[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-594982-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-594982-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","designing-a-new-course-with-a-spring-break-study-abroad-research-experience-benefits-stem-commuter-students","Designing a New Course with a Spring Break Study Abroad Research Experience - Benefits STEM Commuter Students","","A full-semester upper-level science course was designed to expand commuter STEM students’ access to study abroad by embedding a spring-break trip to Belize. The program served biology and biotechnology majors and a Global Studies minor elective. Ten students enrolled, and aid covered all or part of trip costs for seven. 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Students must participate in the spring-break trip to Belize and complete required biology prerequisites.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How does the course structure support research and learning outcomes?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Students conduct background research and design an international research experience, then collect and analyze information tied to tropical ecosystems in Belize. Guest speakers prepare them before travel, and students share results through blogs and poster/video presentations at the Undergraduate Research Conference.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},594982,1792171739,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":111,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":117,"preview_page_count":4},7421720224475,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","Designing a New Course with a Spring Break Study Abroad Research Experience  \nBenefits STEM Commuter Students  \nPatricia A. Halpin  \nDepartment of Life Sciences, 88 Commercial Street  \nUniversity of New Hampshire at Manchester, Manchester, NH 03101  \nemail: [Patricia.Halpin@unh.edu](Patricia.Halpin@unh.edu)  \n[https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3276-1210](https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3276-1210)  \nAbstract  \nTo increase our students’ access to study abroad opportunities, a full semester course was designed that embedded a study abroad trip to Belize during spring break. The course fulfills both an upper level science course for both biology and biotechnology majors and an elective course for the Global Studies minor. Ten students enrolled in the course, and students’ financial aid packages covered all or partial cost of the trip for seven students. The students were divided into four groups to study the coral reef, mangrove forest, and either the rain forest of Belmopan or Punta Gorda. Guest speakers came to class prior to the trip and provided information on the flora, fauna, and marine ecosystems of Central America. In Belize, students completed a research experience, learned about Mayan and Garifuna culture, and traveled extensively within the country. In addition to learning about the ecosystems and culture of Belize, many stated they learned more about themselves and felt more prepared to step out of their comfort zones to travel internationally again. After this positive learning experience all students agreed that they would recommend the course to a friend. The students wrote blogs and presented their research findings in poster and video format at the Undergraduate Research Conference (URC) .  \n Key words: short-term study abroad, commuter students, research-experience, full semester course, pedagogy   \nIntroduction  \nStudy abroad experiences have long been defined as an example of a high-impact educational practice (Kuh & Schneider, 2008; Ruth et al., 2019) . The overall goal of the experience is to make students more globalized citizens and increase their intercultural knowledge (Hser 2005; Lewis & Niesebaum, 2005; Czerwionka et al., 2015) . Additional benefits of participating in study abroad include personal growth and increase in employability (Trower & Lehman, 2017) . Incorporating a research experience into short-term study abroad provides students access to research that may not be available to them on their college campus (Ruth et al., 2019) . The number of American students pursing study abroad opportunities continues to grow, from 262,416 students traveling in 2007-2008, to 341,751 students in 2017-2018 (The Institute of International Education, 2019, Redden, 2018) . The largest group of study abroad students are students majoring in STEM fields, which have steadily increased from 17.6% in 2007-2008 to 25. 6% in 2017- 18 (The Institute of International Education, 2019) . In the 2017-2018 school year, 38.5 percent of all students who studied abroad enrolled in summer study abroad courses (The Institute of International  \nEducation, 2019) . Many students choose to do this because the experience does not conflict with required courses traditionally offered only during fall or spring semesters.  \nHowever, the summer study abroad model is not as popular with our students as it is for those at other institutions because our students are working full time in the summer. Most of the students at our college are commuters and live at home with their parents. In our BA of Biological Sciences and BS of Biotechnology programs, 38% of students are “first generation” and 8% of students are veterans. In addition to full time course work, most also work part time jobs during the academic year. When asked many of our students are unaware of the study abroad opportunities available to them, or believe they are unable to afford such programs.  \nThe goal of the creation of this new science course was to increase access to study abroad e","cbCain8bv8QNAwSB","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCain8bv8QNAwSB","pdf",350299,"English","# Introduction\n## Course goal and rationale\n## Why commuters and short-term models matter\n# Methods\n## Course design\n## Learning objectives","[{\"question\":\"What is the main purpose of the new course described in the document?\",\"answer\":\"The course was created to increase commuter students’ access to study abroad opportunities while still fulfilling STEM education requirements.\"},{\"question\":\"Who is the course designed for, and what are the key requirements?\",\"answer\":\"It fulfills upper-level biological science concentration needs for biology and biotechnology majors and serves as an elective for the Global Studies minor. Students must participate in the spring-break trip to Belize and complete required biology prerequisites.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the course structure support research and learning outcomes?\",\"answer\":\"Students conduct background research and design an international research experience, then collect and analyze information tied to tropical ecosystems in Belize. Guest speakers prepare them before travel, and students share results through blogs and poster/video presentations at the Undergraduate Research Conference.\"}]","Designing a New Course with a Spring Break Study Abroad Research Experience - Benefits STEM Commuter Students | PDF",1792080215]