A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) using Ocean Plastic Microbes as a Framework that Is Impactful for Both In-Person and Online Course Modalities
Table 1
Schedule of the original in-person activities of the CURE and their online adaptations.
Time
In-person
Online
Week before the CURE
Watch documentary “Into the Gyre.” Quiz in class or online
Watch documentary “Into the Gyre” and discuss in a discussion board
Week of the CURE
Field trip to SIO lectures by faculty. Processing of plastic samples (inoculation on Marine Agar and ChromAgar Vibrio plates). In-person Q&A
Watch recorded lectures by faculty, content assessed in weekly quiz. Review-related course material (ex. differential/selective media, bacterial cell structure, etc.) Watch footage from sample preparation/deployment/collection (videos and images). Online Q&A with breakout room discussion
Week after the CURE
Observation of plates, Gram staining of colonies. Majors: 16S PCR and Blast analysis for identification of colonies. Survey deployed online. Focus group signups
Watch videos and images of lab results (plates of colonies, staining results). For majors: Blast PCR sequences provided for identification of selected colonies. Survey deployed online. Focus group signups
