Program Description

The Ernest E. Just Youth Science Program is designed to expose minority (Black/African American & Latinx) students to careers and academic pursuits in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in a manner that combines classroom instruction with field trips and fun projects and experiences. The program allows minority middle school students, ages 10-14, to explore the wonders and fascinations of a wide range of STEM topics. The program is dedicated to Dr. Ernest Everett Just, a pioneering African American biologist, who received international acclaim for work in marine biology. Marine science instruction is offered annually as a Summer Marine Science Camp. The Summer Marine Science Camp was the E.E. Just initial STEM offering, which eventually evolved to become a year-round STEM program including other disciplines. The Summer Marine Science Camp, however, continued to be the marquee element of the program. E.E. Just recruits students from the Los Angeles area and hires marine educators for their Summer Marine Science Camp to provide instruction, curriculum, development, and evaluation. One of E.E. Just’s partners is the University of Southern California (USC) and the USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies. This year (2020) the program’s student participants were 70% African American/Black, 26% Latinx/Hispanic, and 4% biracial (African American and Latinx). The student participants were predominantly male at 78% with 22% female.

Each year, the Bridge Builders Foundation (BBF), through its annual Ernest E. Just Summer Marine Science Camp contracts with USC to provide planning and instruction for a predominant portion of the Summer Marine Science Camp for middle school-aged youth of color. Created in 2000 out of the need to expose, inspire, and support African American and minority youth pursuits in STEM disciplines, The Bridge Builders Foundation started the Ernest E. Just program as a one-day event at Bolsa Chica Wetlands. The program expanded to a two-weekend event in 2004 (Bolsa Chica and Aquarium of the Pacific), and expanded again in 2006, when BBF contracted with USC for their three-day, two-night curriculum, instruction, residency, and use of the USC Wrigley Institute’s Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island. On this trip, students explore the marine environment in the field by snorkeling, tide-pooling, kayaking, engaging in laboratory explorations, and meeting scientists who share their research expertise. The Summer Marine Science Camp further expanded in 2012 with classroom sessions and field experiences on the mainland held at the California Science Center with access to its Ecosystems Exhibit/Aquarium. The Summer Marine Science Camp evolved to three weekends with the mainland classroom portion at Los Angeles Southwest College (starting in 2014) and the field trip to Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro the first weekend. The second weekend includes Bolsa Chica Wetlands and Aquarium of the Pacific visits, with the final weekend on Catalina Island, where students participate in the three-day field experience at the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center. The program rotates yearly with a themed set of content focused on marine habitats: Open Ocean/Pelagic with charismatic megafauna like sharks and fish, Rocky Shore, and Sandy Beach habitats introducing invertebrates and other shoreline/coastal organisms. The Summer Marine Science Camp usually serves 30-50 students per year, in third to ninth grade. This year, 27 students participated, though not all attended every day, which is typical of the program.

Rocky Intertidal Gone Digital!

Just like the intertidal organisms adapt to life in the tide pools, the E.E. Just program adapted to the virtual environment necessitated by COVID-19. Instead of the two all-day in-person workshops during the first week of the program, we shifted to a two-hour class daily over the course of five days to make sure the students didn’t suffer from Zoom fatigue. The program was split into two weeks: one week based on the mainland concepts and a second week based on the USC Wrigley Institute Catalina experience. The E.E. Just instructional team was effective in engaging the students using all of the various technology platforms. They transformed a very hands-on and inquiry-based learning environment into an engaging and interactive online learning experience in which the students were responsive in the digital realm. The instructors demonstrated the importance of thinking differently because all of the components of the virtual environment must be scaffolded and properly structured, which is very different from what happens naturally in the in-person classroom space. Students’ attention was held by using different techniques and activities and by regularly switching modalities. Various learners were also accommodated by a wide range of activities. One of the common criticisms of online learning is it is often very stagnant and focused on listening; the instructional team consciously picked activities that required student action and creation. Kinesthetically inclined learners were accommodated by dancing and music components like the marine sound activity, which combined movement with snaps, clapping, and sounds. Traditional discussions were moved to chat or made possible by using tools like Padlet and Mentimeter (see details below). Students were also encouraged to share on their own time using Flipgrid video submissions. Creating engaging online STEM lessons requires rethinking some of the standard teaching paradigms we all comfortably use, but it is possible with creative thinking and time.

Learning Goals

Overall the camp works to increase student engagement in science, via marine science, and help them to see science as a possible career that is available to them in the future. Additionally, the camp hopes to increase student connection to the ocean, and help them to see how their individual actions can impact the ocean for better or worse. Specific learning goals for the program are outlined with the key activities in Table 1 below.

Online Tools and Resources

To create an interactive and engaging learning environment in the digital space, many online tools and resources were used. The class was hosted within Google Classroom, and the sessions during week one were hosted on the Google Meet video conference platform. Students took their pre- and post-tests during the camp on a Google Forms survey.

Flipgrid. The Flipgrid platform was used to collect video responses from each of the students and increase student engagement. Flipgrid was used for exit tickets, homework, and even having students demonstrate their knowledge with varying activities. One of the activities on Flipgrid was to create an intertidal song demonstrated by rewriting lyrics to Hamilton and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Flipgrid was a highly effective platform for the team because it included the framework of including not only a prompt, but also an example video while also providing both grading and peer feedback opportunities. During week one, final presentations were conducted on Flipgrid and played during the synchronous session.

Padlet. Another tech resource utilized frequently with this age group was Padlet. Padlet is a multimodal tech platform that allows for a wide variety of student responses. Each of the teachers created their own Padlet to facilitate discussions with students. The teachers created the main static questions at the top of the Padlet and students responded with text, photos, video, or audio recordings. We also utilized it as a digital notebook and we displayed their responses live as they were updated.

Mentimeter.com. We used a Mentimeter to demonstrate a live interactive response on both mobile and computer device platforms. We included discussion questions and used students’ answers to create word clouds for instantaneous assessment of their understanding of concepts and to build group definitions.

Hands-On STEM Component

Caption 

Worksheet observation and labelling of the Aboral Surface of the Sea Star Model for the dissection. Photo by Tara Treiber.

Sea Star Experiment. The sea star dissection was the most time-intensive component of our teaching, but it also yielded the strongest learning impacts. Students were mailed a paper model of a purple ochre sea star with each of the major organ systems created as a different layer (for example: the reproductive system, the neurological system, the digestive system, etc.). Using a Google Slides presentation to scaffold the dissection, students were introduced to sea stars as a vital member of the intertidal community, and then directed to examine and draw first the oral and then the aboral surfaces. They could choose between drawing their observations free-hand and using a provided worksheet with basic shapes for those who needed that support. Next, students were asked to “cut” the sea star open, by cutting through the tape that was used to hold the paper layers closed, and examine the organ systems layer by layer. The Google Slides showed photos and videos of the actual features on live or actual dissected sea stars that were referenced as they went through the dissection. Key vocabulary was also highlighted and defined in the presentation. Students were then asked to reflect upon and summarize their favorite part of the dissection experience and learning of the day using Flipgrid. This project required the creation of the dissection worksheets and sea star models (which included illustration of the ochre star layer by layer, printing and copying the pieces, cutting them out, assembling the pieces into the sea star), mailing the sea stars and worksheets (stuffing envelopes and addressing and stamping them), developing the the scaffolding Google Slides, leading the dissection, and reviewing the student reflection Flipgrid videos.

Tide Pool Maker Project. Not only were the paper sea star dissection materials sent home, but also craft materials were sent for the tide pool maker project. Students were able to make a tide pool environment however they wanted to. They could craft it, build it from natural materials in the backyard, use materials from around their homes, and even draw it. “I liked making the tide pool models with the mollusks, crabs, and sea stars (echinoderms)” said E.E. Just student Liberty Figueroa. The image below includes an example of a drawing as well as thumbnail images of crafted tide pool products the students created.

Caption 

A screenshot of Nathaniel W.’s tide pool drawing, which he filmed as a timelapse. Screenshot by Dieuwertje Kast.

Guest Scientist

During the last day of the first week, the instructors invited graduate student Charnelle Wickliff to come in as a guest scientist and interact with the E.E. Just students. Wickliff is a graduate student from the Moss Landing Marine Laboratory and a USC Wrigley Fellow who is studying rhodolith beds on Santa Catalina Island. She talked about what rhodoliths are, specifically calcifying red coralline algae that are unattached, and how they cluster together to form beds. According to literature, these beds may be an important nursery ground for many invertebrate species in the local rocky habitat. She uses a Phantom 4 drone to monitor these beds, checking for seasonal variations and mooring disturbances. A first-generation college student, she is originally from Long Beach, California, where her interest in marine science began with multiple trips to the Cabrillo Beach Aquarium in San Pedro and Bolsa Chica Wetlands near Huntington Beach (local opportunities for the E.E. Just students, too). We ended her talk with an open session for students, allowing them to ask questions relevant to their own experience and curiosity, and Wickliff’s answers allowed them to see a pathway into the sciences for each of them.

Catalina Component

During the second week, the program shifted gears to best mirror the students’ usual Catalina Island Field Experience in the digital realm. The program switched instructors to those affiliated with the USC Wrigley Marine Field Site: Lorraine Sadler, Meghan Macgregor, Natalie Foote, Linda Chilton (provided guidance), Lynn Whitley, Lara Hsia. The second week was also two hours daily over the course of five days. It started with a virtual touch tank tour, where students met living occupants of the touch tank with pre-recorded videos and ended with presentations on Flipgrid from all the students. Each day’s content is itemized below.

Day One: A Deeper Dive into the Creatures of the Intertidal

One of the highlights of the Catalina trip is visiting the resident touch tank of live oceanic creatures such as crabs, sea stars, urchins, and anemones at USC’s campus on Catalina Island. During the field excursion students are able to see these creatures and sometimes hold or feed them in person. This experience was digitized by doing a touch tank tour virtually with professional-quality waterproof cameras that recorded video from inside the tank. The students then observed the creatures in the touch tank and created questions about the organism behaviors. Instructors connected what they were seeing in the videos to the previous week’s exploration of the intertidal and extended the scientific learning by organizing the organism exploration by phylum. To summarize and reflect on the learning, students drew a 2D model or created a 3D model of a touch tank creature that they learned about as an exit ticket/homework. This included a typographic drawing as seen below.

Day Two: Intertidal Lifecycles and Food Webs – Meet the Plankton

To open the day and connect with students’ prior knowledge, students were asked to share what they know about plankton on a Padlet. During a regular Catalina field site excursion, students would collect plankton with plankton nets during the day and nighttime and do a comparative microscope analysis of each plankton population. To replicate the plankton experience in the virtual realm, these samples were placed under the microscope and converted to videos that the students watched and worked to assess population differences between various times of the day and locations. Afterwards, students created plankton models (drawn or with craft materials) based on the plankton they saw. Students were given access to a Spark Adobe document about plankton to dive deeper into the topic on their own time.

Day Three: Making Connections – Food Webs and Resources in the Intertidal

The day began with a short instructor-led lesson on the difference between food chains and food webs. After the lesson, students created their own food webs or food chains using rocky intertidal organisms that they have been exploring. Students then explored the food and nutrient resources of the intertidal using an animated video created through a partnership between USC Wrigley and USC Cinema School’s Division of Animation and Digital Arts program. Additionally, the video introduced the idea of scientists collaborating with the media and artists to increase their communication reach. To close out the day, guest intertidal scientist Jessie Alstadt talked to the students about her intertidal monitoring work and tied back to their food webs.

Day Four: How Does the Intertidal Connect to ME? Impacts, Benefits, and Sustainability in the Intertidal

Sometimes students wonder why we should care about a habitat or concept presented in scientific learning if its connection to them is not provided. For this day, students explored the importance of the rocky intertidal through a presentation by USC Wrigley educator and researcher Meghan MacGregor on Marine Protected Areas, the benefits of the habitat, and how it connects to students even if they live far from the coast. Students were challenged to create a public service announcement (PSA) using Flipgrid on why they should protect the rocky intertidal.

Day Five: Bringing it All Together

This day was a culmination of the two weeks of learning. Students presented their Intertidal Protection PSAs. One of the students named Merari created a PSA warning the public not to take the animals from the tide pool because they will die.

One of the goals of the program is to encourage minority students to see careers in science as a possibility. Because of this, the program has been increasing the number of presentations by people of color in science-related careers. The camp closed out with a presentation by Amber Brown, program administrator for the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. She talked about her experience as a non-scientist who does outreach and raises funds for scientists’ work. Students were also introduced to a few black scientists and other possible science role models that they might want to explore in the future. Finally, students completed a Post-Program Survey so we could assess their learning gains over the course of the two weeks.

Data Section

Students who participated in the two-week digital camp had their learning gains documented by their responses to a Pre-Program Survey that was administered on the first day of the program and a Post-Program Survey that was administered on the last day of the program. The Google Forms questionnaire featured both content-related questions and questions about the impact of the program on their lives.

Responses to one of the questions were catalogued with a word cloud as seen below. The answers shifted between the pre- to post-surveys, and we saw a decrease in the “I don’t know” or “the ocean doesn’t impact my life” answers and an increase in more specific responses based on what they learned.

Sea Star Anatomy Identification Infographic: Students were asked to correctly identify sea star parts on the Pre- and Post-Program Survey, using the same imagery that was used in the Sea Star Dissection Activity. There were huge gains in correct identification of all parts except the Sea Star Arms, as students came to the program with a high level of correct identification skills. Infographic by Tara Treiber.

The other interesting gains we saw between the Pre-Program and Post-Program Survey were a 20% increase in students saying they liked or really like science and a 23% increase in students saying that they like marine biology. Learning gains can be assessed in a variety of ways, but E.E. Just has been using the normalized gain method as proposed by Richard Hake as a way to evaluate the effectiveness of the program (1998). This year’s normalized learning gain showed a 41% increase between the Pre- and Post-Program Survey responses. We also assessed the success of the class using various qualitative methods like attendance and the majority of students stayed throughout the day (attendance wise) for the voluntary program. However, with the shifts in themes and content, it was difficult to do a longitudinal study over the previous years of E.E. Just programs.

Recommended Changes for Next Virtual Experience

This session of the E.E. Just camp was a major trial run for the instructors trying out various engaging platforms within the digital space.

• Adult to Child Ratios
  
  • There was an average ratio of two adults to one student, but there were a lot of adults who didn’t have an active role. The basic Google Meet version didn’t allow breakout rooms, so we had a lot of adults with no significant role besides serving as observers. We transitioned to Zoom in the second week, which eliminated part of this problem. In the future, we plan to engage the additional adults with a more structured and scaffolded active role.

• We recommend:
  
  • Being clear about guidelines and expectations of students participating digitally in the class.
    
    • Make sure students know that the public chat is not private and to not be discussing non-class related items on it.
  • Utilizing digital puzzles and escape room type strategies for motivating assessments and exit tickets.
  • Increasing the sharing time for students and increasing the time they had to work on their activities and designs.
  • Allow extra time for prep time ahead of class. With the extreme structuring and scaffolding of the virtual environment, prep time took a lot longer.