Teachers' perceptions and experiences of live dives in the classroom

Abstract

Interviews were conducted with eight middle school teachers who participated, along with their students, in live-streamed scuba dives, known as “live dives”. Teachers ranked student engagement as their most important criteria for evaluating the activity, and found that live dives exceeded their expectations. They attributed this engagement to a number of factors, but the most important were the live filming, the high level of interactivity via student questions to the divers, and the communal aspect of the event. Teachers believed the live dives in this study checked all the boxes of the redesigned BC curriculum, which was another criteria for participation. Although the live dives were well received with high subsequent participation by teachers, only approximately 15% of those contacted chose to participate initially, with many non-participants citing timing as the inhibitor. Nonetheless, the live dive format used in this study offers a compelling option for teachers, and possibly school districts, in the category of virtual field trips.