D3158: Evaluating the impact of course format on student outcomes and future intents related to honey bees and beekeeping

Beekeeping education is an emerging area of instruction as training the next generation of apiculturists is critical to a struggling apiculture industry. The University of Florida’s beekeeping courses for undergraduate and graduate students is the most extensive beekeeping instruction program in the nation currently offering eight courses. While online course formats have the ability to reach more students, some question the impact of the experience compared to the traditional in-person design. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to understand if blended versus in-person courses lead to different student outcomes and future intent. We investigated these questions using an online survey for students in the online beekeeping course and the blended practical beekeeping course. Both courses completed the same survey during the summer semesters of 2021 and 2022. The open-ended responses from the surveys were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Findings showed a program difference in the outcome of increased confidence and the intent of future volunteerism by in-person course. Regardless of course format, students indicated the following program outcomes: increased comfortability, deeper appreciation, better colony management, increased beekeeping knowledge, and valuable workplace skills. Students in both courses revealed intentions of future ownership, disseminating beekeeping knowledge, and bettering beekeeping relations within students' respective careers. Although only the in-person courses increased confidence around honey bees, both course types increased students’ comfort around bees. These findings suggest the relevance of both in-person and online beekeeping educational courses for improving knowledge and attitudes toward honey bees.