Transcript No Slide Title

The University of the Sea and the
benefits to learning of active
participation in a research cruise
Kelsie Dadd
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences &
GEMOC, Macquarie University
Elaine Baker
UNEP Shelf Programme Regional Office, School of
Geoscience, University of Sydney
With help from:
Geoscience Australia
Students and staff with University of the Sea program
Crew of the RV Tangaroa
University of the Sea
A partnership between:

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO

University of Sydney

Australian National University

University of New South Wales

Macquarie University

University of Technology Sydney

University of Tokyo

Korean Ocean Research and Development
Institute

Tongji University China

Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans Canada

National Institute of Oceanography Goa

Indonesian Research Centre for Marine Technology
University of the Sea



has operated since 2004
research cruises have investigated
problems in the Coral, Arafura and
Tasman Seas
research problems have ranged from
sea level change to gas hydrates and
benthic habitats
University of the Sea



young local scholars are
able to address specific
regional problems through
research on marine issues
working with senior
researchers from the region
University of the Sea
program, places the
students in the role of a
researcher
experiential learning





common component of Earth
Science programs eg field
work
is learner-centred, active and
related to the life and
experiences of the student
often seen as the most
effective way for students to
learn
recognises that learning takes
place in settings other than
within formal institutions
most effective if the project
has a problem-based aspect
personal and practical involvement
in the learning situation
Personal involvement:
 development of a number of
personal skills:
 empowerment
 becoming conscious of
ones needs and desires
 student must make their own
decisions and experience the
results of these decisions
 program inspires the student
involved and others they
come in contact with at their
home institution
personal and practical involvement
in the learning situation
Practical involvement:

greater student motivation

provides students with new
oceanographic and
scientific skills

learning environment that
engages their full attention

instils a deeper
understanding of the
subject content
University of the Sea
2007 participants and survey

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
2 x 3 week cruise with research scientists from GA
Students apply and are selected based on ability and
the need for a spread across participating countries and
universities
40% undergraduate
(final year)
60% postgraduate
Respondents 50/50
male/female
%

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
<20
21-30
31-40
participant age
41-50
Evaluation of program
Following slides look at the students perception of their
experience aboard the Tangaroa from a survey completed
at the end of each leg
100
80
Likert scale
SA = strongly agree
A = agree
N = neutral
D = disagree
SD = strongly disagree
%
60
40
20
0
SA
A
N
D
Clear aims and objectives
SD
Evaluation of program
Questionnaire had 15 likert-scaled questions and
9 open-ended questions
What were the best aspects of the cruise?
In what ways could this cruise be improved?
With what aspects of the cruise did you have
difficulty, and why?
What extra support would have helped you during
the cruise?
Do you feel more confident to apply marine science
theory after the cruise? Why?
Evaluation of program
What were the main objectives
you had when you enrolled for
this cruise?
How has the cruise fulfilled these
objectives?
Did you require more information
or support before going on the
cruise?
Please feel free to make any other
comments regarding the cruise.
Clear aims and objectives
• UoS has an introductory talk that covers many items
• aims may not have been clearly enough defined
• may benefit from a handout that better outlines the
aims and objectives given out before the cruise
“Clearer objectives and
expectations”
100
80
60
“Better information on
%
objectives and conditions
40
beforehand (eg what the
20
opportunities might be,
0
what resources (books and
equipment) would be
available)”
SA
A
N
D
Clear aims and objectives
SD
Work was structured to assist my
learning
• Student projects are left to the students, supervisor and
staff to organise once the cruise is underway
• Students may benefit from a more structured project
framework that is integrated with their studies
%
“Increase the number of
lectures and lectures about
the methodologies used”
“Clearer direction as to
what was expected and
what we could do to learn”
100
80
60
40
20
0
SA
A
N
D
SD
Work was structured to assist my learning
Valuable for my learning
• The UoS program was seen
as valuable
“Being on the boat at sea,
meeting new and different
people, seeing sampling
equipment in action”
80
%
“Diversity of research and
abundance of opportunity
to learn completely
different fields of science”
100
60
40
20
0
SA
A
N
D
Valuable for my learning
SD
Helped see application of theory
into practice
• UoS students had varied backgrounds and not all saw the
cruise objectives as being closely related to their area
“Put all the theory I have
learned in the last few
years into practice”
80
%
“now that we have had
the opportunity to do
what we have learned in
a classroom we have a
better understanding of
how things work at sea”
100
60
40
20
0
SA
A
N
D
SD
Helped see application of theory into practice
Sufficient one on one instruction to
develop my skills
• Although UoS students generally felt they
had reasonable one on one instruction,
some felt that more was needed
“advice and support from
xxxxx which are very
valuable and of great
help”
%
“More direction in what I
was required to do”
100
80
60
40
20
0
SA
A
N
D
SD
Sufficient one on one instruction to develop my
skills
Sufficient technical support to
resolve difficulties
• The staff/student ratio on the UoS cruise was excellent
• senior students may expect more detailed and focussed
technical support
• staff may be too busy
at times to offer
sufficient help
100
%
80
60
40
20
0
SA
A
N
D
SD
Sufficient technical support to resolve difficulties
Sufficient technical support to
resolve difficulties
“More experience in weak areas such as deep
sea biology since we were doing a lot of deep
sea sampling”
“Recording and processing of the
sonar bathymetry because only the
information technology specialist
is involved”
“Diversity of scientists and technicians with
different backgrounds and perspectives
provided an interesting and well balanced
learning environment (lots of videos and
good food was also very welcome)”
Encouraged to reflect upon skills
and abilities
• Students felt they were not encouraged to reflect upon
what they had learnt
• This could be helped by asking the UoS students to
present results part way through the trip
100
80
%
“Perhaps having regularly
scheduled discussion
periods for information
sharing and learning new
material would have been
more productive – the
irregularly held talks …
were very appreciated”
60
40
20
0
SA
A
N
D
SD
Encouraged to reflect upon skills and abilities
Content and skills developed are
relevant to my future
40
30
20
%
10
G
eo
O
lo
ce
gy
an
og
ra
ph
Ch
y
e
M
m
ar
is
tr
in
y
e
M
Sc
ar
ie
in
nc
e
e
Re
so
ur
ce
Sc
ie
nc
e
0
%
Bi
o
lo
gy
• UoS students self-select and
are interested in marine
science
100
80
60
40
20
0
“have practiced my
marine skills over trip in
species ID etc”
SA
A
N
D
SD
Content and skills developed are relevant to my
future
“More training is
required for postprocessing techniques”
Helped to inform me about career
opportunities
“Diversity of research and abundance of opportunity to learn
completely different fields of science”
“I have experienced what kinds of information has led to the
development of conclusions/theories in other science fields”
100
%
80
60
40
20
0
SA
A
N
D
SD
Helped to inform me about career opportunities
Experiential learning was an
effective learning experience
• Almost all students indicated that
the cruise was an effective learning
experience
“The opportunity to
pursue a small project
and report on my
findings gave me more
confidence in my marine
science knowledge”
%
“The hands-on
experience gained”
100
80
60
40
20
0
SA
A
N
D
SD
Experiential learning was an effective learning
experience
Recent research findings were
explained
• There was plenty of opportunity on
the UoS cruise to talk with the
students about recent research
100
80
%
• The UoS students
were also familiar
with research and
had a good
understanding of
their subject areas
60
40
20
0
SA
A
N
D
SD
Recent research findings were explained
Alternative points of view were
presented
• Interesting that this is
not higher
• Students may benefit
from readings given
prior to the trip
80
%
• UoS students were
likely to enter
discussions that
brought up alternate
viewpoints
100
60
40
20
0
SA
A
N
D
SD
Alternative points of view were presented
“Background materials should
have been made available
weeks in advance”
Enough opportunities for
communicating with staff
• Students thought that they
had sufficient opportunity to
talk with staff
“Research staff also
very open and
encouraged
involvement”
80
%
“It would have been
good to have a student
supervisor on both shifts
as I felt this was missing
from night shift”
100
60
40
20
0
SA
A
N
D
SD
Enough opportunities for communicating with staff
Opportunity to enhance
interpersonal skills
• Working in close conditions on a 3-week
cruise appears to have been effective for
enhancing interpersonal skills
“Able to work with other
people with different
backgrounds”
“…difficulty in
understanding different
accents…”
%
“Being on the boat at sea,
meeting new and different
people…”
100
80
60
40
20
0
SA
A
N
D
SD
Opportunity to enhance interpersonal skills
Opportunity to enhance team-work
skills
• Students were able to work
with others and share tasks
“Working as an integral
part of the formal
research team”
80
%
“Research staff also very
open and encouraged
involvement”
100
60
40
20
0
SA
A
N
D
SD
Opportunity to enhance team-work skills
Conclusions
Benefits to the student:
• Learning by doing increases the chances of
understanding
• Exposure to research in action
• Learning environment is free of most distractions
• Learning to negotiate a team work environment
• Development of coping mechanisms due to isolation
from peers
• Empowerment through decision making
• Learning to cope with the unexpected and to become
adaptable
• Development of generic skills
Conclusions
Benefits to the university:
• Exposure of the university in a research
setting
• Prestige in having a student chosen for the
program
• Returning student brings back enthusiasm
for science and research
Benefits to the community:
• Exposure to the program and the research
by more people via interaction with the
student
• A community member with better life-skills