Concluding remarks
In the future there are a few things we would change to improve this
lab. First, the guidelines for the discussion posts could be more
detailed and constructive. The free-form responses were delightfully
emotional and light-hearted, but the assignment could be improved by
adding clearer expectations. Second, the conclusion of the lab could be
reworked to allow more sharing of individual results. Possibly students
could be asked to create a short PowerPoint or video explaining their
answer to the research question and how they arrived at that conclusion.
Third, the habitats the students sampled were not categorized. In the
next version there will be a lab section about identifying the type of
habitat and researching what plant species are common to those areas.
Our advice to other instructors is two-fold. One, be prepared for
students in remote classes to be unsure of their work and need extra
assurance that they are on the right track. Without being able to look
over someone’s shoulder in the classroom it’s easy for students to feel
lost and unguided. We’ve tried to mitigate this with frequent emails and
class zoom meetings, but there still seems to be a high level of anxiety
amongst the students that they will accidently do something wrong. The
second piece of advice is to have an alternate assignment ready for
anyone that is unable to leave home. Some of our students live in urban
environments with little green space accessible to them under
shelter-in-place requirements. For this lab the alternative assignments
were to research different types of biodiversity sampling techniques and
write a “how to” guide for five of them, or to write a literature
review of two current peer-reviewed research articles based on
biodiversity.
In summary, the theme of change as constant is ever present in our work
as instructors. We see differences between class sections, between
terms, and between years. We watch our students change over the course
of the class, growing more confident and developing skills. We see
ourselves change and grow as well, in our work and in our expectations
for ourselves. When change is as startling and stark as is it has been
lately it can be easy to feel alone, but we ecologists know a secret. We
know that nothing in nature exists in isolation, especially not us, and
especially not now. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the ways that
humans rely on each other. As we watch the world around us adjust to
standing six feet apart, we know that human connection is immeasurable.
We can still facilitate relationships through our instruction and foster
community though digital interactions. And even though ecology class is
different this term, it’s still a faculty favorite.