remote learning – Locally Sourced Science

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Kitty Gifford interviews Dr. Frank Castelli, Educational research postdoc with the Investigative Biology Teaching Laboratories at Cornell.

WordCloud using the text from recently published paper about why highered students don't turn on their cameras during Zoom classes. Provided by Frank Castelli — Word cloud created by Frank Castelli using student responses.

One of the greatest challenges in online learning is that students do not turn their cameras on and teachers speak into the void. Frank Castelli and his co-author, Mark Sarvary, studied this phenomenon and published a study in the Journal Ecology and Evolution titled “Why Students Do Not Turn on Their Video Cameras During Online Classes and an Equitable and Inclusive Plan to Encourage Them to Do So,”

The results of the study are discussed along with a plan any instructor can use to encourage camera use:

1. Do NOT require video cameras to be turned on and do offer alternatives.

2. Explicitly encourage camera use, explain why you are doing so, and establish the norm

3. Address potential distractions and give breaks to help maintain attention.

4. Use active learning techniques to keep students engaged and promote equity.

5. Survey your students to understand their challenges.

You can also read about the study in the Cornell Chronicle:

Appearance, social norms keep students off Zoom cameras

Janani Hariharan interviews Dr. Corrie Moreau, Martha N. and John C. Moser Professor of Arthropod Biosystematics and Biodiversity at Cornell University.

Dr. Moreau created a seminar class called Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in STEM in Fall 2020. This interview touches on her motivation to create such a class especially in the wake of the George Floyd protests of 2020, the structure of the class and her favorite moments of the class. She also shared some recommendations for other educators who might want to design similar classes at their own institutions.

Image of Mars NASA Rover Perseverance (Courtesy of SPIF)

And, to close out the show, Esther Racoosin speaks with Zoe Learner Ponterio, Manager at the Spacecraft Planetary Image Facility, also known as SPIF, located at Cornell. SPIF is hosting a watch party on Thursday, February 18 at 2:30 pm to view the landing of the Mars 2020 mission. To find out more about SPIF, visit http://www.cornellspif.com

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“NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Arrives at Asteroid Bennu” by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

In this episode, you’ll hear an interview of three Ithaca College students, Antara Sen, Robert Melikyan and Salvatore Ferrone, who are studying the asteroid 101955 Bennu. Their advisor, Professor Beth Ellen Clark Joseph, is a scientist working on NASA mission OSIRIS-REx that will be touching down on the asteroid on October 20, in order to collect samples from the 500 meter diameter object.

To learn more about the mission, visit: https://www.asteroidmission.org/objectives/

Zoe Learner Ponterio (photo courtesy of Esther Racoosin)

Later in the show, you’ll hear Liz Mahood’s interview of Zoe Learner Ponterio, manager of the Spacecraft Planetary Imaging Facility at Cornell, also known as SPIF. The facility is closed to the public right now, due to COVID-19. But SPIF is offering an exciting remote learning program called “Shelter in Space” that students can explore at home. Visit https://cornellspif.com/ to learn more.

“Bird Migration – Cape May, NJ” by Bob Jagendorf is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Today’s show starts off with an update about “2020 Migration Celebration”. The program usually is held on one day in September at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, but this year you can learn about bird migration during a two-week series of virtual presentations. To learn more, go to: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/visit/migration-celebration-2020/

Producer: Esther Racoosin

Interview of Ithaca College Students: Esther Racoosin

Interview of Zoe Learner Ponterio: Liz Mahood

Overview of Cornell Lab of O Migration Celebration: Candice Limper

Music: Joe Lewis; Blue Dot Sessions

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Posts tagged as “remote learning”

LSS 105: Science Education in Colleges and Universities – Remote learning and camera use study; and a new course “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in STEM”

LSS 95: Exploring Asteroid Bennu and “Shelter In Space” at Home