Using the Gather Platform to Support Peer-Learning and Community in a Virtual Bioengineering Laboratory Course

Leann Dourte Segan

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: Biomedical Engineering Division: Supporting and Evaluating Student Learning in BioE/BME Courses
Page Count: 17
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--41045
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/41045
Download Count: 340

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Leann Dourte Segan University of Pennsylvania

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LeAnn Dourte Segan is a Practice Associate Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania. Her interests include bringing evidence-based teaching methods to the classroom and increasing the sense of community and belonging in the undergraduate engineering experience.

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Abstract

Online enrollment in engineering has been steadily increasing, further fueled by the COVID19 pandemic. Unfortunately, the online environment creates barriers to the way students interact with each other and their instructor. In an in-person bioengineering laboratory class, for example, students interact with their peers and instructors freely – entering and exiting conversations as-needed and seeking support when a problem arises. Many of the online platforms used for online instruction (e.g. Zoom, BlueJeans) create static, large-group environments. Even in break-out rooms, students are limited in their ability to choose who to interact with and seeking instructor support on an as-needed basis can be difficult. Therefore, the goal of this work-in-progress is to assess the use of a proximity-based video chat platform, Gather (https://www.gather.town/), in creating an environment conducive to peer learning and as-needed support as well as foster a sense of community in an online course. Gather is a platform in which the real world, in this case the laboratory, is recreated in a 2D gamified virtual space. Users create an avatar which can move through the space and interact through video chat with other users in close proximity. The platform was used in an online upper-level, bioengineering laboratory elective course as the primary meeting “location” for laboratory work. The virtual space was designed to look similar to the bioengineering lab on campus. The 20 students enrolled in the course had previously completed an online semester and therefore had experience with virtual learning platforms in general. Arduino-based laboratory kits were mailed to the students’ homes at the beginning of the semester. The course met once a week on Zoom for lecture and once a week in the “Gather lab” during which time students were expected to work on their hands-on labs and the instructor/TAs were available for support. Students worked at their own pace during the session, moving in and out of conversations with peers in the virtual space as needed. Similarly, the teaching team could freely circulate through the space to converse with individuals or groups and were accessible to students on an as-needed basis. To assess the perceived value of the Gather platform on students’ learning, ability to seek help when needed, and increasing a feeling of connection to the bioengineering community, students were asked a series of Likert-scale and free-response questions after each laboratory sequence. In addition to these reflections, two larger surveys were distributed at the beginning and end of the semester asking students for information on their other online learning experiences and to compare them to their experiences using the Gather platform. Overall, this study serves to better understand the usage of a novel online platform to support student learning and create a sense of belonging in a virtual learning environment.

Citation
Format

Dourte Segan, L. (2022, August), Using the Gather Platform to Support Peer-Learning and Community in a Virtual Bioengineering Laboratory Course Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41045

TY - CPAPER
AB - Online enrollment in engineering has been steadily increasing, further fueled by the COVID19 pandemic. Unfortunately, the online environment creates barriers to the way students interact with each other and their instructor. In an in-person bioengineering laboratory class, for example, students interact with their peers and instructors freely – entering and exiting conversations as-needed and seeking support when a problem arises. Many of the online platforms used for online instruction (e.g. Zoom, BlueJeans) create static, large-group environments. Even in break-out rooms, students are limited in their ability to choose who to interact with and seeking instructor support on an as-needed basis can be difficult. Therefore, the goal of this work-in-progress is to assess the use of a proximity-based video chat platform, Gather (https://www.gather.town/), in creating an environment conducive to peer learning and as-needed support as well as foster a sense of community in an online course.
Gather is a platform in which the real world, in this case the laboratory, is recreated in a 2D gamified virtual space. Users create an avatar which can move through the space and interact through video chat with other users in close proximity. The platform was used in an online upper-level, bioengineering laboratory elective course as the primary meeting “location” for laboratory work. The virtual space was designed to look similar to the bioengineering lab on campus. The 20 students enrolled in the course had previously completed an online semester and therefore had experience with virtual learning platforms in general. Arduino-based laboratory kits were mailed to the students’ homes at the beginning of the semester. The course met once a week on Zoom for lecture and once a week in the “Gather lab” during which time students were expected to work on their hands-on labs and the instructor/TAs were available for support. Students worked at their own pace during the session, moving in and out of conversations with peers in the virtual space as needed. Similarly, the teaching team could freely circulate through the space to converse with individuals or groups and were accessible to students on an as-needed basis.
To assess the perceived value of the Gather platform on students’ learning, ability to seek help when needed, and increasing a feeling of connection to the bioengineering community, students were asked a series of Likert-scale and free-response questions after each laboratory sequence. In addition to these reflections, two larger surveys were distributed at the beginning and end of the semester asking students for information on their other online learning experiences and to compare them to their experiences using the Gather platform. Overall, this study serves to better understand the usage of a novel online platform to support student learning and create a sense of belonging in a virtual learning environment.
AU - Leann Dourte Segan
CY - Minneapolis, MN
DA - 2022/08/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Using the Gather Platform to Support Peer-Learning and Community in a Virtual Bioengineering Laboratory Course
UR - https://peer.asee.org/41045
DO - 10.18260/1-2--41045
ER -