Undergraduate field experiences (UFEs) have a rich history of preparing students for careers in ecology and other field-based sciences, yet what constitutes an effective field experience is not clearly defined. Field experiences vary from short field “labs” integrated into university courses, weeks or months-long courses at field stations and marine labs, traveling geology courses, to weeks-long research opportunities. More understanding is needed about the potentially transformative nature of these field experiences for students.
The Undergraduate Field Experiences Network (UFERN) aims to build an interdisciplinary network focused on improving undergraduate field experiences. In March of 2018 to help guide the work of UFERN, we conducted a Landscape Study to characterize the nature of UFEs, including who participates, desired student outcomes and nature of assessment. A targeted survey was sent to programs with a potential field-based component. A total of 563 emails were sent, 143 individuals from 165 undergraduate field programs responded. More than half (54%) of respondents self-identified as directors, 39% as lead instructors, 23% as coordinators, and 16% as mentors. Survey questions were designed to gain a landscape view of the nature of extended field programs, collection of evidence by these programs and a sense for their design.
Results/Conclusions
Responses to the landscape survey support the variation in UFE types (e.g., field course, research experience, service learning) and timing and location (e.g., summer intensive, residential, traveling, international), yet which dimensions may contribute to these potentially transformative experiences are still not understood. A majority of field educators who responded to the survey desire students to gain scientific literacy and content knowledge, and research skills and also many expressed interest in collecting more evidence on affective student outcomes such as connection to place and other outcomes usually associated with environmental education. Using results from the landscape study, input from the UFERN community, and the STEM education literature, we created the “UFERN framework” that can be empirically tested to characterize dimensions of UFE program design.
For many, field work experiences have traditionally served as a rite of passage by cementing their identities as ecologists. The UFERN framework can be used to inform an ongoing discussion about the ecology practice of field work that was recently adopted in the 4DEE, the Ecology Curricular Framework Initiative of the ESA, as well as to guide effective program design, investigate the student experience, assess program quality, and consider how to broaden participation in ecology.