Research internships provide students with invaluable experience conducting independent research, contributing to larger research programs, and embedding in a professional scientific setting. These experiences increase student persistence in ecology and other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and promote the inclusion of students who lack opportunities at their home institutions and/or are from groups that are underrepresented in STEM. While many ecology internship programs were canceled during the 2020 COVID‐19 pandemic, others successfully adapted to offer virtual internships for the first time. Though different from what many researchers and students envision when they think of internships, virtual ecology internship programs can create more accessible opportunities and be just as valuable as in‐person opportunities when research programs and advisors develop virtual internships with intention and planning. Here, we highlight six ways to structure a virtual intern project, spanning a spectrum from purely computer‐based opportunities (e.g., digital data gathering, data analysis, or synthesis) to fully hands‐on research (e.g., sample processing or home‐based experiments). We illustrate examples of these virtual projects through a case study of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center's 2020 Virtual Internship Program. Next, we provide 10 recommendations for effectively developing a virtual internship program. Finally, we end with ways that virtual internships can avoid the limitations of in‐person internships, as well as possible solutions to perceived pitfalls of virtual internships. While virtual internships became a necessity in 2020 due to COVID‐19, the development and continuation of virtual internships in future can be a valuable tool to add to the suite of existing internship opportunities, possibly further promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in ecology and STEM.
Lessons Learned from Participating in a Virtual Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Undergraduate research experiences and internships enhance student learning in undergraduate programs. Due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, many summer research. experiences and internships were canceled or postponed to future summers. The Resilient Infrastructure and Sustainability Education Undergraduate Program (RISE-UP) at the University of Puerto Rico consists of a curriculum that is composed of four courses and an experiential learning experience (internship or undergraduate research). Due to the lack of alternatives for students to fulfill the experiential learning experience in summer 2020, RISE-UP developed a summer virtual undergraduate research experience which focused on developing basic research skills and to apply them to develop interdisciplinary solutions for real problems. We collaborated with students from several disciplines and two. campuses to analyze and address the seismic vulnerability of several structures. This experience allowed us to have a better understanding of seismic vulnerability, as well as finding interdisciplinary solutions to upgrade our infrastructure. It also provided us the opportunity to experience an internship without the risk of exposure to COVID-19. In this paper we share our experience and tools that aided us in our research to show that conducting virtual research is a viable and effective option for undergraduate students.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1832468
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10294892
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the LACCEI international multiconference for engineering education and technology
- ISSN:
- 2414-6390
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract -
Need/Motivation (e.g., goals, gaps in knowledge) The ESTEEM implemented a STEM building capacity project through students’ early access to a sustainable and innovative STEM Stepping Stones, called Micro-Internships (MI). The goal is to reap key benefits of a full-length internship and undergraduate research experiences in an abbreviated format, including access, success, degree completion, transfer, and recruiting and retaining more Latinx and underrepresented students into the STEM workforce. The MIs are designed with the goals to provide opportunities for students at a community college and HSI, with authentic STEM research and applied learning experiences (ALE), support for appropriate STEM pathway/career, preparation and confidence to succeed in STEM and engage in summer long REUs, and with improved outcomes. The MI projects are accessible early to more students and build momentum to better overcome critical obstacles to success. The MIs are shorter, flexibly scheduled throughout the year, easily accessible, and participation in multiple MI is encouraged. ESTEEM also establishes a sustainable and collaborative model, working with partners from BSCS Science Education, for MI’s mentor, training, compliance, and building capacity, with shared values and practices to maximize the improvement of student outcomes. New Knowledge (e.g., hypothesis, research questions) Research indicates that REU/internship experiences can be particularly powerful for students from Latinx and underrepresented groups in STEM. However, those experiences are difficult to access for many HSI-community college students (85% of our students hold off-campus jobs), and lack of confidence is a barrier for a majority of our students. The gap between those who can and those who cannot is the “internship access gap.” This project is at a central California Community College (CCC) and HSI, the only affordable post-secondary option in a region serving a historically underrepresented population in STEM, including 75% Hispanic, and 87% have not completed college. MI is designed to reduce inequalities inherent in the internship paradigm by providing access to professional and research skills for those underserved students. The MI has been designed to reduce barriers by offering: shorter duration (25 contact hours); flexible timing (one week to once a week over many weeks); open access/large group; and proximal location (on-campus). MI mentors participate in week-long summer workshops and ongoing monthly community of practice with the goal of co-constructing a shared vision, engaging in conversations about pedagogy and learning, and sustaining the MI program going forward. Approach (e.g., objectives/specific aims, research methodologies, and analysis) Research Question and Methodology: We want to know: How does participation in a micro-internship affect students’ interest and confidence to pursue STEM? We used a mixed-methods design triangulating quantitative Likert-style survey data with interpretive coding of open-responses to reveal themes in students’ motivations, attitudes toward STEM, and confidence. Participants: The study sampled students enrolled either part-time or full-time at the community college. Although each MI was classified within STEM, they were open to any interested student in any major. Demographically, participants self-identified as 70% Hispanic/Latinx, 13% Mixed-Race, and 42 female. Instrument: Student surveys were developed from two previously validated instruments that examine the impact of the MI intervention on student interest in STEM careers and pursuing internships/REUs. Also, the pre- and post (every e months to assess longitudinal outcomes) -surveys included relevant open response prompts. The surveys collected students’ demographics; interest, confidence, and motivation in pursuing a career in STEM; perceived obstacles; and past experiences with internships and MIs. 171 students responded to the pre-survey at the time of submission. Outcomes (e.g., preliminary findings, accomplishments to date) Because we just finished year 1, we lack at this time longitudinal data to reveal if student confidence is maintained over time and whether or not students are more likely to (i) enroll in more internships, (ii) transfer to a four-year university, or (iii) shorten the time it takes for degree attainment. For short term outcomes, students significantly Increased their confidence to continue pursuing opportunities to develop within the STEM pipeline, including full-length internships, completing STEM degrees, and applying for jobs in STEM. For example, using a 2-tailed t-test we compared means before and after the MI experience. 15 out of 16 questions that showed improvement in scores were related to student confidence to pursue STEM or perceived enjoyment of a STEM career. Finding from the free-response questions, showed that the majority of students reported enrolling in the MI to gain knowledge and experience. After the MI, 66% of students reported having gained valuable knowledge and experience, and 35% of students spoke about gaining confidence and/or momentum to pursue STEM as a career. Broader Impacts (e.g., the participation of underrepresented minorities in STEM; development of a diverse STEM workforce, enhanced infrastructure for research and education) The ESTEEM project has the potential for a transformational impact on STEM undergraduate education’s access and success for underrepresented and Latinx community college students, as well as for STEM capacity building at Hartnell College, a CCC and HSI, for students, faculty, professionals, and processes that foster research in STEM and education. Through sharing and transfer abilities of the ESTEEM model to similar institutions, the project has the potential to change the way students are served at an early and critical stage of their higher education experience at CCC, where one in every five community college student in the nation attends a CCC, over 67% of CCC students identify themselves with ethnic backgrounds that are not White, and 40 to 50% of University of California and California State University graduates in STEM started at a CCC, thus making it a key leverage point for recruiting and retaining a more diverse STEM workforce.more » « less
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Biologically inspired design has become increasingly common in graduate and undergraduate engineering programs, consistent with an expanding emphasis by professional engineering societies on cross-disciplinary critical thinking skills and adaptive and sustainable design. However, bio-inspired engineering is less common in K-12 education. In 2019, the NSF funded a K-12 project entitled Biologically Inspired Design for Engineering Education (BIRDEE), to create socially relevant, accessible, and highly contextualized high school engineering curricula focusing on bio-inspired design. Studies have shown that women and underrepresented minorities are drawn to curricula, courses, and instructional strategies that are integrated, emphasize systems thinking, and facilitate connection building across courses or disciplines. The BIRDEE project also seeks to interest high school girls in engineering by providing curricula that incorporate humanistic, bio-inspired engineering with a focus on sustainable and authentic design contexts. BIRDEE curricula integrate bio-inspired design into the engineering design process by leveraging design tools that facilitate the application of biological concepts to design challenges. This provides a conceptual framework enabling students to systematically define a design problem, resulting in better, more well-rounded problem specifications. The professional development (PD) for the participating teachers include six-week-long summer internships in university research laboratories focused on biology and bio-inspired design. The goal of these internships is to improve engineering teachers’ knowledge of bio-inspired design by partnering with cutting-edge engineers and scientists to study animal features and behaviors and their applications to engineering design. However, due to COVID-19 and research lab closures in the summer of 2020, the research team had to transfer the summer PD experience to an online setting. An asynchronous, quasi-facilitated online course was developed and delivered to teachers over six weeks. In this paper, we will discuss online pedagogical approaches to experiential learning, teaching bio-inspired design concepts, and the integration of these approaches in the engineering design process. Central to the online PD design and function of each course was the use of inquiry, experiential and highly-collaborative learning strategies. Preliminary results show that teachers appreciated the aspects of the summer PD that included exploration, such as during the “Found Object” activity, and the process of building a prototype. These activities represented experiential learning opportunities where teachers were able to learn by doing. It was noted throughout the focus group discussions that such opportunities were appreciated by participating teachers. Teachers indicated that the experiential learning components of the PD allowed them to do something outside of their comfort zone, inspired them to do research that they would not have done outside of this experience, and allowed them to “be in the student's seat and get hands-on application”. By participating in these experiential learning opportunities, teachers were also able to better understand how the BIRDEE curriculum may impact students’ learning in their classroomsmore » « less
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Emergency housing has become a necessity in Puerto Rico due to the size and frequency of extreme natural events such as earthquakes and hurricanes that affect the island. The Resilient Infrastructure and Sustainability Education – Undergraduate Program (RISE-UP), funded by National Science Foundation (NSF) has developed an interdisciplinary curricular sequence to educate students to design infrastructure to withstand the impact of natural disasters. Three campuses of our university system collaborate in this interdisciplinary effort. Participating students, pursuing undergraduate degrees in engineering, architecture, and surveying, take courses together and participate in co-curricular activities (both online and in person through field visits). RISE-UP integrates servingness as a tool that contributes to the formation of students’ sensibility to social dynamics connected to the educational experiences. The final course of the curricular sequence was designed to integrate servingness by addressing aspects connected to the learning experience including leadership identity, critical consciousness, and civic engagement all in the context of Puerto Rico’s current infrastructural needs. During the final course, students apply the knowledge gained in the program to provide a solution to a design problem. The spring 2021 semester exercise was the design of a set of emergency houses based on a repeated unit. The houses' design requirements include environmental considerations, rainwater management, the use of natural ventilation, electric power autonomy during blackouts and structural stability of the units to face both seismic and wind loads. This paper discusses the semester project and presents the design solutions of the interdisciplinary groups of students who took part in the course. It also discusses the results of a survey whose goal was to explore the perception of the students about their achievements when taking part in the course and the dynamics seen in the course related to servingess and collaboration.more » « less
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null (Ed.)Experiential learning programs like internships and capstone projects are high-impact practices that allow engineering students to build a professional network, apply technical skills in a real-world context, and develop non-academic skills that employers need. In 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent school closures impacted the entire engineering education ecosystem, particularly internships and other experiential learning opportunities. Virtual internship, an education intervention developed to broaden participation in experiential learning for non-traditional students, was rapidly deployed to address the disruption to internships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Key challenges that emerged during the implementation process include marketing the new program to existing partners, deciding on a remuneration structure, and navigating IP issues. The paper systematically steps through the implementation process and how the challenges mentioned above were addressed in practice. As life, school and internships return to normal in 2021 and beyond, the Virtual internship intervention can still play a valuable role in the experiential learning landscape. However, higher education institutions may need to intentionally de-couple the educational innovations rapidly developed during the COVID-19 pandemic from being ‘pandemic solutions’ to valuable alternatives that provide equitable and scalable access to educational opportunities and proactively invest in their continued sustainability and growth.more » « less
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