TY - JOUR
T1 - Student-led workshops
T2 - Filling skills gaps in computational research for life scientists
AU - LaTourrette, Katherine
AU - Stengel, Ashley
AU - Clarke, Jennifer
N1 - Funding Information:
We are grateful to all workshop participants for being a part of this workshop series and providing feedback. We would also like to thank Dr. Garcia‐Ruiz, Dr. Rhae A. Drijber, Kimberly M. Stanke, and Brigette Corder, all from the University of Nebraska‐Lincoln, for their support and guidance on reviewing and editing this manuscript. This work was supported by the NIH grant R01GM120108.
Funding Information:
We are grateful to all workshop participants for being a part of this workshop series and providing feedback. We would also like to thank Dr. Garcia-Ruiz, Dr. Rhae A. Drijber, Kimberly M. Stanke, and Brigette Corder, all from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, for their support and guidance on reviewing and editing this manuscript.?This work was supported by the NIH grant R01GM120108.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Natural Sciences Education published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society of Agronomy
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Computational skills are increasingly important for conducting research in the agricultural and natural sciences. However, barriers to training availability and accessibility have left many life scientists under-prepared. To address these challenges, we developed a workshop series led by graduate students to cover topics relevant to research needs among life scientists. Our workshops incorporated guided practice to facilitate a student-centered learning environment. Further, in response to changes mandated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the workshop series was converted to a virtual format and extended to life science researchers beyond our home institution. We highlight how to effectively structure workshops to develop computational skills and adapt in-person activities to the virtual environment. Survey data shows our workshops reached a highly diverse group of scientists, representing more than eight departments, in both in-person and virtual renditions. Further, we demonstrate an increase in self-reported confidence in student abilities to apply concepts to their own research following content delivery. This increase was facilitated in both virtual and in-person environments, showing that adapting content for online delivery is capable of supporting student learning gains. The success of this workshop series shows the importance of hands-on, guided practice in developing computational skills to fill gaps in training in the agricultural and natural sciences.
AB - Computational skills are increasingly important for conducting research in the agricultural and natural sciences. However, barriers to training availability and accessibility have left many life scientists under-prepared. To address these challenges, we developed a workshop series led by graduate students to cover topics relevant to research needs among life scientists. Our workshops incorporated guided practice to facilitate a student-centered learning environment. Further, in response to changes mandated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the workshop series was converted to a virtual format and extended to life science researchers beyond our home institution. We highlight how to effectively structure workshops to develop computational skills and adapt in-person activities to the virtual environment. Survey data shows our workshops reached a highly diverse group of scientists, representing more than eight departments, in both in-person and virtual renditions. Further, we demonstrate an increase in self-reported confidence in student abilities to apply concepts to their own research following content delivery. This increase was facilitated in both virtual and in-person environments, showing that adapting content for online delivery is capable of supporting student learning gains. The success of this workshop series shows the importance of hands-on, guided practice in developing computational skills to fill gaps in training in the agricultural and natural sciences.
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U2 - 10.1002/nse2.20052
DO - 10.1002/nse2.20052
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85118257262
SN - 2168-8273
VL - 50
JO - Natural Sciences Education
JF - Natural Sciences Education
IS - 1
M1 - e20052
ER -