What Informal Learning Programs Teach Us About Adaptation to Contactless and Remote Learning Environments

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic forced a paradigm shift in how educators incorporate STEM educational activities into remote online informal experiential learning environments for high school students. While some primary and secondary institutions were “technically equipped” to seamlessly transition to an online lecture format using video conferencing platforms such as Zoom and WebEx, others were not. Instead, many instructors were not armed with the pedagogical educational infrastructure, training, and assessment tools to elucidate how concepts were presented, absorbed, and retained by students. Experiential learning programs for high school students have been uniquely impacted by this mercurial set of circumstances, where eager students and parents seek venues for engaging in meaningful learning experiences. This work-in-progress explores and compares the experiential programmatic changes in a STEM program for high school students pre- and post-COVID, with the aim of beginning the conversation and exploration of how to deliver “hands-on learning” in a contactless and remote learning environment.