Table 4.
Summary of themes and comments produced by field study students cohort 2 regarding the transformative nature of the experience.
| Number of responses | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cohort | per yes/no questiona |
Number of responses per how/why theme categoriesa |
Comment | ||||
| Transformative experience | Not a transformative experience | Overcame fears | Connected with nature | Research experience | Connected with others | ||
| 2018 (n = 14) | 12 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 4 | YES SO TRANSFORMATIVE! I have so many feelings for dolphins and I want to learn more and more about them :-). |
| Yes. This study offered experiences that one may not normally have the time or money to do after he/she has graduated from school. These experiences, I feel, offer students a deeper connection and/or appreciation for nature, and especially marine ecosystems. | |||||||
| Yes, it is fun, informative, provides research experience, and makes you feel close to the group of people you go with. | |||||||
| Yes. It gave me steps to understand why a research project could need improvement or replication. I learned many new terms, as well as ideas and insights that will help me in the future. Most importantly, it provided knowledge to take the skills I have even further in such a field of study. | |||||||
| I would describe this field study as transformative, because I learned a lot of new things that I don’t think I would have without this trip. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen! | |||||||
| This field study was absolutely transformative, I was able to gain critical research experience while also making lots of new friends and priceless memories. | |||||||
| Yes I’ve never had a chance to do a field study and to be able to go in and say “I did this” was awesome | |||||||
| I wouldn’t say transformative but it was a great lesson. It taught us to the down falls and benefits of having real life data collection. | |||||||
| Yes! I got an experience with marine life that I have never had before. I felt in touch with the outdoors and made some amazing friends. | |||||||
| Yes, because of the knowledge I now have about dolphins, but even deeper the knowledge I have about myself. This trip takes most people out of their comfort zone and helps them grow as a person. Not only are you learning about the ocean and the animals it entails, but you are also learning about yourself and the future and how you can do research in this field. | |||||||
| Yes, I’ve extended my self-preservation ideology to other individuals lol. | |||||||
| Yes, being able to have that experience with the coral reef helped me to really appreciate its role and the role of conservation efforts. | |||||||
| Yes, because I feel like my learning capabilities have transformed into something much bigger than a classroom. | |||||||
| Extremely, this trip was all out of my comfort zone but it taught me so much and I feel like my outlook on what I may want to do has changed in a good way. By this, I mean that this trip allowed me to become more outgoing and helped me learn to controls some of my reactions to my fears. | |||||||
Question (post-survey only): Cohort 2 – Would you describe this field study transformative? If so, how and why? aNot all students provided responses that fell into each theme. Also, theme categories were not mutually exclusive, and a student could contribute to multiple categories. The numbers will not add up to the sample totals for these reasons. Student responses were corrected for typographic errors only.