DEVELOPING OER VIDEOS ON LAB METHODS TO ENGAGE STEM MAJORS AND PROMOTE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IN A 2-YEAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE

This poster presentation will share the experience and work on developing Open Educational Resource (OER) modules to teach advanced STEM concepts in a 2-year community college. The presentation will focus on teaching activities and videos developed for Scanning Electron Microscope with EDS (Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy) and making thin sections in Northern Virginia Community College.

Research experiences in early undergraduate curriculum are an effective way to engage students in STEM fields. We describe an example and potential model for using videos to expose students to STEM concepts and instrumentation, which has resulted from an NSF grant project to develop OER for inclusion in analytical techniques in undergraduate courses, in collaboration with James Madison University.

We developed and created several video clips with Creative Commons (CC) licensing and scientific closed captioning illustrating the principles, applications, data collection and analysis using SEM with EDS, and piloted the module in Chemistry and Geosciences classes at NOVA.

This poster/session will introduce the audience to a useful tool for creating open resources for increasing student engagement and potentially increasing positive outcomes of science labs, in particular with the resources and facility in a 2-year community college. The materials presented will provide jumping-off points for incorporating these resources and techniques in their own classes. We will be demonstrating a potential role for student-created video in science laboratory modules.

We will also be explaining how the advent of ubiquitous video in cell phones reduces the previous barriers to video production and allows students to take an active and independent role in video production and how this can increase student agency in their own education. Technology literacy in the science fields is highly sought by graduate schools and industry. We have found that student involvement in the OER video development can provide opportunities of their elevated digital technology literacy, beyond traditional science teaching labs. The requirement of students to express the steps and purpose of a lab supports a higher level of student involvement than simplify following directions, which aligns with the general trend to move away from passive learning.