Understanding the Benefits of Residential Field Courses: The Importance of Class Learning Goal Orientation and Class Belonging.

While previous literature finds many benefits to participation in undergraduate field courses, the mechanisms for how these benefits develop is still unknown. This study explores these mechanisms and any unique benefits of field courses by examining results from pre and post surveys about scientific literacy, future science plans, and motivation and belonging for undergraduate students who took courses in one field station setting ( = 249) and one traditional on-campus setting ( = 118). We found positive associations between the field station setting and scientific literacy as well as future science plans.

A resource for understanding and evaluating outcomes of undergraduate field experiences.

Undergraduate field experiences (UFEs) are a prominent element of science education across many disciplines; however, empirical data regarding the outcomes are often limited. UFEs are unique in that they typically take place in a field setting, are often interdisciplinary, and include diverse students. UFEs range from courses, to field trips, to residential research experiences, and thereby have the potential to yield a plethora of outcomes for undergraduate participants.