and socioeconomically diverse population of students. In addition, we sought to increase scientific literacy/understanding for all students in the Transforming Learning Program (TLP), including those from non-biological science backgrounds. New courses as part of TLP were all field-based, varying in duration (2-4 weeks) and in their connectivity to campus (extensions of courses on campus versus stand-alone courses). Several questions guided our assessment of the TLP:
- Are there differences in student engagement or perceived science understanding before and after students take courses at UMBS?
- Are there differences based on duration at the station?
- Are there differences in student engagement or perceived science understanding between the courses taught on campus compared to the same courses taught at UMBS?
- What are the relationships between participation in TLP and educational outcomes (e.g., graduate plans, retention) over time?
Results/Conclusions
The TLP program brought a more diverse group of students to UMBS, in terms of race/ethnicity, majors, and academic grade level. Results of our survey data indicate that students were highly engaged at the station both in the classroom and at the station in general. A comparison of pre- and post-survey data indicate that perceived scientific understanding increased following the course at UMBS for all students (p <0.001). Scientific understanding increased significantly in both the two week extension courses and four week stand-alone courses. When comparing courses that were taught both on campus and at UMBS, levels of classroom engagement and perceived scientific understanding were higher for UMBS courses compared to the same courses taught on campus. Results from a one-year follow up with TLP students found that 72.4% of students agreed with the statement, “I am motivated to take more science classes,” and 94.9% of students agreed with the statement “Understanding science will benefit me in my career.” Future longitudinal work will examine other educational student outcomes in order to understand the role that field stations play in keeping students engaged in their major, at the university, and in the broader scientific community.